On Love and Barley: Haiku of Basho

It is apparently very difficult to find a good translation of Basho. I am delighted that I did not know this when I was younger, and fell in love with Basho and his haiku as part of my discovery of poetry. I am a little bit sorry now that I have discovered it when older since I have to worry about whether what I am reading is *really* Basho or whether it is just Lucian Stryk making misuse of the patina of Basho's reputation. Whatever. I consciously chose this translation because I tend to like Stryk as a poet. I guess that as a reader I prefer the less technically accurate translation from a poet than I do a more perfect version that is lacking in music. Since it is impossible to really translate poetry in perfect mirror image, I would rather the kinds of mistakes that other poets make. This is not to say that there is not some value in truth, but more to say that since I am not in a position to judge the truth and since there seems to be no universal consensus, I decided to just enjoy this book as written. It has at least reminded me what I have loved about Basho for these many years. It has also reminded me to renew my acquaintance with Stryk. Be aware that there is some debate about the translation, but also be aware that there is music in this work that nothing can kill. Lovely little things. 3 Year by year, the monkey's mask reveals the monkey.

The best translations of Basho's work.....Beautiful. A great poet and someone who seems to understand Basho.

Basho book on table-Cezanne fruit bowl tooIt's time to party