The Japanese Haiku
by Kenneth Yasuda
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Book Summary Information
Author: Kenneth YasudaForeword: Robert B. Hall
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-04
ISBN: 0804834601
Number of pages: 296
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Book Reviews of The Japanese Haiku
Book Review: Brilliant offbeat classic about haiku
Summary: 5 Stars
Kenneth Yasuda develops and demonstrates an implementation of haiku in English in this book, originally presented as his doctoral dissertation. The functional and critical analysis of the nature of the haiku is the best I've seen so far, and because he is translating the haiku into a correspondence with English poetry, there is also some fine discussion of general theory and of Western poets affected by the haiku, specifically Imagists. One point that came up almost immediately, and it hadn't really occurred to me before, is that any poetic form which eschews metaphor requires some sort of defense--although I have always taken for granted that haiku is a legitimate poetic form, even though metaphor is largely absent. Nevertheless, I also agreed with those who assert that metaphor is the sine qua non of poetry. This highlights one of the strengths of the clear presentation of the material, I found myself forced to clean up some messy areas in my thinking on several subjects. The examples chosen to illustrate points are generally excellent.
I found over 30 pages worth marking for future reference and made marginal notes frequently. I applied his critical tools to several of my old haiku and my sole tanka (made at a very young age) which I turned into a sort of limerick. The results were not surprising--they were all lacking (save one) and I could see where I missed the boat or in the case of the one good haiku, I identified its slender merits. The tanka brings up an interesting point, I rhymed it instinctively because limericks and nursery rhymes were the only poetry I knew. Encouraged by his Japanese mentors. Dr. Yasuda proposes that the appropriate form for haiku in English is to rhyme the first and third lines, and employ other related devices from English prosody and a very loose notion of 'meter' in the creation of haiku. These are not paths which people working in the form have generally followed, and until I read this book, fancied I was something of a pioneer, shoehorning a form from Japanese into a rhyming, loosely metric English poem (with closer affinities to 'There once was a lady of Nantucket' than Basho or Shelley). Perhaps my youthful instinct, which equated short rhyming poems with humor/doggerel, may be one reason that poets currently avoid rhyme in their haiku. Now, for what it's worth only Yasuda's samples of feminine rhyme have an accidentally humorous sound to my ears. Since there are already so many other constraints in haiku already, I suspect most poets choose not to hobble themselves any more. The close integration of discussion of the nature and art of haiku, along with the author's implementation of haiku in English, can make it very difficult to untangle his original content from more generally accepted Western norms and notions about the form.
As a consequence of this difficulty, it would be best if a reader had some knowledge of English prosody and working knowledge of haiku from some other source before tackling this book. There are subtle distinctions and some innovations in his method, so this probably isn't a good book for an absolute beginner.
There's also evidence of at least one first rate literary mystery, the author acknowledges assistance from Clark Ashton Smith, a one-time aspiring Poeish poet and quirky horror writer, who as near as I can tell had renounced writing and become a reclusive sculptor long before Dr. Yasuda could have worked with him.
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