The Penguin Book of Japanese Verse Book

A comprehensive anthology of Japanese poems from ~300 CE to ~1982.

The Penguin Book of Japanese Verse is a detailed and meticulous collection. This book contains tanka, haiku, and other forms of Japanese poetry. It's well-selected and translated with particular attention to theme, phrasing, and expressions. Translating the original works while keeping these things must not have been easy. Great applause to the late Anthony Thwaite.

My main critique of this book is that some themes and context were not explored further in the footnotes. Though the current footnotes do add great context, they did not go to the extent they should have. Many times I felt that the lack of missing context led me to miss the larger meaning of a poem.

To fully appreciate this collection, it seems that one must already be familiar with Japanese cultural patterns. Shame, as I was expecting more out of this book than what I got.

Still a great read for those who are interested in learning about Japanese culture. The best collection of Japanese-translated-to-English poems books out there I could find. 3.5/5, rounded to 4/5.