Narrow Road to the Interior: And Other Writings

by Matsuo Basho, Sam Hamill (Translator)

Overview

A masterful translation of one of the most-loved classics of Japanese literature—part travelogue, part haiku collection, part account of spiritual awakening

Bashō (1644–1694)—a great luminary of Asian literature who elevated the haiku to an art form of utter simplicity and intense spiritual beauty—is renowned in the West as the author of Narrow Road to the Interior, a travel diary of linked prose and haiku recounting his journey through the far northern provinces of Japan.

This edition features a masterful translation of this celebrated work. It also includes an insightful introduction by translator Sam Hamill detailing Bashō’s life and the art of haiku, three other important works by Bashō—Travelogue of Weather-Beaten Bones, The Knapsack Notebook, and Sarashina Travelogue—and two hundred and fifty of his finest haiku, making this the most complete single-volume collection of Bashō’s writings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611806892
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	05/14/2019
Series:	Shambhala Pocket Library
Edition description:	Translatio
Pages:	248
Sales rank:	387,762
Product dimensions:	4.20(w) x 6.70(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

MATSUO BASHO (1644-1694) was the greatest of the Japanese haiku poets, whose genius elevated the haiku to an art form of intense spiritual beauty.

SAM HAMILL (1943-2018) published over twenty books translated from the Chinese, Japanese, Greek, Latin, and Estonian as well as fifteen books of original poetry and literary essays. He was the recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest fund, the Andrew Mellon Fund, and the U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"One of the undisputed masterpieces of Japanese Literature. . . . Hamill achieves a kind of luminosity of language that I find unparalleled in other translations of this work."—Burton Watson, Columbia University

"Lucid and engaging, this translation, a gift of careful attention, does not separate poetry from spiritual practice. Basho becomes our guide on the way of insight. Such is the magic of a fine translation."—Margaret Gibson, Tricycle

Editorial Reviews

"One of the undisputed masterpieces of Japanese Literature. . . . Hamill achieves a kind of luminosity of language that I find unparalleled in other translations of this work."—Burton Watson, Columbia University



"Lucid and engaging, this translation, a gift of careful attention, does not separate poetry from spiritual practice. Basho becomes our guide on the way of insight. Such is the magic of a fine translation."—Margaret Gibson, Tricycle

From the Publisher