Haiku Books

Some of my favourite haiku books

Aware, A Haiku Primer by Betty Drevniok online pdf of out-of-print work

Chrysanthemum Love by Fay Aoyagi a wonderful collection of modern haiku

Collected Haiku of Yosa Buson translated by W S Merwin and Takako Lento  Together with Basho, one of the four great masters of haiku

Disjunctive Dragonfly by Richard Gilbert  very important guide to techniques in modern haiku with wonderful examples drawn from the best contemporary poets

Far Beyond the Field: Haiku by Japanese Women compiled and edited by Makoto Ueda

Haiku: An Anthology of Japanese Poems by Stephen Addiss, Fumiko Yamamoto and Akira Yamamoto.

The Haiku Anthology edited by Cor van der Heuvel

The Haiku Handbook by William J Higginson.  How to write, share and teach haiku.

Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years edited by Jim Kacian wonderful collection

Haiku and Senryu by Charlotte Digregorio  excellent advice on haiku writing

The Heart of Haiku by Jane Hirshfield  currently only available in Kindle format

A Hidden Pond.  Anthology of Modern Haiku  Edited by Koko Kato

The Japanese Haiku by Kenneth Yasuda

Mountain Tasting: Zen Haiku by Santōka Taneda by John Stevens (tr.)

One Hundred Frogs: From Renga to Haiku in English by Hiroaki Sato

Poems of Consciousness by Richard Gilbert  an academic approach to haiku and very interesting analysis of classical and modern work

Pure Land Haiku: The Art of Priest Issa by David Lanoue

The River of Heaven by Robert Aitken a Zen look at the poems of Bashō, Buson, Issa and Shiki

Seeds from a Birch Tree by Clark Strand a formerZen monk looks at haiku as a form of spiritual practice with an emphasis on the 5-7-5 form

Snow Falling from a Bamboo Leaf: The Art of Haiku by Hiag Akmakjian  very insightful analysis of the haiku form

The Sound of Water by Sam Hamill  a small book of classic haiku

Three Simple Lines by Natalie Goldberg

A White Tea Bowl by Mitsu Suzuki  haiku poems from the widow of Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki Roshi.

Writing and Enjoying Haiku by Jane Reichhold  excellent guide to haiku writing from a revered haiku writer and teacher

The Zen of Creativity by John Daido Loori  a wonderful guide to finding creativity from the still point

A Zen Wave: Basho’s Haiku and Zen by Robert Aitken  a look at some of Bashō’s best known poems with a commentary by a revered western teacher of Zen

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