It was, on the other hand, an incurable folly of mine to think that, had I come here in autumn, I would have had a greater poetic success, for that only proved the poverty of my mind. Some of their poems are included too.įor Basho the landscape is rich in culture: It was by a singular stroke of genius that an ancient writer pointed out that the autumn was the best season to visit this beach, for it seemed to me that the scene excelled in loneliness and isolation at that season. Basho aimed to combine poetry and prose, he had a reputation as a poet and was accompanied at different stages by, well, I suppose wandering apprentice poets attempting to hone their craft by hanging about with a mastercraftsman, some notable wordsmith or other.
Deep Road to the Narrow North is the longest at forty-six printed pages. The translation contains five travel sketches. Even while I was getting ready.I was already dreaming of the full moon rising over the islands of Matsushima. The gods seemed to have possessed my soul and turned it inside out, and roadside images seemed to invite me from every corner, so that it was impossible for me to stay idle at home. No sooner had the spring mist begun to rise over the field than I wanted to be on the road again to cross the barrier-gate of Shirakawa in due time. Naturally I never did get my hands on the modern book but at my local library there was the penguin translation of Basho's book. It was about a travel book in which the author retraced the footsteps of Matsuo Basho's journey through seventeenth century Japan told in The Narrow Road to the Deep North. A long time ago I read a book review in the newspaper.
0 kommentar(er)
