The Poetry of Chiyo-ni(9784805318669)

"Patricia Donegan and Yoshie Ishibashi are to be deeply thanked for having given us with such articulate care a poetry major in any language and in any place or time." —Robert Creeley, poet

Chiyo-ni (1703-1775), also known as Kaga no Chiyo, is Japan's most celebrated female haiku poet. A disciple of Basho's students, she flourished in an era when haiku was predominantly a male-dominated art form. As a poet, painter, and Buddhist nun, Chiyo-ni lived a vibrant life while composing haiku that embody crystalline clarity and delicate sensuality. This volume brings together over one hundred of her finest seasonal haiku, renku (linked verse), and haibun (travel poems).

Highlights of the collection include:

morning glory
the well bucket entangled
I ask for water

a hundred gourds
from the heart
of one vine

rouged lips
forgotten—
clear spring water

These luminous, lucid translations immerse the reader in Chiyo-ni's unique vision, offering profound moments of stillness and beauty. Each poem encourages us to pause and reflect on the fleeting moments of our lives. This beautifully illustrated volume also includes artwork by Chiyo-ni and other artists, as well as insightful essays about her life and art, informative notes, and a glossary of haiku-related terms.

A remarkable collection for lovers of Japanese poetry, Chiyo-ni's haiku transcend time and culture, providing a timeless invitation to savor the present moment.


About the Author:
Patricia Donegan was a poet and translator. A professor of East-West poetics at Naropa University under Allen Ginsberg, she also studied with Japanese haiku master Seishi Yamaguchi. She received a Fulbright grant for her work on Chiyo-ni. She is the author of Haiku Mind: 108 Poems to Cultivate Awareness and Open Your Heart and Haiku: Asian Arts for Creative Kids as well as the collections Bone Poems, Without Warning, and Hot Haiku.

Yoshie Ishibashi is a researcher and the co-translator of Chiyo-jo's Haiku Seasons and The Classic Tradition of Haiku, among other works.

Natalie Goldberg is the author of 16 books, including Writing Down the Bones and, most recently, Writing on Empty (St. Martin's Press 2024) and Three Simple Lines: A Writer's Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku (New World Library 2021) which includes haiku by Chiyo-ni. Natalie lives in northern New Mexico and has practiced zen for many years.