The Penguin Book of Japanese Verse

by Various and Geoffrey Bownas

Poetry remains a living part of the culture of Japan today. The clich s of everyday speech are often to be traced to famous ancient poems, and the traditional forms of poetry are widely known and loved. The congenial attitude comes from a poetical history of about a millennium and a half. This classic collection of verse therefore contains poetry from the earliest, primitive period, through the Nara, Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi and Edo periods, ending...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140585273
• ISBN13: 9780140585278
• Release Date: October 1986
• Publisher: Puffin Books
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

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I stumbled across this book at a garage sale in southside Chicago. Though then 15 years old, it still had its cellophane wrapping intact. I pity the people who had it for so long and never peeked in, because it is a beautiful collection of poetry. It samples a wide range, from around 1000 a.d. to the 20th century (much of it tanka and haiku). At around 200 pages the book is a bit short for the task, but what is here is superbly rendered, and many of these poems can fill an afternoon with reveries. I have taken this book with me everwhere.