Geoffrey Bownas (1923–2011)

Very much a dual-personality type of book. The lengthy introduction is excellent, just what a newcomer needs. The selection seems judicious and representative, at least if the overview provided by the introduction is accurate. What gives me pause, though, is that much of the time the translations themselves seem unsatisfactory, when considered in light of the principles expressed in the introduction. Fellow LT’er funfunyay has already remarked on the problem with the tankas in her/his/their (?) review at http://www.librarything.com/work/629847/reviews/48710966 . The same is true of the sedoka. More than once I had this feeling: “Is this the way things go? / Must it go on and on? / Yes. We are on earth.”… (mehr)

This book is a good overview of Japanese literature, although I wouldn't have chosen all the things that they decided to include.
My issue is with the translation. It reads well, and is pretty proficient with imagery and diction. But tankas are mostly translated into four lines. This baffles me. What's the point of translating a tanka if your not even going to try to make it five lines? And this is consistent throughout the book, and makes me wonder if the other poems weren't treated the same.
So Fie on you Thwaite! Fie on you.… (mehr)