A Zen Wave: Basho's Haiku & Zen

New York, NY: Weatherhill. Very Good. 1978. First Edition; First Printing. Paperback. First Edition Paperback original (1978) ; so stated. Very Good in Wraps: shows very light wear to the extremities; mild rubbing to the wrapper covers; a former owner's inititials in tiny letters at the upper front endpaper; a single crease to the backstrip and another near the upper corner of the rear panel; a price has been carefully blocked out by a previous bookseller at the upper corner of the rear panel; the binding is slightly cocked off square but remains secure; the text is clean. Free of any creased or dog-eared pages in the text. Free of any underlining, hi-lighting or marginalia or marks in the text. A handsome, carefully-used copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing mild wear and a number of minor, unobtrusive imperfections. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo. (8.25 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches) . Eight pages of duotone photographic plates. Language: English. Weight: 10.5 ounces. Trade Paperback. Aitken delinates the subtle relationship between the haiku poetic form and Zen Buddhism. He achieves this by reviewing Basho’s and other poets' poems and provides commentary about each specific poem and how it relates to illuminates Zen. The volume is organized into 26 short chapters. The introduction gives a brief overview of Basho’s life and the development of the haiku poetic form. Some of the poems covered in the chapters is as follows: The old pond, the mountain path, autumn in Kiso, wisteria flowers, Quail, suma in summer, the shepherd’s purse, this road, the morning glory and the butterfly and many other poems. There is also a glossary of selected terms and Japanese equivalents of Chinese names and extensive notes. A must for those interested in haiku and Zen. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 192 pages .