Rexroth, Kenneth

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Delicate, fragile, elegant
Simply beautiful
FIRST RATE INITIATION TO JAPANESE POETRY
Wonderful collection of quiet intensity

One Hundred Poems from the Japanese
Kenneth Rexroth
Manufacturer: New Directions Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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One Hundred Poems from the Chinese (New Directions Book)
One Hundred More Poems from the Japanese (New Directions Book)
One Hundred More Poems from the Chinese : Love and the Turning Year
Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death
Women Poets of Japan

ASIN: 0811201813

Book Description

Rexroth's classic best-selling anthology

Customer Reviews:

Delicate, fragile, elegant.......2004-12-22

In freshman year of high school, I went through an "Asian" phase, I guess, and this was one of the books I bought. The poetry carried me to a world (or rather, Japan) of times past. It's amazing how such short pieces could impact so much. I especially liked that Rexroth included the Japanese words with the poems (even though I know about 20 words of Japanese). However, then (and now), many of the references to various objects and places in the poems went over my head since I have little background in Japanese history or literature (everything I know about Japan, I learned from anime and the three week unit on Asia in World History class). For instance, I never heard of the River Izumi and plains of Mika nor did I know the importance of the Isle of Awaji (let alone where it was). So some of the poems, though they sounded beautiful, were little more than entertaining to me. I lost the significance and meaning. Fortuneately, Rexroth provides a guide in the back to the poets and some of the works in this collection.
If you've never read Japanese poetry before (or read very little), this book is a good introduction. However, having familiarity with Japanese places, literature and symbols helps, since you won't have to flip to the back every other poem.

Simply beautiful.......2003-08-19

Rexroth neither adds or takes anything away. The book is brilliantly styled, and his notes are truly informative. A definite must have.

FIRST RATE INITIATION TO JAPANESE POETRY.......2002-06-18

This is one of the greatest "small" books I have ever read. Rexroth conveys a good bird's eye view of classical japanese poetry, with poems selected and translated by him, mostly from the Manyoshu (A.D. 759) and Kokinshu (A.D. 905)compilations.
You will be surprised by the intensity and sensibility that these short poems reflect. Also you will be delighted to read the different depictions of states of mind and heart in this poetry which will eerely convey the atemporal dimension of sorrow, pain, joy and appeasement to the contemporary human being.
An example of what to expect:
The flowers whirl away
In the wind like snow.
The thing that falls away
Is myself.....(Prime Minister Kintsune)

Wonderful collection of quiet intensity.......1999-06-24

He has gathered a wonderful collection of quiet often powerful poems. I used to always keep a copy at my desk at work when I needed a break from programming. I think everyone who loves poetry should have a copy.

Love Poems from the Japanese (Shambhala Library)

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Lovely Japanese LOVE poems
The Autumnal dusk of life...
Elegant and Exquisite!
A perfect introduction to the subject.

Love Poems from the Japanese (Shambhala Library)
Sam Hamill
Manufacturer: Shambhala
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Love Poems | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Ja pan
One Hundred Poems from the Japanese
One Hundred More Poems from the Japanese (New Directions Book)
Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death
Women Poets of Japan

ASIN: 1570629765
Release Date: 2003-01-28

Book Description

Drawn from classical, medieval, and modern sources—including the imperial collections of the Manyoshu and Kokinshu—the poems in this collection are some of the greatest love poems from the Japanese tradition. The poems range in tone from the spiritual longing of an isolated monk to the erotic ecstasy of a court princess—but share the extraordinary simplicity and luminosity of language that marks Kenneth Rexroth's verse style. An introduction by the poet and translator Sam Hamill, the editor of this collection, and short biographies of the poets are included. The Shambhala Library is a series of exquisitely designed and produced cloth editions of the world's spiritual and literary classics, both ancient and modern. Perfect for collecting or as gifts, each volume features a sewn binding, decorative endsheets, and a ribbon marker—a delightful-to-hold 4 ¼ x 6 ¾ trim size.

