Letter to Eiichi Yamanishi (26 November 1963)
A substantial letter on haiku translation in The Presidential Papers, with a striking aside on the difference between English and Japanese (English built on the breath, Japanese 'upon the interval between each blink of the eye'). Mailer names the serial — An American Dream — and its first installment, 'The Harbors of the Moon.'
The richest of the Yamanishi letters: Mailer thanks his translator for analyzing the connotations of a haiku rendered in The Presidential Papers, takes the blame for an error on miezu, and reflects at length on translation and on the deep difference between the two languages — English “constructed upon the narrative line of the voice,” Japanese “built more upon the interval between each blink of the eye,” so that the haiku gave him “the impression of a short but exquisite movie.” He then reports the serial’s progress and names it: “It is, by the way, to be called An American Dream, and the first installment has the chapter title of The Harbors of the Moon.”