The Year of My Life, Second Edition: A Translation of Issa's Oraga Haru

The Year of My Life: A Translation of Issa’s Oraga Haru by Nobuyuki Yuasa brings one of Japan’s most beloved haiku poets into vivid English, capturing both the poignancy of his life and the deceptive simplicity of his art. First published a decade earlier and here extensively revised, Yuasa’s translation refines Issa’s voice—infusing colloquial immediacy, descriptive clarity, and nuanced interpretation that honors the layered meanings in the poetry. Issa (1763–1827), born Kobayashi Yatarō i...