Basho and His Interpreters Selected Hokku with Commentary [Paperback]

This book has a dual purpose. The first is to present in a new English translation 255 representative hokku (or haiku) poems of Matsuo Basho (1644-94), the Japanese poet who is generally considered the most influential figure in the history of the genre. The second is to make available in English a wide spectrum of Japanese critical commentary on the poems over the last three hundred years. The first book in a Western language that conveys the richness, range, genius, and power of Basho's poetry. . . . A gem of a work. Makoto Ueda is Professor of Japanese at Stanford University.