Haiku Inspirations: Poems and Meditations on Nature and Beauty (Inspirations) - Hardcover

Tom Lowenstein

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1844832961 ISBN 13: 9781844832965

Publisher: Duncan Baird Publishers, 2006

Synopsis

Brimming with insights, and featuring sparkling new translations of 50 of the most superb haikus ever written, this opulent collection captures the spirit of the form and opens up its beauty to a whole new audience. Haiku emerged within a great flowering of Japanese arts a thousand years ago, including calligraphy and ink painting, and haiku blended with them to create poetry that is as close to the visual image as language can come. These gloriously illustrated pages trace haiku’s most profound, thought-provoking, and imaginative themes, including: Zen Buddhism; the life of the poet; the Japanese court; the cities of Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo, where the style flourished; the beauty of the landscape; the status of women; and the ever-fascinating samurai.

About this title

About the Author

Tom Lowenstein is an anthropologist, cultural historian and poet.  His previous books include Buddhist Inspirations and several collections of poetry.  In addition to the chapters on  Symbol and Belief and The Poet's World, he has written more than 50 new translations of haiku poems for Haiku Inspirations.

Dr. Victoria James, co-author of the book, is a journalist.  She lived in Tokyo for five years, working as Arts Editor of The Japan Times and spending two years studying Japanese as a Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation scholar.  She contributed the chapters on Society and Court Life, Nature, and Arts and Culture.

Edition details

• Publisher: Duncan Baird Publishers
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1844832961
• ISBN 13: 9781844832965
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160