Customer Reviews:

Lovely Japanese LOVE poems.......2007-01-03

Just what you need if your wife needs an indication that you are still "there"!

The Autumnal dusk of life..........2006-02-18

If you have a heart that is full of longing, a life that slips past too quickly, a love long lost or not yet known, a yearning for the spring, an ache for a distant tune partly forgotten or the remembrance of the scent of spring, then this book is for you. It will not lighten the load you bear, but it makes bearing it all the more meaningful.

More Wabi Sabi

Elegant and Exquisite!.......2004-07-26

A diverse collection from classical, mediaeval and modern sources
including Manyoshu and Kokinshu, the poems have an elegant
simplicity. Brief biographies of the poets are supplied.
An exquisite volume well worth owning. It makes an excellent gift.

A perfect introduction to the subject........1998-09-25

Great things come in small packages has never been so true as it is with this little gem. Erotic, profound, and always beautiful, this is Japanese poetry at its short, short best. Read and enjoy.

The Collected Shorter Poems of Kenneth Rexroth

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The Collected Shorter Poems of Kenneth Rexroth
Kenneth Rexroth
Manufacturer: New Directions Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

One Hundred Poems from the Japanese
One Hundred Poems from the Chinese (New Directions Book)

ASIN: 0811201783

More Classics Revisited (New Directions Paperbook, No 668)

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Brilliant companion to the first volume

More Classics Revisited (New Directions Paperbook, No 668)
Kenneth Rexroth
Manufacturer: New Directions Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Classics Revisited
Pages from the Goncourt Journals (New York Review Books Classics)
One Hundred Poems from the Japanese

ASIN: 0811210839

Book Description

Rexroth, More Classics Revisited. the second volume of Rexroth's Classics essays.

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant companion to the first volume.......1999-05-21

Rexroth scores again in this second "Classics Revisited" volume. The books he loved -- the classics of the non-Western and the Western world -- he saw as emanations of living feeling, lines of communication miraculously kept open.

Rexroth wrote in the first volume: "Life may not be optimistic, but it certainly is comic, and the greatest literature present man wearing the two conventional masks; the grinning and the weeping faces that decorate theatre prosceniums. What is the face behind the mask? Just a human face -- yours or mine. That is the irony of it all -- the irony that distinguishes great literature -- it is all so ordinary."

Book Description

Rexoth, Classics Revisited. Humourous and insightful essays on Classic literature.

Customer Reviews:

rexroth.......2000-06-24

this book has made me stop wasting my time with secondary new things and try to focus onthe top books. i thank rexroth for getting me to read f m ford's "some do not..." , a really great novel. his remarks on homer are great,and his comments make wonderful reading.

The best introduction to the Classics (western and non-).......1999-05-21

Rexroth was "the father of the beatniks" and steeped in a humane understanding of the classics. Rexroth's book discusses sixty volumes, such as the Illiad & Odyssey, Beowolf, Njal's Saga, Job, Mahabarata, Kalevala, Sappho, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Herodotus, Plato, Livy, and so on, through Mark Twain and Chekhov. A second volume contains similar sweep across different authors/works. As Rexroth says, these classic texts from around the world are "basic document in the history of the imagination".

A review of Rexroth's book in the Villlage Voice, written three decades ago, says that "The talk is expansive, linking the archaic and the immediate, finding in Euripides 'the first psychedlic system of values, a middle-class substitute for mystical vision,' or noting how in Caesar's _Gallic War_ 'the simple nouns and verbs carom off each other like billiard balls... The rapid and complex movement of simple elements deploys on the page exactly like the battle it describes.'...The books he loved he saw as emanations of living feeling, line of communication miraculously kept open."

