Zen Haiku

The cover itself - so beautifully - lets the reader know the jewels to come. In a sparse, delicate writing style, these haiku take us through dawn to dusk. The illustrations - wood block prints, scenes from painted folding screens - create a haiga in the mind. If you can procure a copy, please do so. It will enrich your life immeasurably.

This book is beautiful not only for the wonderful poetry but also forthe wonderful artwork throughout. Here's one of my favorite haikus from the book:A fallen flowerFlew back to its perchA butterflyThen on the opposing page there is a wonderful chinese painting of a butterfly amongst some flowers.The haiku included here (and there are many!) are so beautiful, they make me slow down and breath when I read them. Here's another wonderful one:Without a brushThe willow paints the wind.Simply wonderful. This would make a fantastic gift for the nature lover or the lover of haiku.

Poetry is soppy, Zen is impractical and Orientals don't think or feel like the rest of mankind - three myths demolished in one elegant little book. Every poem breathes humanity and warmth, and the pictures complement them beautifully. A translator should above all respect and preserve the intent of the original author; Clements' fine, perceptive translations allow the underlying emotions and sensations of the works room to breathe, and give the reader space to make his own interpretation. These are poets who, attempting detachment from the world, have stood back far enough to observe it and themselves with loving exactness. Beautiful in every way.

A book to savor. If you're familiar with haiku, you keep feeling a shock of recognition when you encounter a favorite redone in Clements's thoughtful lean style. Fresh organization, by time of day. Illustrations well chosen and well reproduced. This would be a fine gift book for a young person you want to interest in poetry.

A beautiful gift book. Each page of three haiku faces breathtaking paintings in the Japanese style. Most of the paintings are of nature, giving a sense of the season as one reads haiku of that season. The combination of painting and haiku gives a much deeper value.