Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji:
written in Japan in the early 11th century

The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of 'The Tale of Genji' by Haruo Shirane. Modern Haiku. The Heron's Nest. Roadrunner e-magazine. GEPPO magazine. Toward an Aesthetic for English-Language Haiku by Lee Gurga. 2004 Pescadero Haiku Weekend Workshop (including exercises) with Christopher Herold. Highlights of Poetry. Index of poetry. How to Write Poetry. Books read. How to write specific forms: Haibun. Haiku. Hay(na)ku. Rengay. Tanka. Ballade. Concrete. Ghazal. Lai. Pantoum. Prose poem. Rondeau. Rubáiyát. Sestina. Skaldic verse. Sonnet. Terza rima. Triolet. Tritina. Villanelle. Poets: Bashō. Billy Collins. Jane Hirshfield. J. Zimmerman. J. Zimmerman (haiku). J. Zimmerman (tanka). Marianna Monaco. Ouzel (James Arnold). Patricia J. Machmiller. Shiki. Genji: The Tale of Genji. Ise: Ise Monogatari.

The Haiku Seasons: Poetry of the Natural World (1996) by William J. Higginson. A classic. Writing and Enjoying Haiku: A Hands-On Guide (2003) by Jane Reichhold, whose many skills include a keen sense for the writing and appreciation of haiku. Guidelines on writing haiku and related forms.

• Written in Japan in the early 11th century, the poet Murasaki Shikibu wrote The Tale of Genji.

• The world's first psychological novel.

• 45 chapters, each with prose and at least one tanka.

• In outline:
  

  The Tale of Genji unfolds over 75 years, 3 generations, and 4 imperial reigns, and presents over 500 characters. From Haruo Shirane's The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of 'The Tale of Genji' (1987, p. 120).

• Further:

  Throughout The Tale of Genji Murasaki Shikibu reveals that the individual is defined not so much by thought and action as by the emotional intensity with which he or she perceived the world. From Haruo Shirane's The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of 'The Tale of Genji' (1987, p. 230).

• The best translation I have read is a 2001 translation by Royall Tyler: The Tale of Genji.

• See Haruo Shirane's 1987 analysis: The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of 'The Tale of Genji'.

Haruo Shirane's The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of 'The Tale of Genji'

Haruo Shirane's The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of 'The Tale of Genji' is the most readable introduction to the Genji that I've yet read. Shirane's book is especially helpful, even before you read a translated text.

• In four parts: (1) The Aesthetics of Power; (2) Hidden Flowers; (3) Lyric Tragedy; (4) The Spiritual Quest.
• A very handy Appendix A which summarized the principal characters.
• Appendix B on the author of the original text Japanese and on the surviving Japanese texts.
• Notes (22 pages), a selected bibliography (16 pages), and 12 pages of index.

Other References

Mostow, Joshua S., and Royall Tyler, translators (2010). The Ise Stories: Ise Monogatari. Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press.

Shirane, Haruo, editor (2007). Traditional Japanese Literature: an Anthology, Beginnings to 1600, with additional translators. New York, Columbia University Press.

Links and Books

Links and Books.

• Best American Poetry series.
• Best Poems by the Best Poets - Some Lists of Winners.
• Laureate: the Poets Laureate of Britain
• Laureate: the Poets Laureate of the U.S.A.
• Other Books of Poetry Form.

Related pages: Poetry index. How to Write Poetry. How to write specific forms: Haibun. Haiku. Hay(na)ku. Rengay. Tanka.

Books of Poetry Form.

Copyright © 2014-2016 by J. Zimmerman The quotations are Copyright © 1987-2016 by the credited authors.

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