Or, to quote from Rexroth himself: "Life may not be optimistic, but it certainly is comic, and the greatest literature present man wearing the two conventional masks; the grinning and the weeping faces that decorate theatre prosceniums. What is the face behind the mask? Just a human face -- yours or mine. That is the irony of it all -- the irony that distinguishes great literature -- it is all so ordinary."

Without denigrating the non-Western tradition -- in fact, by including many essays about non-Western classics -- and without paying homage via knee jerks, Rexroth succeeds brilliantly.

One Hundred Poems from the Chinese (New Directions Book)
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Rexroth captures a variety of moods and feelings which are quite profound.

Rexroth helped usher in a new era of great translations

A genuine delight

A Poet, not a Translator

True to the spirit, and valid as English poems.

One Hundred Poems from the Chinese (New Directions Book)
Kenneth Rexroth
Manufacturer: New Directions Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anthologies | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Chinese | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Rexroth, Kenneth | ( R ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Asian | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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One Hundred Poems from the Japanese

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Li Po and Tu Fu: Poems Selected and Translated with an Introduction and Notes (Penguin Classics)

The Complete Poems Of Kenneth Rexroth

ASIN: 0811201805

Book Description

incl 35 poems by Tu Fu & other later poets

Customer Reviews:

Rexroth captures a variety of moods and feelings which are quite profound........2007-06-19

Since I returned from my first trip to China, I have become fascinated with Chinese culture and history.

I don't know much about poetry except that I like what I like (what moves and inspires me).

Something tells me that these translations are as much Kenneth Rexroth as they are the Chinese masters, which is fine with me because it is obvious that Rexroth captures a variety of moods and feelings which are quite profound.

I think it does justice to the integrity of this body of literature.

Particularly moving to me are the translations of Mei Yaochen whose poems dealing with his dead wife reveal a passion and respect for wamnhood that bellies our general notion of woman's treatment and subserviant place in China; and the poems of Madame Chu Shu Chen who is also very passionate in her feeling as a woman in China.

Comparisons: translations by Greg Wincup; Xu Yuan Zhong; Tony Barnstone

Rexroth helped usher in a new era of great translations.......2005-08-29

This highly portable collection demonstrates the posture a translator must take when approaching the rich body of ancient Chinese poetry. Rexroth masterly retains the playfulness and humanity that allow these poems to endure through the centuries and yet he regards these rare artifacts with reverence.

These poems are a great introduction to several key poets, both male and female, from several Chinese dynasties.

A genuine delight.......2005-07-24

You *NEED* this book. Every library ought to have a heart. And this book is an excellent place to start.

A Poet, not a Translator.......2003-04-24

Kenneth Rexroth is a poet first and a translator second; judged on that basis, his One Hundred Poems from the Chinese is a great success. His approach, set out in a brief introduction, is simply to produce the best English poem he can in the spirit of the original. The resulting translations are more or less free as he thought appropriate for each individual work.
The book is in two parts. Part one consists of Rexroth's versions of 35 poems by Du Fu, whom he describes as "the greatest non-epic, non dramatic poet who has survived in any language". He clearly knows these poems well, and his translations are uniformly good.
Part two offers around 70 works by Sung dynasty poets; some are represented by only one piece, some by more extensive selections. These tend to be more free, more personal, and often strikingly modern works. In Rexroth's words again: "The whole spirit of this time in China is very congenial today"- a statement as true today as when it was written in 1971. Many of these poets are still not well translated in English, so Rexroth's translations are invaluable.
At the back of the book is a brief, but adequate, notes section with information on each poet and explanatory material.
Rexroth's concentration on the lesser-known Sung poets is paralleled by his choice of poems in the Du Fu section. He does not confine himself to the best known pieces found in other collections, striking a good balance between the familiar and the new.
An interesting example of Rexroth's approach to translation is:

Another Spring
White birds over the grey river./Scarlet flowers on the green hills./I watch the Spring go by and wonder/If I shall ever return home.

