Japanese poet Bashō composed the following haiku in the winter of 1694, just four days before his death. At the time, despite his illness, he had embarked on another trek across the Japanese countryside. Ill on a journey— Through desolate fields my dreams Aimlessly wander. —Translated by David Bowles, July…
Japanese poet Bashō composed the following haiku in the summer of 1688 and later published it in Backpack Notes. The “octopus traps” are jars that would be lowered into the water by fishermen in the afternoon and then raised the next morning. The creatures that had slipped inside what appeared…
Japanese poet Bashō composed the following haiku in the fall of 1694, just months before his death. A jag of lightning— Then, flitting toward the darkness, A night heron’s scream. —Translated by David Bowles, July 2013 Original Japanese inazuma ya yami no kata yuku goi no koe
Japanese poet Bashō composed the following haiku during the fall of 1694, not long before his death. Alone on this road, Not a single passerby— Autumn night descends. —Translated by David Bowles, July 2013 Original Japanese kono michi ya yuku hito nashi ni aki no kure
The following haiku is from Bashō’s famous haibun (blended prose-verse travelogue) Narrow Road to the Deep North, which describes his 1689 journey into the less populated wilderness of northern Japan in search of famous utamakaru or sites that inspired great poetry. At one point he visits the ruins of the…
The following haiku is from Bashō’s famous haibun (blended prose-verse travelogue) Narrow Road to the Deep North, which describes his 1689 journey into the less populated wilderness of northern Japan in search of famous utamakaru or sites that inspired great poetry. At one point he visits a mountain temple high…
My translation of “The Song of Moquihuitzin” from the Aztec codex Songs of Mexico (Cantares Mexicanos) will be published in issue 19 of BorderSenses, a great literary journal.
The cover image for my book of translated Mesoamerican verse, Flower, Song, Dance: Aztec and Mayan Poetry, out this fall from Lamar University Press. A shout-out to artist Noé Vela for this fantastic painting.
Here are a few illustrations from my collection of Mesoamerican verse Flower, Song, Dance: Aztec and Mayan Poetry, forthcoming from Lamar University Press. All images © 2013 Nicol Bowles.
This poem originally appeared in Along the River. Near Dwaravati, on the Beach He faces me in some glittering moonlit mindscape —I almost feel the sea breeze and the still-warm sand— His ageless eyes full of power that almost glows. “Hello, Nara,” he murmurs. “Here we always meet, Near the…
