A Gift of Haiku

My friend C., about whom I wrote on 2/16/10 as a great reader, with whom I have had almost 40 years of wonderful book conversations, and who kindly contributed two guest posts to this blog on 10/17/10 and 10/18/10, is, as the 10/18/10 post said, a great appreciator of Japanese literature, and especially of haiku. A few days ago I received in the mail a beautiful Christmas gift from her: “Haiku: An Anthology of Japanese Poems” (Shambhala, 2009), edited and translated by Stephen Addiss, Fumiko Yamamoto, and Akira Yamamoto. This is a lovely collection that can be read cover to cover or, better, dipped into, savored, and returned to often. It contains haiku by some of the most well known poets, such as Basho and Busan, as well as by many others. The physicality of the book itself adds to the pleasure of reading, with its small, easy-to-hold size, sturdy hardback solidity, beautifully illustrated front cover, well-spaced poems, and lovely black and white drawings throughout the book. It is a well-made art object (thank you, Shambhala Publications), worthy of the poems it contains. The editors provide a short, useful introduction and, at the end of the book, information about each of the poets and artists. But the heart of the book is, of course, the haiku themselves. Each poem is a small masterpiece: vivid, visual, evocative, philosophical, meditative, and moving. I have been reading slowly, struck by the beauty of each poem, and trying to absorb both their words and their meanings. Knowing how much these haiku have meant to my friend C. adds to my own appreciation of them. Thank you, C., for this perfect gift.