Rexroth has changed the river's colour from blue in the original to grey: a good example of a liberty which would be objectionable from a translator, but which he can get away with. He also clarifies "blazing" in the original to "scarlet", which allows him to preserve the original's strictly parallel parts of speech in the first couplet.
This is a fine book. It was first published more than 30 years ago, but it has lasted because of the consistently high quality of translation and because of the unusual selection of poems offered. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

True to the spirit, and valid as English poems........2001-06-21

ONE HUNDRED POEMS FROM THE CHINESE. By Kenneth Rexroth. 148 pp. New York : New Directions, 1965 and Reissued.

The present book is in two parts. First we are given Rexroth's readings of thirty-five poems by Tu Fu, based on the Chinese text. The second part consists of a selection of Sung Dynasty poetry, most of which had not been Englished prior to Rexroth.

Rexroth makes no great claims for these translations, some of which he admits are rather free. But he does express the hope that "in all cases they are true to the spirit of the originals, and valid English poems" (p.xi).

It has always seemed to me that Rexroth succeeded brilliantly. Here are a few lines chosen at random from Tu Fu's 'Loneliness' (with my obliques added to indicate line breaks) :

".... Where the dew sparkles in the grass, / The spider's web waits for its prey. / The processes of nature resemble the business of men. / I stand alone with ten thousand sorrows" (p.16).

Here are a few from Su Tung P'o :

".... As for literature, it is its own reward. / Fortunately fools pay little attention to it. / A chance for graft / Makes them blush with joy" (p.73).

These readings of Rexroth will delight all open-minded readers. Who cares if he wasn't a union-approved sinologist? Purists may sputter, but since his versions are 'true to the spirit, and valid as English poems,' could any sensible person reasonably ask for more ?

Women Poets of Japan
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VERY HELPFUL INTRODUCTION TO JAPANESE POETRY

Moving Deeply Through The Centuries

Essential Reference Guide to Japanese Women Poets

Women Poets of Japan

Manufacturer: New Directions Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anthologies | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Japanese & Haiku | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Rexroth, Kenneth | ( R ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Asian | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
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Women Poets of China (New Directions Paperbook, 528)

ASIN: 0811208206

Customer Reviews:

VERY HELPFUL INTRODUCTION TO JAPANESE POETRY.......2002-12-17

A delightful and handy compilation of works from japanese women poets, from K. Rexroth, the author of the book One Hundred Poems from the Japanese, with the cooperation of Ikuko Atsumi.
A must for those interested in a general overview of Japanese poetry, this little jewel shines with the light of the Classic poets (from Princess Nukada, 7th Century, to Abutsu-ni, A.D.1209-1283). A sample:

"I fell asleep thinking of him,
"And he came to me.
"If I had known it was only a dream
"I would have never awakened...". (Ono No Komachi, 9th Century)

Then we get a good sample of the Tokugawa Haiku poets, from the 16th to the 18th Centuries, as well as Modern Tanka and Haiku poets.
The book also provides a view of the modern free verse poets of Japan and, finally, some anonymous Geisha songs, such as:

"From the dream where we made love
my laughter called me back
and I searched all around me
my eyes full of tears......."

Finally the book ends with helpful biographical notes about the poets and a basic survey of Japanese poetry and the influence of the women poets.
Very highly recommended to those that want an introduction to the wonderful Japanese poems, which are timeless..........

Moving Deeply Through The Centuries.......2002-09-03

This collection of seventy-seven accomplished women poets spans 1200 years of poetic achievement. It must have been difficult to select representative poets and their poems but this volume succeeds in conveying the aesthetic of the classic poets, haiku poets of the Tokugawa, modern tanka and haiku poets, along with the free verse poets and a section of anonymous geisha songs.

The name of each poet has been drawn by master calligrapher, Machi Shunso and adds immeasurably to the reading experience.

How these poems resonate through the ages!

From Enomoto Seifu-Jo (1731-1814):

Everyone is asleep
There is nothing to come between
the moon and me.

