dumbfoundry

RW: Why do you not agree with the one-lined method of translating Japanese haiku?

DB: I have been persuaded by the argument that a traditional three-line method of translation separates the poem more than in the original. But I also think that, because of the different conventions in our language and the limitations of translation, a one-line method is too prosaic. The original was not three lines, but it has a strong three-part 5-7-5 rhythm. My staggered lines attempt to keep the sense of rhythm while suggesting how one part flows into the next.

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