Best Haiku

Matsuo Basho was a prominent Japanese poet active during the Edo period (1644-1694). He is best known for his extensive travel diary, *Oku no Hosomichi*, which significantly influenced the development of haiku. His work offers profound reflections on nature and simple experiences, appealing to those...

Yosa Buson (1716-1783) was a prominent Japanese poet and painter during the Edo period. He is recognized for his meticulously detailed haiku that captured scenes of nature and ordinary life with exceptional clarity. His work reflects a deep connection to the natural world and offers insight into the...

Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828) was a Japanese poet primarily recognized for his evocative haiku. His work offers poignant glimpses into Edo period rural Japan focusing on themes of poverty, nature, and the lives of ordinary people. Issa’s humane perspective and simple language resonate with readers inte...

Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902) was a pivotal figure in Japanese poetry. He significantly reformed haiku and tanka forms, moving beyond traditional constraints to embrace greater naturalism and emotional depth. His work influenced the Meiji era’s literary modernizers. Primarily read by students of Japanes...

Morning Haiku is a 2010 poetry collection by American poet Sonia Sanchez that uses and adapts the haiku form. Its brief, image-centered poems address love, mourning, memory, music, and everyday life, while several sequences honor Black writers, performers, and activists, including figures important...

Jack Kerouac was an American novelist and poet associated with the Beat Generation, a postwar literary movement concerned with spiritual searching, travel, nonconformity, and experimentation. His best-known novel, On the Road, was published in 1957 and drew on journeys made with figures including Ne...