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Haiku People: Big And Small In Poems And Prints
Some 120 haiku by such masters as Basho, Issa, and Buson—all written on themes of people of various shapes and sizes, young and old—are combined with the woodblock prints and paintings of the great artists of classical Japan. The poems appear both in skillful English translation, as well as in the original Japanese.
- GenresPoetry
112 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 12, 2026
Honestly, I believe this book is a solid 5/5 for the simplicity and the humanity of the Haiku within it.
The feeling of how the people in the past were just like us really hit me like a Semi when I was reading early on and continued to grow. Even with the 'Mature' section of poems I saw not only the older people I personally know but my own feelings towards my own mortality. A few even made me laugh!
I also found myself turning back to read past Haiku that the one I was currently reading maybe gave me a new perspective on. My copy also had a newspaper clipping tucked into it from an author in my area which was very nice and helpful.
I probably should have spent more time meditating on each one but I think that would be for another time. Maybe in a cafe or something with a nice pastry.
The Introduction was also very well-written for how introductions go in these types of books and I was definitely surprised that this book was printed in 1998, you could have told me it was in 2018 and I would have accepted it without question.
The authors also included the original Haiku untranslated in Japanese Kanji which I found to be a nice addition even if I cannot read it myself.
All in all, it was a very brief albeit a delightful read that gave me a little more hope in the common man and humanity and one of the very few rare books I will likely find myself revisiting.
The feeling of how the people in the past were just like us really hit me like a Semi when I was reading early on and continued to grow. Even with the 'Mature' section of poems I saw not only the older people I personally know but my own feelings towards my own mortality. A few even made me laugh!
I also found myself turning back to read past Haiku that the one I was currently reading maybe gave me a new perspective on. My copy also had a newspaper clipping tucked into it from an author in my area which was very nice and helpful.
I probably should have spent more time meditating on each one but I think that would be for another time. Maybe in a cafe or something with a nice pastry.
The Introduction was also very well-written for how introductions go in these types of books and I was definitely surprised that this book was printed in 1998, you could have told me it was in 2018 and I would have accepted it without question.
The authors also included the original Haiku untranslated in Japanese Kanji which I found to be a nice addition even if I cannot read it myself.
All in all, it was a very brief albeit a delightful read that gave me a little more hope in the common man and humanity and one of the very few rare books I will likely find myself revisiting.
March 27, 2025
I especially liked the accompanying prints. Many were quite whimsical.
January 26, 2013
A nice collection of Japanese masters. The illustrations and art work are great. I only give this book 3 stars because nothing it it wowed me. At comes from reading lots of haiku, I guess. It's a good book for those new to the genre and is still a nice complement to anyone's haiku collection.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews