Category: Japanese & Chinese Masters

A Commentary on Basho’s Hiraizumi

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"Haraizumi" is single passage (aka chapter/haibun) from Basho's The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Ono no Hosomichi) "Poetry is the revelation of a feeling that the poet believes to be interior and personal which the reader recognizes as his own." ~Salvatore Quasimodo Part I: Commentary Bashō's travel journals are some of the earliest examples … Continue reading A Commentary on Basho’s Hiraizumi

China’s Shakespeare, the Poet Du Fu (712-770)

~ Ray Rasmussen ~ 6 Comments

In Brief: painting of Du Fu This post explores Du Fu's poem "Day's End" in terms of the key characteristics of contemporary English-language haibun composition. It also explores the value of modelling the work of writers whose poetry touches you as a way of expanding your writing repertoire. Introduction Some years ago, I was interested … Continue reading China’s Shakespeare, the Poet Du Fu (712-770)

Basho’s Haibun “Hiraizumi”: A Commentary

~ Ray Rasmussen ~ 2 Comments

Field at present day Hiraizumi ruins site, Japan . . . all that remains of soldiers' dreams. Bashō's travel journals, purportedly the earliest examples of haibun, are accounts of his late-in-life walking journeys through Japan. They are often cited as important reading for serious students of the form. More generally, they are held up as … Continue reading Basho’s Haibun “Hiraizumi”: A Commentary