Reviews

From the gourd of the purest waters which can reflect the bottomless abyss of the sky, at times, but where often the moon looms, luring & longing as a mysterious lover for whom memories ache to be carved. Wright, in the carriage of haiku, seems a natural, in every sense of the word, as the majority of the writing invokes the bucolic spirit of the art form. The moments are frozen in the strokes of his artistry. Snapshots which would forever chase the path of oblivion if not for these laconic records. As I became familiar with the style of haiku, I realized how devout Wright was to remaining faithful to its origins. For the style is deceptively simple if one has no prior knowledge to the traditions which characterize the style. I realized how in-tuned one must be. How stripped one must seek to be to attain the mindset of the artist. I gained a healthy respect for the art learning about the purposes behind the rhythms, the subject matter, the religious implications, & the internal search involved to evoke the brilliant chiming in harmony with nature & aspects of Zen Buddhism. Wright cannot resist in making the style all his own & the reader would expect nothing less from such a strong voice but indeed he pays a wonderful homage to those who established the art & to the traditions which continue to beckon forth the soul into the woods of our own psyche & into the chasm of eternal nature which will never leave us alone. I for one am glad that it shall never cease. This call shall lead us into true serenity, I find.

elizabethlk's review against another edition

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4.0

Haiku: This Other World by Richard Wright was a fascinating book to read in multiple ways. Many of the haiku themselves were beautiful, funny, or intriguing, and while there is obviously no way I'd love all 817 of them featured I enjoyed a great many of them. The introduction provided by Julia Wright, Richard Wright's daughter, shares many fascinating details about Wright that I wasn't familiar with (from his health struggles to the over four thousand haiku he wrote in the last two years of his life). The notes and afterword from Yoshinobu Hakutani and Robert L. Tener provide so much more information about the history/culture and form/style around haiku than I expected, and it was very interesting to read.

Overall, this was a good book to meander through. I enjoyed the poetry and the extra information was really interesting and educational. Recommended!

autumn_dannay's review against another edition

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3.0

An interesting volume of poetry. All of the poetry is technically and skillfully written. Learning more about Richard Wright was heartbreaking.

vasha's review against another edition

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3.0

A few quite striking poems in here.

lekha's review against another edition

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4.0

Wright truly can write!
Enchanted by the beauty
Of this collection.

Here are a few of my favourites:

The barking of dogs
Is deepening the yellow
Of the sunflowers.

A spring moon so round
That my fingers are itching
To touch its sharp edge.

Suddenly one spring
She did not skip any more,
And her eyes grew grave.

The spring hills grow dim,
Today joining other days,
Days gone, days to come.

August noon hour:
All the objects of the world
Digesting shadows.

mayastone's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

2.0

This book taught me something about myself, I have a limit as to how many Haiku poems I can read before it gets tiresome. The fault is mine not the poets, after all "Haiku" is in the title. Still, I found little here other than someone (mostly) following a pattern.

kristycreads's review against another edition

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4.0

just lovely

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