Wild Ways : Zen Poems of Ikkyu (Companions for the Journey)

Rating:
Summary: The Wild Ways of Crazy Cloud
Review: Ikkyu's poetry is extremely wide in scope, ranging from poems expressing his understanding and experiences of love and sex, to poems which express "standard" Mahayana/Zen doctrine, to poems which protest the way in which society treats the poor and vulnerable. Mr. Stevens does an admirable job of selecting poems for this volume which are representative of this range. He provides a brief but useful introduction, which gives enough information to understand the cultural setting of Ikkyu and his poetry, without intruding upon the reader's own appreciation and enjoyment of Ikkyu's work. "Skeletons", which Mr. Stevens renders accurately into a combined prose/poetry piece, is particulary interesting, as it is in this work that we see Ikkyu teach his form of Zen in a way that is both instructive in content and beautiful in form.

Rating:
Summary: a work of art
Review: This is my favorite Ikkyu translation and collection. John Stevens captures Ikkyu's wry wit and his earthy sensibilities, his concurrent plunges into deep despair, and his profound spirituality. The presentation of the book is delightful as well. This is a tiny book. You can carry it in your pocket. It has lovely artwork intermingled with the poetry. I read this in one sitting, and then over and over.

Rating:
Summary: a work of art
Review: This is my favorite Ikkyu translation and collection. John Stevens captures Ikkyu's wry wit and his earthy sensibilities, his concurrent plunges into deep despair, and his profound spirituality. The presentation of the book is delightful as well. This is a tiny book. You can carry it in your pocket. It has lovely artwork intermingled with the poetry. I read this in one sitting, and then over and over.