
"In classical haiku, one of the most constrained poetic forms, monkeys and herons and trees and the moon can stand in for the entire world. The best of these tiny poems can be at once specific and timeless, questioning and assertive, funny and sad." - Sarah Manguso, The...

An anthology of haikus--brief poems--by three Japanese masters. They are Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) and Yosa Buson (1716-1783). A sample from the latter: "You go / I stay / two autumns."

The Essential Haiku brings together Robert Hass's beautifully fresh translations of the three great masters of the Japanese haiku tradition: Matsuo Basho (1644-94), the ascetic and seeker, and the haiku poet most familiar to English readers; Yosa Buson (1716-83), the artist,...
