Free Downloads Book Of Haikus (Penguin Poets)
Highlighting a lesser-known aspect of one of America's most influential authors, this new collection displays Jack Kerouac's interest in and mastery of haiku. Experimenting with this compact poetic genre throughout his career, Kerouac often included haiku in novels, correspondence, notebooks, journals, sketchbooks, and recordings. In this collection, Kerouac scholar Regina Weinreich supplements an incomplete draft of a haiku manuscript found in Kerouac's archives with a generous selection of Kerouac's other haiku, from both published and unpublished sources. With more than 500 poems, this is a must-have volume for Kerouac enthusiasts everywhere.
Series: Penguin Poets
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: Penguin Books; First edition (April 1, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 014200264X
ISBN-13: 978-0142002643
Product Dimensions: 4.9 x 0.7 x 6.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #108,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #10 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Japanese & Haiku #25 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Regional & Cultural > Asian #375 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Themes & Styles
The other Beat poets generally looked to him as a master, but Jack Kerouac's general reputation will probably always be that of a novelist, albeit a mad one who did little prosaic and much prosodic. Even though he created significant swaths of poetry - within his famous prose and elsewhere, it is a small circle that considers him a poet.Anyone in that group would like this book.It shows how far his poems would roam yet stay with a form, the haiku form. This is known to readers of Scattered Poems and Poems All Sizes, and buffs familiar with his recordings with Al Cohn and Zoot Sims - but a better view of the amount of haiku Kerouac had within him is at hand.A new collectipon of about 700 haikus now appears. Book of Haikus, includes works from several stages in Kerouac's career, and stands well with his other books of poems.His approach to haiku form, like his approach to blues form, was creative. His first big step was to throw out the syllabic conventions. The classic syllable count of the Japanese form, he reasoned, worked for haiku poems in the Japanese language, but not for English maybe.For Kerouac, description was key. Encounter with object or experience was key. It is here in Book of Haikus. In haiku bulk.
Jack Kerouac is truly an American icon. His writing has become legendary- and I think for good reason. His style of writing brought about a revolution in the way to construct a novel and his unique insight into his characters gave us, the reader, a new way of understanding both them, and ourselves. However, as far as a Haiku poet, his greatest gift was one of exploration. This book is less a book of great Haiku, and more of an experiment in Haiku. Most of his poems fall dreadfully short of what a real Haiku poem can do. I highly recommend "Take a Deep Breath: The Haiku Way to Inner Peace" by Sylvia Forges-Ryan to those who are really interested in understanding the deep and fragile art of Haiku. The poetry of Sylvia Forges-Ryan rings true both to the traditions of the form and often, to the depths of our souls.
A great little book with a collection of haikus. Visual presentation is not the very best, but to me it is the contents that counts. IMHO there hardly is a better way to reflect the feelings of a moment than in a haiku, so one can get an intimate impression about the authors feelings comparable to a collection of snapshots. This haiku book certainly is a must have for every Jack Kerouac fan.
The impression I get from Jack Kerouac's book of haiku is that he wanted to write serious traditional haiku, but couldn't stay within the parameters of the form. Though all of the pieces here look like haiku, some are more traditional than others. For example, he writesDesk cluttered with mail --My mind is quietAugust in Salinas -- Autumn leaves inClothing store displaysThese are very much in the spirit and tradition of Basho and other classic haikus. But Kerouac often strayed out of the tradition, seemingly slapping down the closest thoughts that came to him:Coffee beans! -- Methinks I can smellThe Canaries!God's dream It's onlyA dreamI drink my tea and sayHm hmHe referred to haiku often as "pops." When Kerouac grafts the tradition of the haiku to the jazzy insouciance of his mind, he is at his best with his "pops":Missing a kick at the icebox doorIt closed anywayEvening coming-- The office girlUnloosening her scarfI went in the woods to meditate --It was too coldSome of the haiku here are flat and pedestrian, but for the most part, Kerouac got into the form well. Well worth reading, especially for Kerouac or Beat generation fans.
Purchased Lew Welch's Ring of Bone and thus, became cognizant of this ditty because of the "what other customers liked" pictures/suggestions strip at the bottom of the page. So, since so graciously offers us perusal of things before buying, I was able to see that this book-too would be a wonderful gift for my brother's birthday. (Brother's a big fan of The Beats and of Kerouac in particular). Appreciate the way that the book separates the haikus according to both season plus place (in time and mind or influence). Also like the simple way that the haikus appear on the booklet's 5-by-6 little pages--four apiece. Kinda just traipse along, reading, whilst the mind's eye plucks at these, popping them into the mouth much like little candies: the inevitably sour with the sweet, for sure,(as-is to be respected with any gifted, suffering artist sort) but tasty all the while. Trippy little book. Thanks !
I wanted to say that I disagree with the comment about the poor production values of this book. Even though the paper could certainly have been of higher quality, the book itself is beautifully designed and printed. I fell in love with it, and already gave a copy to a friend who loves Beat poetry but doesn't know much about Kerouac's verse.
Kerouac is lauded for his spontaneous prose. He was also a very gifted haiku poet. Kerouac afcionados as well as common readers would enjoy this haiku book for its coolness and beauty!
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