Andrew Fitzsimons is Professor of English Language and Cultures at Gakushuin University, Tokyo, and author of The Sea of Disappointment: Thomas Kinsella's Pursuit of the Real, as well as three books of poetry. Basho (1644-1694) is the greatest poet of Japan and one of the major figures of World Literature. His work has inspired haiku to become the most popular poetic form in the world.
A real landmark publication. . . . In this endlessly rewarding work of scholarship, skill and devotion we find a Basho not just as he is customarily seen - a philosopher poet of nature - but very much as a man of the world. * RTE *