Genius of Haiku: Readings from R.H. Blyth on Poetry, Life, and Zen

by R.H. Blyth

Book by R. H. Blyth

Genres: Poetry, Japan, Zen

146 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Reginald Horace Blyth was an English author, interpreter, translator, devotee of Japanese culture and English Professor, having lived in Japan for eighteen years.

Reviews

[Philipp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes, a book finds you, like I found this book at the Save The Children book-sale at UWA, Perth, for a dollar.

It's a slim volume, a 'best of' based on the life's work of R.H. Blyth, English professor and private tutor of Emperor Akihito (the guy who just stepped down as tenno!). Blyth wrote extensively on the links between English poetry, Zen, and Haiku, and that's the main topic of this book too: what are the links, the opposites between English poetry and Haiku (so much Wordsworth!)? What is the link between Zen and Haiku? Beautifully written essays full of wit, poetry, so much connectedness with all areas of poetry, art, and writing.

I absolutely loved this too-slim book but I'm happy that there's about 6000 more pages of Blyth's writing, because I'll need this in my life, thank you very much, I mean, look at this!

The most remarkable, and to me the most delightful part of Issa's character is his love of flies and mosquitoes and so forth. Issa felt about flies and flees what Eckhart says:

When I preach to the people of Paris I just speak and trust that I speak well; the whole of Paris with all its arts cannot comprehend what God is in the smallest part of creatures, yes, even in a midge.

Issa can do what all of Paris could not do, and what even Eckhart could not, -- see a midge in God. Seeing God in a midge is not so difficult. What is really difficult is to keep one's eye steadily on the insects, and not let God usurp their divinity. Issa wrote 54 haiku on the snail, 15 on the toad, nearly 200 on frogs (which belong to spring), about 230 on the firefly, more than 150 on the mosquito, 90 on flies, over 100 on fleas, nearly 90 on the cicada, and about 70 on various other insects, a grand total of about a thousand verses on such creatures. Some may say, 'Little things please little minds'. But Christ tells us that the hairs on our heads are all numbered, and Issa thought that the hairs on a hairy caterpillar were numbered. I think so too.

If you don't enjoy this loving warmth here then this is likely not your cup of tea!

[Ron Pavellas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can do no better than to quote from the back cover:

"No scholar excels him at interpreting the the spirit and form of Japanese poetry to the Western mind, or of finding equivalents to the mood and spirit of Japanese poetry in our own. He is not afraid to challenge us with statements in which some truth will be found on reflection..."

I revere this book so highly that I have bought ten copies to give to friends who may be open to its offerings.