Kwaidan Book Club: "The Narrow Road to the Deep North"

Have an interest in haiku, the Japanese form of poetry? Matsuo Basho is one the most famous haiku artists, becoming renowned internationally and is referred to as the master of haiku. We'll be reading The Narrow Road to the Deep North, learning about his travels, what he saw and his reflection on it through haiku.

This meeting is in-person at Kung Fu Tea at 3348 W Esplanade Ave S, Metairie, LA 70002.

About the Book:

  (Page count: 176 pages)

'It was with awe

That I beheld

Fresh leaves, green leaves,

Bright in the sun'

In his perfectly crafted haiku poems, Basho described the natural world with great simplicity and delicacy of feeling. When he composed The Narrow Road to the Deep North, he was an ardent student of Zen Buddhism, setting off on a series of travels designed to strip away the trappings of the material world and bring spiritual enlightenment. He wrote of the seasons changing, of the smells of the rain, the brightness of the moon, and beauty of the waterfall, through which he sense mysteries of the universe. There’s seventeenth-century travel writing not only chronicle Basho's perilous journeys through Japan, but they also capture his vision of eternity in the transient world around him.

In his lucid translation Nobuyuki Yuasa captures the lyrical qualities of Basho's poetry and prose by using the natural rhythms and language of the contemporary speech. In his introduction, he examines the development of the haibun style in which poetry and prose stand side by side.

About the Author:

Basho, the Japanese poet and diarist, was born in Iga-ueno near Kyoto in 1644. He spent his youth as companion to the son of the local lord, and with him he studied the writing of seventeen-syllable verse. In 1667 he moved to Edo (now Tokyo) where he continued to write verse. He eventually became a recluse, living on the outskirts of Edo in a hut. When he traveled he relied entirely on the hospitality of temples and fellow-poets. In his writings he was strongly influenced by the Zen sect of Buddhism.

Information provided by Amazon and the book's editorial page.