tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1152379415853573241.post70778529700671102..comments2024-02-13T12:11:57.507+09:00Comments on Edo - the EDOPEDIA -: Buson - Yosa BusonGabi Grevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16362456518166174106noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1152379415853573241.post-85747629591182381812014-05-20T07:18:52.724+09:002014-05-20T07:18:52.724+09:00W.S. Merwin's book of Buson's haiku had el...W.S. Merwin's book of Buson's haiku had elements I liked and disliked. I agree that he is too wordy, too unhaiku. But he's not a haiku poet. I noticed in his latest work "Moon Before Morning" he's tried to slip in a haiku on page 6. It's still not concise enough, but I think that's what I appreciated about his work on Buson. He's a very Western-based writer who uses a full range of Western writing to get at haiku. As haiku, yes, he's missed it, but as poetry, I enjoyed it very much. I won't quote Buson from him, but I enjoyed it from this other, non-haiku, point of view.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14992232221672403681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1152379415853573241.post-1691664216698308762013-07-02T12:47:29.197+09:002013-07-02T12:47:29.197+09:00When I saw the venerable poet W.S. Merwin as co-tr...When I saw the venerable poet W.S. Merwin as co-translator I thought, "This is going to be great." I was sadly disappointed by these "translations" of 18th century master Yosa Buson. The renditions are wordy, clumsy, explanatory, not really haiku at all. I was really embarrassed by this book for Buson's sake.<br /><br />For the fun of it, I did a syllable count of one of the longer renditions. 34 syllables to translate (rather, "explain") a terse 17-syllable (actually 17 onji, not really syllables) Japanese original! You can see the vast disparity between the original Japanese (romaji transliterations), which takes up a very little space on the printed page, and the unwieldly English versions.<br /><br />I have heard Japanese poets recite haiku. They truly are single-breath poems that whip by in a few moments. English language haiku are best when they emulate this aesthetic. The translations in this book do not do so.<br /><br />The poems in this book are really Western poems based upon haiku, but they are not haiku. They completely lack the concise impact of the originals. They actually violate the true haikai spirit.<br /><br />Edith Shiffert's volume of Buson translations, "Haiku Master Buson," are better but not great. I'm still waiting for a high quality Buson haiku volume. It's amazing that relatively so little attention has been paid to this haiku giant, one of the "big four" haiku poets of traditional Japan. <br /><br /><br />By Richard C. Stclair <br /><br />More discussion about the book at AMAZON<br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/review/RJLWBYPD9P7BW/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1556594267&channel=detail-glance&nodeID=283155&store=books#wasThisHelpful<br /><br />Gabi Grevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16362456518166174106noreply@blogger.com