tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5849270578857708223.post6052777575521812669..comments2023-12-05T03:34:14.680-05:00Comments on <b>Issa's Untidy Hut</b>: Roberta Beary: nothing left to sayIssa's Untidy Huthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07352841590717991698noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5849270578857708223.post-37870071906388130792010-03-07T08:57:41.292-05:002010-03-07T08:57:41.292-05:00Charles and Greg, glad you liked that one ...
Lyl...Charles and Greg, glad you liked that one ...<br /><br />Lyle, I wonder if it isn't a case of which Basho version is read (and liked) first. In the 1st one you mention, it is almost as if the crow has brought autumn with him or, more specifically, has brought the revelation of "ah, it's autumn" to the viewer/reader. The second, Rexroth's, which is fine, seems more almost a philosophic statement. Still, I'm not sure I would have thought this about Rexroth's without having seen them both together.<br /><br />Rather like viewing paintings, isn't it. <br /><br />I see from <a href="http://lilliputreview.blogspot.com/2010/03/conquistador-issas-sunday-service-45.html" rel="nofollow">your excellent post</a> that we have come to the exact opposite conclusions! Excellent, I believe Basho might enjoy that. It certainly speaks to the open spaces not being empty.<br /><br />I think many of us have come to Eastern poetry via Rexroth and I am very thankful for it. I love your idea of the short forms being epic; you'll never get an argument from me. In addition, Yosano Akiko is one of my favorite of all poets - <a href="http://lilliputreview.blogspot.com/search?q=yosano" rel="nofollow">lots of posts</a> contain translations of her work. I will be putting together a small chapbook of these, translated by Dennis Maloney, to be published in the Modest Proposal series, later this year.Issa's Untidy Huthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07352841590717991698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5849270578857708223.post-85298750389120591262010-03-05T23:34:28.506-05:002010-03-05T23:34:28.506-05:00that "empty nest" haiku is definitely a ...that "empty nest" haiku is definitely a strong one. Roberta is one of those rare poets who can't seem to come up with a haiku I don't like.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15344808703550376121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5849270578857708223.post-19311342849304206752010-03-05T22:40:16.704-05:002010-03-05T22:40:16.704-05:00I liked the small exercise you did here with rever...I liked the small exercise you did here with reversing the order of the lines in the nest haiku. I also find that the poem with the original line order (as it's given here) speaks to me more immediately than it does if the line "nothing left to say" is put at the end of the poem, though I still found the poem effective with the reversed line order. Quieter maybe, though not all of the energy dispersed.<br /><br />There's the famous Basho haiku:<br /><br />A crow on a bare branch --<br />Autumn evening<br /><br />When Rexroth translated this one, he reversed the order of Basho's lines, so his translation read:<br /><br />Autumn evening --<br />A crow on a bare branch<br /><br />Rexroth's version was the first translation I read of the poem, and I've always preferred it the other translations I've seen, which generally keep the line order as it was in Basho's original. Rexroth is maybe an exception in this regard, as a translator -- he had an ear and eye as keen as those of most of the poets he translated, and had (usually) good instincts about when to play a little with the translation.<br /><br />One of the first articles I wrote in my blog, several years ago, was about Japanese poetry and some of the translations I've come across. It's <a href="http://aburningpatience.blogspot.com/2005/05/as-color-passes-from-petal.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>, if you care to take a look.<br /><br />Enjoyed reading this.Lyle Daggetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10731915540520704368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5849270578857708223.post-50819543026448544312010-03-05T11:05:11.890-05:002010-03-05T11:05:11.890-05:00The empty nest haiku was partiuclarly poignant for...The empty nest haiku was partiuclarly poignant for me. Powerful piece for sure.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.com