Three simple lines by Natalie Goldberg

 

My father writes haiku and related forms, and I've read a little Basho, but never a whole book about the form. There's a kind of connection, as there always is in Japan, with the poetry and Zen, a form a Buddhism.

Natalie Goldberg is the bard of Santa Fe, famous for writing one novel, and a zillion books on writing. I just learned she also was a student of Kataguri, and then later after finding out about sleeping with female disciples, another book, called The Great Failure. They need to update Wikipedia to add this book, Three Simple Lines, because I'm a quite enjoying it.

She travels a lot to Japan on a pilgrimage to the three main haiku poets Ginsberg said: Basho, Buson and Issa. Also Masaoka Shiki. Then she finds Chiyo-ni.

Such a fun book to read!