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Book of the Week: A History of Haiku, Volume Two

In this book, published in 1964, R.H. Blyth traces the history of haiku from Issa to the 1960s. Some of the chapters are on: Poets of Issa’s Time, Shiki: The Haiku Poet, The New Haiku, Modern Haiku, The “Best “ Modern Haiku, and World Haiku. R.H. Blyth (Reginald Horace Blyth, 1898–1964) was an English author who is most famous for his writings on Zen and on haiku poetry.

Lead the horse slowly
The Spring moon
Is shining on his back

— Watsujin, 1758-1836

Beads of dew run about,
One tiny drop
Remains behind

— Bosha, 1900 – 1941

A man sowing
Barley,
Modestly

— Awaji-jo

You can read the entire book in the THF Digital Library.

Do you have a chapbook published in 2015 or earlier that you would like featured as a Book of the Week? Contact us for details. Haiku featured in the Book of the Week Archive are selected by THF Digital Librarian Dan Campbell and are used with permission.

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