Henderson begins with a description of Japanese haiku, its form and the "rules" pertaining to its composition. There is the visual appearance of the poem in three lines with the first line having five syllables, the second seven, and the third five. The poem must contain some reference to nature. The poem is specific in the sense that it refers to a particular event, and the event is happening now, not in the past. (p. 14) Additionally, it is often the practice to reference or allude to a time of year by season. Thus "the blossomed-covered hill" would indicate spring, falling leaves fall, snow winter, and long days of sunlight summer.

Americans who appreciate and write haiku are aware of the first requirement about the form of the poem, and they are fairly clear that haiku that does not refer to nature is not really haiku. But the other rules are more often observed in the breach if at all. Thus American haiku can be and sometimes is about most anything (causing great horror to purists!). For example, recall Richard Brautigan's "Haiku Ambulance":

A piece of green pepper fell
off the wooden salad bowl:
so what?

which makes fun of haiku that fail. Note that strictly speaking it is not haiku. It is a clever short satirical poem.

Henderson observes that even in purest Japanese haiku "one haiku in 25 does not have a strict 5-7-5 form." Of course in translation it is far better to convey the poetic qualities and meaning of the haiku than to attempt a slavish adherence to the syllabic rule. Thus this translation of haiku by Basho:

On a withered branch
a crow has settled...
autumn nightfall

sacrifices the syllabic rule while maintaining the three lines, which is usually the way translation is done, and usually the way American haiku is written. One of the reasons for this is that syllabication in Japanese is different from syllabication in English and that furthermore there are in Japanese kireji ("cutting words") that are "primarily verbal punctuation marks" that are difficult to translate directly. (p. 33)

I could go on, and it would be fun to do that, delving into nuance and technique, the appearance of emotion in haiku, etc., but it is enough to suggest the depth of Henderson's intense little book. He details the evolved differences between the form in the two languages and then gives tips on writing and teaching haiku. If you are going to teach haiku at any level, primary to college, you certainly will find this book valuable. If your intent is just to learn and appreciate, Henderson's effort will afford you a better appreciation. If you are a poet yourself, the book is fun because it shows you how others have practiced the form and goes into the experience with a number of examples. The subtleties of expression are as arcane, quaint and beautiful as one would expect from such a venerable fine art form, and it is useful to acquaint oneself with them, even while transgressing a few here and there!

Bottom line: pithy, elegant, and practical. This is one of my favorite books on haiku and one that I found valuable when I taught haiku in my high school English and creative writing classes.

Although Henderson's book is out-of-print (originally published in 1958), and his translations are stylistically out-of-date (i.e., rhymed English haiku), this is an essential, pocket-sized anthology. Henderson intersperses his chronological presentation of haiku, in both transliterized Japanese (romaji) with English translation, by major historical masters with analysis throughout. I am on my second paperback -- the first fell apart from constant use!

I have rarely encountered better translations of Haiku. Henderson brought the extended meanings of the words across. Double and triple entendres, startling juxtapositions, contextual clues, everything. These are not mere literal translations--they work on multiple levels to extend the meaning of the poetry, to reflect the possible readings by literate Japanese readers.

Poetic translation is an art that requires deep understanding of two languages, poetic heritages, and metaphorical/imagistic libraries. Henderson's translations are unique in their quality.