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Haiku Translations that You Can Understand |
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Written by Lindsay Parker
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The ancient beauty of the great haiku poems comes alive in new and accurate translations in 1020 Haiku in Translation: The Heart of Basho, Buson and Issa by William R. Nelson and Takafumi Saito. Supplemented with geographical, historical and cultural references, this is an incredible reference for anyone who loves haiku and who wants to know more about them.
The poetic form haiku was born among the common people. But translations of this ancient Japanese art have often added explanations or interpretations to make the poems more understandable for English-speaking masses. And that, suggests authors William Nelson and Takafumi Saito, can deny readers a true appreciation of this uncommon art. To alleviate that problem, the authors worked together to create a poetic form that accurately represents what the original authors—great haiku masters Basho, Buson and Issa—intended. Nothing is added or taken away, and the mood and flow of the original poem remains.
Untraditionally arranged in topics within seasons, the haiku are also grouped from the oldest to the most recently written. Besides the artwork and calligraphy, the authors have provided notes on the meaning of uncommon words, and a pronunciation guide to challenge readers to hear the beauty of the haiku.
For more information or to request a free review copy, please contact the author at email protected from spam bots or email protected from spam bots or through the author’s website http://www.language-arts.com. 1020 Haiku in Translation: The Heart of Basho, Buson and Issa is available for sale online at Amazon.com, Borders.com, BookSurge.com, and through additional wholesale and retail channels worldwide.
About the Authors
Born in New York City, William R. Nelson has a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy from Marquette University and an M.A. in Linguistics and TESOL from the University of Northern Iowa. He currently lives with his wife in Japan, where he has been a professor at Osaka University of Foreign Studies for over 23 years.
Japanese-born Takafumi Saito was a professor of English language and literature at Osaka University of Foreign Studies for 25 years. He also taught Japanese language and culture at the University of Wyoming. He lives mostly in Japan.
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