Essential Reference Guide to Japanese Women Poets.......2002-04-26

A small inexpensive paperback, really very unassuming and yet an essential reference tool for a review of some of the most well-known poems penned through the long history of outstanding Japanese women poets. A good class syllabus could be set to the poets and poems here. No question that the subject of Japanese women poets cries out for a longer, more detailed compendium. But for now this book is unique and very helpful indeed.

Poems from the Greek Anthology: Expanded Edition (Ann Arbor Paperbacks)

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Poems from the Greek Anthology, Expanded Ed.
Deceptively Simple... Potent and Beautiful
My favorite English translation
Worthy to Stand with Ben Jonson

Poems from the Greek Anthology: Expanded Edition (Ann Arbor Paperbacks)

Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Pure Pagan: Seven Centuries of Greek Poems and Fragments (Modern Library)
7 Greeks
The Collected Poems: 1956-1998

ASIN: 0472086081

Book Description

"The first translation from the Greek that I ever did was the apple orchard of Sappho in my fifteenth year. It left me so excited with accomplishment that I couldn't sleep well for nights. Since that time, on the freight trains of my youthful years of wandering, in starlit camps on desert and mountain ranges, in snow-covered cabins, on shipboard, in bed, in the bath, in love, in time of loneliness and despair, in jail, while employed as an attendant of the insane, and on many other jobs and in many other places, the Anthology and the lyric poets of Greece have been my constant companions." --Kenneth Rexroth from the Foreword

Friend to the Beats, organizer of the Six Gallery poetry reading in 1955, and iconoclastic poet extraordinare, Kenneth Rexroth here turns his imagination to a selection of verses from the Greek Anthology. In his lively style he successfully captures the spirit of the originals by such poets as Sappho, Anyte, Glykon, Antipatros, Leonidas, Askelpiades, and Ammianos. Students of the classics as well as poets and translators will welcome this collection for the insight and dexterity of its unconventional editor.

Kenneth Rexroth (1905-1982), poet, critic, and translator, is also noted for his translations from the Chinese and Japanese. Widely prolific, he helped usher in the Beat movement in the 1950s and is widely considered to have invented the idea of San Francisco as a center of literary innovation. David Mulroy is Associate Professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Linguistics, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He is the translator of Early Greek Lyric Poetry and Horace's Odes and Epodes.

Customer Reviews:

Poems from the Greek Anthology, Expanded Ed........2007-02-09

Of the more than 100 feet of bookshelves in my home Poems from the Greek Anthology translated by Kenneth Rexroth with introduction by David Mulroy represents the most cherished 3/8 inch. I am not literate in Greek nor do I have a background in literary analysis. I lost my original copy of this work by lending it to a faithless wretch (read former girlfriend). I am delighted that it has been reissued. The original 1962 edition has been amplified with "The Last Utterance of the Delphic Oracle" and an introduction and source data by David Mulroy that I found quite valuable as a guide both to Rexroth's approach to the translations and to the subtle techniques used to render the translations relaxed and readable. But the success is Rexroth's and the poets he treats; the winner is the reader. (I have my copy again and can now forgive the girlfriend....)

Deceptively Simple... Potent and Beautiful.......2003-08-16

I came across an original edition of this collection in a small used bookstore, and having enjoyed Rexroth's other works picked it up immediately.

This may be one of my best finds, ever, and I'm so glad to see it reproduced in this edition.

Each of these poems, most no more than six to ten lines, does what so much poetry fails to... it says something. It is a complete, vivid, passionate thought. I read this book as if I were sipping a glass of wine, slowly, a handful of verses each day. Let your mind linger on them awhile.

I'll admit to a level of ignorance--I know very little about the "scholarly history" of the Greek Anthology, so I cannot compare these translations to those that came before. But reading Rexroth's personal takes (his introduction is wonderful in itself), I can hardly imagine how they could be improved.

