Saturday, February 20, 2016

Book Review - Lips Too Chilled, Matsuo Basho

Lips Too Chilled, Matsuo Basho (Image Source - Google)
A book that is just as big as the form of poetry – haiku – it carries. In fact, it is wrong to even term it as a book. It is actually a booklet. Nothing fresh about it either (which made me take away one star from the rating). All the haiku poems in this booklet are randomly chosen from the book ‘On Love and Barley’, which carries the works of Basho. So, if you want to read the works of Basho, pick up either ‘On Love and Barley’ or ‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North’.

As for the contents though, it is filled with the mesmerizing magic of Basho, which can transport the reader to the very scene that he is depicting. Lucien Stryk has done a good job in translating the works, carrying the spirit, wit and loveliness of haiku poetry, though not their structural rule and grammar. But what matters at the end of it all is the fun and bliss of reading haiku, isn’t it?!

A lovely sample for anyone getting his/her first taste of haiku, especially those by the genius Basho!

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