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Rating: 
Summary: this is haiku
Review: I bought this book for three reasons: a pre-existing love for Issa's poetry, the picture on the front cover, and the review by Ramon Melendez. Really, I have little to add to his review since he sums up the book very nicely. I haven't even finished reading it...What I would like to write are my first impressions. It was a delight simply to hold this book in my hands: it's size and shape are unique, reflecting the uniqueness of the words and worlds inside. Those colours on the cover reflect, perhaps, the colours of Issas "canvas" as he composes beatiful poems, so visual, delicate and sensitive. This book even smelled nice - yes, it is the nicest smelling book I've ever smelled. Sam Hamill's translations are wonderful: he (successfully) attemps to retain the intended rhythmic and visual effect in the original Japanese poetry - so very little (if anything) is lost in the translation (as far as I am aware). Comparing these translations with some others I have read, subtleties become apparent in Hamill's translations where others have left me confused and disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: One MUST judge a book by its cover!
Review: I bought this book for three reasons: a pre-existing love for Issa's poetry, the picture on the front cover, and the review by Ramon Melendez. Really, I have little to add to his review since he sums up the book very nicely. I haven't even finished reading it...What I would like to write are my first impressions. It was a delight simply to hold this book in my hands: it's size and shape are unique, reflecting the uniqueness of the words and worlds inside. Those colours on the cover reflect, perhaps, the colours of Issas "canvas" as he composes beatiful poems, so visual, delicate and sensitive. This book even smelled nice - yes, it is the nicest smelling book I've ever smelled. Sam Hamill's translations are wonderful: he (successfully) attemps to retain the intended rhythmic and visual effect in the original Japanese poetry - so very little (if anything) is lost in the translation (as far as I am aware). Comparing these translations with some others I have read, subtleties become apparent in Hamill's translations where others have left me confused and disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: this is haiku
Review: Look no further, you've found it!
Rating:
Summary: A book of a rare beautiful simplicity
Review: This is one of the most beautiful books I have read. Issa's story is moving, deeply humane yet not tainted by any melodramatic tendencies. Framed in the Japanese tradition of haiku poetry his poems to his daughter are tender and moving and reveal a deep appreciation of life, beauty and simplicity.
Rating:
Summary: A book of a rare beautiful simplicity
Review: This is one of the most beautiful books I have read. Issa's story is moving, deeply humane yet not tainted by any melodramatic tendencies. Framed in the Japanese tradition of haiku poetry his poems to his daughter are tender and moving and reveal a deep appreciation of life, beauty and simplicity.
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