Selected Haiku Books:
The Haiku Anthology: Haiku and Senryu in English. Edited by Cor van den Heuvel; Third edition, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York. An anthology presenting over 850 of the best English language haiku, senryu and related works by American and Canadian poets.
The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku. William J. Higginson and Penny Harter; New York: McGraw-Hill, 1985/Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1989. A general history of Japanese haiku; modern haiku; the haiku movement in English; the art and craft of haiku; how to teach haiku.
HAIKU/Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, 4 volumes, by R. H. Blyth, 1981, Hokuseido Press, Tokyo, Japan. Translations of the best of Japanese classical haiku. A set of books beloved by many haiku poets, full of insight into the Japanese spirit and culture. Volume 1 discusses the spiritual origins of haiku history and religion, general history. Other volumes contain a wealth of translations with commentary. Poems arranged according to the seasons as the Japanese anthologies (saijiki) arrange them.
Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac, William J. Higginson, Kodansha America, Inc., 1996. The first non-Japanese season word dictionary/anthology; contains haiku and senryu from all over the world with explanations of seasonal phenomena and season words (kigo) considered essential by Japanese haiku poets. A valuable reference book for those interested in learning more about season words.
The Haiku Seasons, William J. Higginson, Kodansha America, Inc., 1996; "introduces haiku and the whole range of poetry related to haiku with explanations and examples." (from back cover). Recommended as an introduction to Haiku World.
The Japanese Haiku: Its Essential Nature, History, and Possibilities in English, with selected Examples; by Kenneth Yasuda; Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc., 1957. Analysis of the subtle elements of haiku. The haiku are rhymed, which is less accepted now.
The Genius of Haiku, Readings from R.H.Blyth on poetry, life, and Zen; introduction by James Kirkup; Hokuseido Press, 1995.
The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku, William J. Higginson and Penny Harter. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1985/Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1989. A good, informative book for beginners; good tips for teaching haiku.
A Hidden Pond: Anthology of Modern Haiku, by Koko Kato and David Burleigh; Kadokawa Shoten, 1997; translations of a variety of modern Japanese haiku poets writing today.
Cage of Fireflies: Modern Japanese Haiku, translated by Lucien Stryk, Swallow Press/Ohio University Press, 1993.
Anthology of Modern Japanese Poetry, translated & compiled by Edith Marecombe Shiffert and Yuki Sawa; Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc., 1972.
A Haiku Garden: The Four Seasons in Poems and Prints, by Stephen Addiss with Fumiko and Akira Yamamoto; Weatherhill, Inc., 1996. Haiku arranged according to the seasons with lovely print and brushwork illustrations.
A Haiku Menagerie: Living Creatures in Poems and Prints, by Stephen Addiss with Fumiko and Akira Yamamoto, Weatherhill, Inc., 1992. Charming prints and paintings that show the personality and vitality of each creature.
Something for artists:
Haiga: Takebe Socho and the Haiku-Painting Tradition, by Stephen Addiss with an essay by Fumiko Y. Yamamoto; Marsh Art Gallery, University of Richmond in association with University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1995. Haiku poetry illustrated with brush paintings; the history of the art explained, with examples.
Books for children:
Wind in the Long Grass, William J. Higginson, Simon and Schuster, 1991; an attractive international anthology of illustrated poems that evoke the atmosphere of haiku.
Haiku by the Children, World Children's Haiku Contest 1990, compiled by Japan Airlines; published by JAL Foundation (May be ordered from Japan Airlines).
Haiku Book, Haiku by the World's Children, 1989 by Japan Airlines.
In a Spring Garden, Dial Press, 1965, nice illustrations setting the mood of haiku. Good for all ages.
A Few Flies & I, Poems by Issa, Pantheon Books, 1969; Poems by one of the most beloved Japanese poets. Many of the poems are sympathetic sketches of bugs and the smallest creatures of nature.
How to Read and Write Poetry, Anna Cosman, Franklin Watts, N.Y. 1979; Includes several chapters on haiku.
Individual collections:
Shadow Play: Night Haiku, by Penny Harter, illustrated by Jeffrey Greene; Simon and Schuster, 1994; Evocative poems and atmospheric illustrations that will intrigue children.
Haiku: This Other World, by Richard Wright; edited by Yoshinobu Hakutani and Robert L. Tener; Arcade Publishing Company, New York, 1998. Selections from over 4,000 haiku by black poet and novelist Richard Wright, who discovered haiku in the last 18 months of his life.
Individual Japanese collections:
Mountain Tasting: Zen Haiku by Santoka Taneda, translated and introduced by John Stevens, Weatherhill, Inc., 1980. The spare, unadorned poems of the wandering beggar monk, Santoka.
The Essence of Modern Haiku: 300 Poems by Seishi Yamaguchi, translated by Takashi Kodaira and Alfred H. Marks, Mangajin, Inc., Weatherhill, Inc., 1993; translated poems of one of Japan's great modern haiku masters.
Chiyo-ni: Woman Haiku Master, by Patricia Donegan and Yoshie Ishibashi; Charles E. Tuttle Publishing, Inc., 1998. First English translations of the work of famed woman haiku poet, painter, and Buddhist nun of 1700's.
Red Fuji: Selected Haiku of Yatsuka Ishihara, by William J. Higginson, Tadashi Kondo, and Kristen Deming; published by From Here Press, Santa Fe, NM 87504, P.O. Box 2740, Santa Fe, NW; 1997. A description of the role of a Japanese haiku master, in this caseYatsuka Ishihara, and translations of his haiku.
In-depth reading :
Traces of Dreams: Landscape, Cultural Memory, and the Poetry of Basho, Haruo Shirane, Stanford University Press, 1998. An in-depth look at the evolution of haikai in the Tokugawa era and master poet Matsuo Basho in the context of the era in which he lived.
Sources of Japanese Tradition, Vol. 1, compiled by Ryusaku Tsunoda, Wm. Theodore De Bary, Donald Keene, Columbia University Press, 1958. A chapter on "The Haiku and the Democracy of Poetry in Japan."
One Hundred Frogs: From Renga to Haiku to English, by Hiroaki Sato, Weatherhill, Inc., first edition, 1983. History of Renga linked verse, court poetry, the work of Matsuo Basho; English renga and haiku; translation process discussed; 100 different translations of a single famous Basho poem presented and discussed.
Other related poetry forms:
SENRYU: Poems of the People, calligraphy and illustrations by J.C. Brown; Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc., 1991. Humorous form of short poetry with 5-7-5 syllables related to haiku, mostly concerned with human affairs and foibles.
The Colors of Poetry: Essays on Classic Japanese Verse, by Ooka Makoto, Katydid Books, 1991. Modern Japanese Tanka, by Makoto Ueda, Columbia University Press, 1996.
Tomoshibi (Light): Collected Poetry by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, edited by Marie Philomene and Masako Saito, Weatherhill, Inc., 1991. A glimpse into the world of the Emperor and Empress of Japan through their poetry.
The New Year's Poetry Party at the Imperial Court - Two decades in Postwar Years: 1960-1979; edited by Marie Philomene, The Hokuseido Press, 1983. 481 waka translated by members of the Poetry Society of Japan and others. Waka poetry composed by the Emperor and Empress of Japan and members of the Imperial family on the occasion of the New Year's Poetry Party at the Imperial Court.
Miscellaneous:
A Haiku Path, a history of the Haiku Society of America; published by the Haiku Society of America, c/o Japan Society, Inc., 333 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10017; 1994.
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