Women Poets of Japan

This all-too-brief collection of poems is wonderful! The only improvements that might be made are: give more than one translation for some of the more difficult poems, and expand the number of poems contained in the collection by a lot! A great book for anyone who likes poetry in general and Japanses poetry in particular.

The poetry expressed in this book, "Women Poets of Japan" reinforces universial commonality of women's issues. A friend of mine asked to scan the book before I had read the work. She immediately discovered a poem that reflected her view on every woman's plight. Needless to say, I promised to loan her the book when I had finished it. The writing is crisp, insightful and moving.

A delightful and handy compilation of works from japanese women poets, from K. Rexroth, the author of the book One Hundred Poems from the Japanese, with the cooperation of Ikuko Atsumi.A must for those interested in a general overview of Japanese poetry, this little jewel shines with the light of the Classic poets (from Princess Nukada, 7th Century, to Abutsu-ni, A.D.1209-1283). A sample:"I fell asleep thinking of him,"And he came to me."If I had known it was only a dream"I would have never awakened...". (Ono No Komachi, 9th Century)Then we get a good sample of the Tokugawa Haiku poets, from the 16th to the 18th Centuries, as well as Modern Tanka and Haiku poets. The book also provides a view of the modern free verse poets of Japan and, finally, some anonymous Geisha songs, such as:"From the dream where we made lovemy laughter called me backand I searched all around memy eyes full of tears......."Finally the book ends with helpful biographical notes about the poets and a basic survey of Japanese poetry and the influence of the women poets.Very highly recommended to those that want an introduction to the wonderful Japanese poems, which are timeless..........

This collection of seventy-seven accomplished women poets spans 1200 years of poetic achievement. It must have been difficult to select representative poets and their poems but this volume succeeds in conveying the aesthetic of the classic poets, haiku poets of the Tokugawa, modern tanka and haiku poets, along with the free verse poets and a section of anonymous geisha songs.The name of each poet has been drawn by master calligrapher, Machi Shunso and adds immeasurably to the reading experience.How these poems resonate through the ages!From Enomoto Seifu-Jo (1731-1814):Everyone is asleepThere is nothing to come betweenthe moon and me.