Rexroth is at his finest here. Any lover of poetry will be glad to receive this into their library.

My favorite English translation.......2002-08-17

I've read all the English translations (and even some of these poems in the original Greek). This collection, while small, is the best English "Greek Anthology" going. Quick check: in "The Norton Book of Classical Literature" the Rexroth excerpts shine compared to the other (highly respected) translators.

In terms of directness and emotional resonance Rexroth, "the father of the beats," triumphs again and again. For those who want to explore one of the world's greatest collections of poetry, this is a good place to start. For those interested in translation, there is much to learn from this volume.

The real Greek Anthology is massive and not all the poems are winners. Rexroth has boiled it down to his favorites and in so doing created perhaps the best poems he ever wrote. Those who want a deeper exploration should go to the library. To those who want to add to the bookshelf, this is the essential volume.

Worthy to Stand with Ben Jonson.......2001-10-04

Kenneth Rexroth is the best translator of the Greek Anthology since the Renaissance. The Greek Anthology has suffered big ups and downs in reputation, depending on whether the sensibility is available in one time or another to approach it. Rexroth gets it right on. For further information, you may take a look at the online review in the Bryn Mawr Classical Review.

An Autobiographical Novel (A Revived Modern Classic)

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Another beautiful mind

An Autobiographical Novel (A Revived Modern Classic)
Kenneth Rexroth
Manufacturer: New Directions Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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World Outside the Window

ASIN: 0811211797

Customer Reviews:

Another beautiful mind.......2006-04-26

The world may one day re-discover or discover the brilliance of Rexroth. It would be nice if it did. In the post-millenial world, Rexroth's life and works might seem to be from an alternate universe, not as high-tech as the one in the Matrix, but a lot more profound. Quitting school at the age of 11, Rexroth mastered every major European language as well as Japanese and Chinee, and Greek & Latin; he was a poet, painter, jazz club manager (where a cop bashed him in the face during a 'raid', he was an iconclast, socialist, environmentalist, and knew more about prosody than anyone alive. His life is spectacularly interesting, and he could make outlandish statements about art: Like 'anyone who knows anything about Italian prosody, knows Dante was a bad craftsman' or dismissing Leslie Fiedler in one sentence as a would-be WASP who is so ignorant of the American spirit, the best he can come up with is that Huckleberry Finn is gay (paraphrase). While MLA junkies analyze how many angels can deconstruct in a nanosecond, Rexroth knew the value of literature and the value of life. The U. of Berkeley spent years begging him to teach there, and he finally gave in provided he could teach anything he wanted. He called universities smoke factories. This view has been substantiated today: not only metaphorically but literally.

Women Poets of China (New Directions Paperbook, 528)

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BEAUTIFUL!!
Unashamed, direct, honest, on par with women poets today.
One of the greatest collaborative translations ever

Women Poets of China (New Directions Paperbook, 528)

Manufacturer: New Directions Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anthologies | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0811208214

Customer Reviews:

BEAUTIFUL!!.......2006-01-18

Probably my favorite of the asian poetry books that I've read. Thanks for the compilation, Kenneth.

Unashamed, direct, honest, on par with women poets today........2000-07-16

This collection was a huge surprise. Unlike the steryo type of what women in China was like, subservient to husbands they are forced to marry, with little thoughts and feelings for themselves.

These women poets starting from 1644-1911, shout out thier love of thier partners, discuss drinking, sex, lust, romance, infactutation and even loving other women.

The metaphors are soft and light at the first reading, yet if you look deeper you realise some of the subjects are far from the softness the poetry is conveyed in.

A good histrical text on Chinese Women and a good read. As the previous reviewer said, buy two and give one to a friend.

One of the greatest collaborative translations ever.......1999-10-23

An exciting selection of poems by known and previously unknown women poets. Ling Chung's scholarship and sensitivity gave the late great Kenneth Rexroth the insight and inspiration to outdo himself here. Buy two copies and give one to a friend.

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