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It's like someone sold all their haiku collections to our local used book store -- just in time for me to snap 'em up. Sweet.
Obligatory disclaimer: I'm far from expert in Japanese haiku, but I can recognize a couple dozen popular ones and am comfortable enough with the language to Have Opinions about translations. My judgment of the accuracy of books with only English text is based on these touchstones; those with Japanese text, I read both texts, arguing or nodding as the case may be.
Japanese Haiku (1955), The Four Seasons (1958), Cherry Blossoms (1960), Haiku Harvest (1962), trans. Peter Beilenson (final volume completed by Harry Behn) - Each volume has 200+ haiku plus original decorations, arranged around the seasons (even the third, despite the title). In general, Beilenson does a decent job -- I rarely go "you just completely misread that." On the other wing, unlike the others below he sticks to 5-7-5 syllables in English, and to fill out the form he adds interpretive words -- some justifiable by way of setting the scene more clearly or reproducing something of the original poet's voice, but just as often ... not so much. The first and best volume is legally available here (note that it reproduces the odd layout, where the long middle line was broken in two by the typography of a narrow collumn). (English only)
Haiku (1952, 2003), trans. R.H. Blyth, ed. Peter Washington - A recent selection from Blyth's landmark collections, divided into ten topical sections. Blyth's translations are generally literally accurate and as stripped down as the originals -- in some cases more so, to the point where particles/inflections of emotion can get lost in the shuffle. More problematic, to my ear, is that he makes every poet sound the same -- and Issa at his best, in particular, does not sound like, say, Basho or Buson. No more does Shiki. But otherwise, a pretty good introductory volume. As for Washington's experiments, relegated to the back, at snipping lines from modern poems and declaring them found haiku, the less the said the better. (English only)
Haiku: The Poetry of Nature (2002), ed. David Cobb, trans. R.H. Blyth, David Cobb with Akiko Sakaguchi, and others - A brightly and generously illustrated (something from the British Museum every page) selection, arranged by the four seasons. More than half the translations are Blyth updated by Cobb and his collaborator, but there's a variety of hands at work. In general, they work well, but I sometimes quibbled with the emphasis (I didn't correlate quibbles with translators). An excellent gift book. (English, romaji, and kanji)
A Haiku Menagerie: Living Creatures in Poems and Prints (1992), trans. Stephen Aldiss with Fumiko and Akira Yamamoto - Another poem + art book, this one much less colorful as they are more subdued woodblock prints from books (some reproduced in black-and-white) rather than the bright ukiyo-e prints of the previous book. The translations are ... okay. I honestly cannot explain why, but they are all too often are just sort of there. I mean, even when Blyth strips the verse down too much, he at least the lines are still pulling with tension, and that's often lacking here. I dunno. OTOH, the collection is refreshing in that it's not a seasonal but biological arrangement: the sections are "Walkers," "Flyers," "Crawlers," and "Swimmers" -- kudos for this, as kigo notwithstanding, haiku are not entirely about the seasons. (English and kanji)
Classic Haiku: A Master's Selection (1991), trans. Yuzuru Miura - This isn't one of the recent acquisitions, but I haven't mentioned it before. It is, hands down, my favorite haiku collection, mostly for the excellent translations and selection (which has only some of the Usual Suspects), but also for the sumi-e decorations. The arrangement is by the five seasons -- for in haiku tradition, the New Year is a separate time of year. Highly recommended. (English, romaji, and kanji)
---L.
Obligatory disclaimer: I'm far from expert in Japanese haiku, but I can recognize a couple dozen popular ones and am comfortable enough with the language to Have Opinions about translations. My judgment of the accuracy of books with only English text is based on these touchstones; those with Japanese text, I read both texts, arguing or nodding as the case may be.
Japanese Haiku (1955), The Four Seasons (1958), Cherry Blossoms (1960), Haiku Harvest (1962), trans. Peter Beilenson (final volume completed by Harry Behn) - Each volume has 200+ haiku plus original decorations, arranged around the seasons (even the third, despite the title). In general, Beilenson does a decent job -- I rarely go "you just completely misread that." On the other wing, unlike the others below he sticks to 5-7-5 syllables in English, and to fill out the form he adds interpretive words -- some justifiable by way of setting the scene more clearly or reproducing something of the original poet's voice, but just as often ... not so much. The first and best volume is legally available here (note that it reproduces the odd layout, where the long middle line was broken in two by the typography of a narrow collumn). (English only)
Haiku (1952, 2003), trans. R.H. Blyth, ed. Peter Washington - A recent selection from Blyth's landmark collections, divided into ten topical sections. Blyth's translations are generally literally accurate and as stripped down as the originals -- in some cases more so, to the point where particles/inflections of emotion can get lost in the shuffle. More problematic, to my ear, is that he makes every poet sound the same -- and Issa at his best, in particular, does not sound like, say, Basho or Buson. No more does Shiki. But otherwise, a pretty good introductory volume. As for Washington's experiments, relegated to the back, at snipping lines from modern poems and declaring them found haiku, the less the said the better. (English only)
Haiku: The Poetry of Nature (2002), ed. David Cobb, trans. R.H. Blyth, David Cobb with Akiko Sakaguchi, and others - A brightly and generously illustrated (something from the British Museum every page) selection, arranged by the four seasons. More than half the translations are Blyth updated by Cobb and his collaborator, but there's a variety of hands at work. In general, they work well, but I sometimes quibbled with the emphasis (I didn't correlate quibbles with translators). An excellent gift book. (English, romaji, and kanji)
A Haiku Menagerie: Living Creatures in Poems and Prints (1992), trans. Stephen Aldiss with Fumiko and Akira Yamamoto - Another poem + art book, this one much less colorful as they are more subdued woodblock prints from books (some reproduced in black-and-white) rather than the bright ukiyo-e prints of the previous book. The translations are ... okay. I honestly cannot explain why, but they are all too often are just sort of there. I mean, even when Blyth strips the verse down too much, he at least the lines are still pulling with tension, and that's often lacking here. I dunno. OTOH, the collection is refreshing in that it's not a seasonal but biological arrangement: the sections are "Walkers," "Flyers," "Crawlers," and "Swimmers" -- kudos for this, as kigo notwithstanding, haiku are not entirely about the seasons. (English and kanji)
Classic Haiku: A Master's Selection (1991), trans. Yuzuru Miura - This isn't one of the recent acquisitions, but I haven't mentioned it before. It is, hands down, my favorite haiku collection, mostly for the excellent translations and selection (which has only some of the Usual Suspects), but also for the sumi-e decorations. The arrangement is by the five seasons -- for in haiku tradition, the New Year is a separate time of year. Highly recommended. (English, romaji, and kanji)
---L.