buson: haiku

by Yosa Buson

This collection of thirty-nine haiku from Yosa Buson showcases the mastery, delicacy, and mastery of one of Japan's greatest and most deeply admired poets. Hailed by Donald Justice as "a unique and major talent," Pulitzer Prize winner Franz Wright offers readers a new avenue into one of poetry's essential voices.

10 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Yosa Buson or Yosa no Buson (与謝蕪村) was a Japanese poet and painter from the Edo period. Along with Matsuo Bashō and Kobayashi Issa, Buson is considered among the greatest poets of the Edo Period.

Reviews

[John Pappas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Franz Wright's translations of 39 of Buson's haiku are luminous. The spare, understated presentation of this slim volume (published by Tavern Books) is a perfect format for experiencing the wonder, pathos and complexity of these gorgeous and sad poems. Wright's translations are limpid, deep and challenging. His choices of enjambment and word order open up these poems in surprising ways, allowing for fresh discovery and a sudden clarity of awareness. Reading these poems is like stepping barefoot into a mountain stream and feeling the strange and pleasant shock of the cold deep in your bones.