Reviews

Masaoka Shiki: Selected Poems by Burton Watson, Shiki Masaoka

libraryam's review against another edition

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4.0

I'll be revisiting these poems from the bed side table for a long time.

Shiki's work is in turn playful, wry, and deeply contemplative. (I think I prefer Shiki over Basho. Shhh!)

dee_hzz's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

4.0

eely225's review against another edition

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5.0

This is a great distillation of Shiki's unique brand of haiku. I think it's best read slowly, a couple pages at a time. It really serves as an education on what haiku can be and how he changed the genre, especially if you're only familiar with Basho (like I was). The introduction is not overbearing; Watson gives just enough context but does not try to do the interpretive work for you. There's obviously more of Shiki's work out there, but as a slim introduction, this is all I could have hoped for.
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