East Window: Poems from Asia

by W.S. Merwin

Gathered in this volume are translations and versions of poems and aphorisms from Asian languages as varied as Urdu, Chinese, Sanskrit, Japanese, Persian, and Vietnamese. Included are poems by some of the world's greatest writers, deeply influential poets such as Rumi, Tu Fu, Li Po, and Muso Soseki, beautifully brought forward by one of the century's most celebrated poets.

Genres: Poetry

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

William Stanley Merwin was an American poet, credited with over fifty books of poetry, translation and prose.

William Stanley Merwin (September 30, 1927 – March 15, 2019) was an American poet who wrote more than fifty books of poetry and prose, and produced many works in translation. During the 1960s anti-war movement, Merwin's unique craft was thematically characterized by indirect, unpunctuated narration. In the 1980s and 1990s, his writing influence derived from an interest in Buddhist philosophy and deep ecology. Residing in a rural part of Maui, Hawaii, he wrote prolifically and was dedicated to the restoration of the island's rainforests.

Merwin received many honors, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1971 and 2009; the National Book Award for Poetry in 2005, and the Tanning Prize—one of the highest honors bestowed by the Academy of American Poets—as well as the Golden Wreath of the Struga Poetry Evenings. In 2010, the Library of Congress named him the 17th United States Poet Laureate.

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poems are taken from four other books: Selected Translations 1948-1968, Asian Figures, Selected Translations 1968-1978, and Sun at Midnight. Merwin starts by making it clear that he knows no Asian languages, and so had to depend on other translations (for the Figures, see below) and informants.

The first section includes poets ranging from the famous to the unknown, from a wide variety of Asian countries,: Rumi, Tu Fu, Li Po, Ghalib, Tran Te Xuong. The second section, my favorite, presents dozens of aphorisms/epigrams from Korea, Japan, China, Malasia, the Philippines, and Myanmar ('Burmese’ here). Merwin calls these ‘figures’. The final section is a selection of poems by Muso Soseki (born 1275), a Buddhist monk, garden designer, teacher and poet.

A few of the figures:

Get out of the game
to watch it

Full of danger
as an egg pyramid

(Japanese)

When you’ve died once
you know how

Comes from hell
you can’t scare him with ashes

(Burmese)

Just because you’re cured
don’t think you’ll live

Rank and position
gulls on water

(Chinese)

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Merwin’s poetry and his translations. He is so deeply invested in poetry. His voice is singular.
This is a book of old Asian poems that he had help rendering into English. The best part of the book is the ‘Asian Figures’ section, a collection of short epigrams/sayings/aphorisms from different countries. They are striking and memorable and often funny.

Says yes
when nobody asked (Laos)

If you can’t smile
don’t open a shop (China)

If it’s good
hurry (Japan)

Wake up
as much as you can (Japan)

[R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This omnibus edition collects Merwin's Selected Translations, Asian Figures, and Sun at Midnight (poems by Muso Soseki). The selected translations were OK and Sun at Midnight was an illuminating tour-de-force but the real fun, the true joy, was found by me in Asian Figures, which featured at-grandma's-knee proverbs, cartoonishly silly sayings, robustly mordant observations and headscratch zen riddles translated from the Japanese, Chinese, Malaysian and other Oriental cultures. I could've done without the introductions - I tire of translators telling me the tricks of their trade - except in the case of the Soseki, where I, a humble gaijin, learned, yes, a bit of interesting Japanese history and tidbits on stone-sculpture, pebble-placement, garden architecture. Ah so.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

These probably aren't technically translations - Merwin doesn't know the languages involved, so he either worked with people who did or consulted former translations. Why I'm OK with him doing that but am decidedly not with Stephen Mitchell, I'm not entirely sure. Most likely it's because Merwin has a poet's voice and Mitchell doesn't. That voice makes these interesting, even if I can't tell whether it's just Merwin or it's in the poems themselves. Either way, it's worth reading.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

These translations are poems of rare delicacy, beauty and meaning. I found them personally inspiring and many I read over and over, savoring the depth behind their slim structures.

[James]

finally found it used, in Aardvark...a happy little bstore in the castro. Very Nice.