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Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years
An anthology of haiku in English, from Ezra Pound’s early experiments to the present-day masters.
Haiku in English is an anthology of more than 800 brilliantly chosen poems that were originally written in English by over 200 poets from around the world. Although haiku originated as a Japanese art form, it has found a welcome home in the English-speaking world. This collection tells the story for the first time of Anglophone haiku, charting its evolution over the last one hundred years and placing it within its historical and literary context. It features an engaging introduction by former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins and an insightful historical overview by leading haiku poet, editor, and publisher Jim Kacian.
The selections range from the first fully realized haiku in English, Ezra Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro,” to plentiful examples by haiku virtuosos such as John Wills, Marlene Mountain, Nick Virgilio, and Raymond Roseliep, and to investigations into the genre by eminent poets like John Ashbery, Allen Ginsberg, and Seamus Heaney. The editors explore the genre’s changing forms and themes, highlighting its vitality and its breadth of poetic styles and content. Among the many poems on offer are organic form experiments by E. E. Cummings and Michael McClure, evocations of black culture by Richard Wright and Sonia Sanchez, and the seminal efforts of Jack Kerouac.
The first anthology to map the full range of haiku in the English tradition, Haiku in English is the perfect collection of this spare and elegant genre.
Haiku in English is an anthology of more than 800 brilliantly chosen poems that were originally written in English by over 200 poets from around the world. Although haiku originated as a Japanese art form, it has found a welcome home in the English-speaking world. This collection tells the story for the first time of Anglophone haiku, charting its evolution over the last one hundred years and placing it within its historical and literary context. It features an engaging introduction by former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins and an insightful historical overview by leading haiku poet, editor, and publisher Jim Kacian.
The selections range from the first fully realized haiku in English, Ezra Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro,” to plentiful examples by haiku virtuosos such as John Wills, Marlene Mountain, Nick Virgilio, and Raymond Roseliep, and to investigations into the genre by eminent poets like John Ashbery, Allen Ginsberg, and Seamus Heaney. The editors explore the genre’s changing forms and themes, highlighting its vitality and its breadth of poetic styles and content. Among the many poems on offer are organic form experiments by E. E. Cummings and Michael McClure, evocations of black culture by Richard Wright and Sonia Sanchez, and the seminal efforts of Jack Kerouac.
The first anthology to map the full range of haiku in the English tradition, Haiku in English is the perfect collection of this spare and elegant genre.
424 pages, Hardcover
First published August 12, 2013
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July 10, 2019
Have you ever, browsing idly on the internet, encountered an obscure hobby or art—creative taxidermy, say, or “tiny house” design—and soon discovered you had fallen down a rabbit hole, that a subject you had once thought could be covered in a footnote was a universe in itself, possessing a history of pioneers and innovators, complete with schools of traditionalists and modernists and a smattering of iconolasts and rebels?
Reading Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years can be lot like that. You will learn of the pioneers like Ezra Pound and Amy Lowell, the puristss who insist on sticking to seventeen syllables, the many who prefer prefer three lines and the few who prefer one, the ones whose subject matter is traditional (the seasons) and the ones who write of modern life (sexuality, warfare, politics). There are famous poets whose Haiku are surprisingly bad (Ginsberg) and famous prose writers whose haiku are surprising good (Richard Wright, Jack Kerouac), and then there are the 95% of poets whose names you have never heard of and whose writings are almost exclusively haiku. Like zen koans, they often miss the mark entirely, but when they strike you in the right way, they are small illuminations and may leave their mark on you for hours.
Out of the more than half a thousand haiku included in this volume, I give you twenty that gave me a touch of that zen koan experience. I could have chosen many others as well. And each one is written by a poet I have never heard of before.
hot day
the mime leans into a wind
that isn’t there. --Cor van den Heuvel
keep out signs
but the violets keep on
going. --John Wills
white lilacs
before sunrise
their own light. --Virginia Brady Young
passport check
my shadow waits
across the border. --George Swede
summer night:
we turn off all the lights
to hear the rain. --Peggy Willis Lyles
Late August--
I bring him the garden
in my skirt. --Alexis Rotella
Through the slats
of the outhouse door
Everest! --Margaret Chula
last night lightning
this morning
the white iris --Patricia Donegan
saying too much
the deaf girl
hides her hands --Matthew Louviere
deep in the mountains
the shaving mirror
shows me the mountains --Dee Evetts
back from the war
all his doors
swollen shut --Bill Pauly
spring sunshine
my dead wife’s handprints
on the windowpane --David Cobb
in the silent movie
a bird I think extinct
is singing --Leroy Gorman
whittling
till there’s nothing left
of the light --Jim Kacian
jackknifed rig
a trooper waves us
into wildflowers --Robert Gilliland
all day
I feel its weight
the unworn necklace --Roberta Beary
behind the camera
I face
my family --Eve Luckring
Snow at dawn . . .
dead singers in their prime
on the radio --Rebecca Lilly
losing its name
a river
enters the sea -John Sandbach
August 11, 2021
I was unprepared for the emotional impact of this Haiku, which immediately brought to mind my grandmother coming in from the garden, her apron full of produce from my grandad's vegetable patch:
Late August -
I bring him the garden
in my skirt.
~ Alexis Rotella
Other favorites:
at the height
of the argument the old couple
pour each other tea
~ Georg Swede
new leaf -
a tiny bottle chews a hole
to the sky
~ Ruth Yarrow
crowd of umbrellas
a child opens
his face to the rain
~ Connie Donleycott
lilt in her voice...
the moss-agate colors
in a sunlit wave
~ Connie Donleycott
Late August -
I bring him the garden
in my skirt.
~ Alexis Rotella
Other favorites:
at the height
of the argument the old couple
pour each other tea
~ Georg Swede
new leaf -
a tiny bottle chews a hole
to the sky
~ Ruth Yarrow
crowd of umbrellas
a child opens
his face to the rain
~ Connie Donleycott
lilt in her voice...
the moss-agate colors
in a sunlit wave
~ Connie Donleycott
April 20, 2022
The fact that these actually are among the best English-language haiku makes it all the more embarrassing for everyone involved. And the fact that Billy Collins (possibly the worst poet of his generation) wrote the introduction is just the cherry on top.
English-language haiku (almost entirely written by Americans) are probably worth reading just to see more easily the difference between good and bad haiku. Great haiku are so deceptively simple that it might seem, at first, as if anyone could do it, really -- but read any of the poems in this collection to be very quickly disabused of this notion.
Apart from the arguably-sort-of-important fact that these clueless authors are using the word 'haiku' to mean "tepid prose arbitrarily split into three lines" rather than "a deep poetic tradition rooted in tanka and spanning over a thousand years, involving the subtle use of engo, fukinsei, fūryū, makurakotoba, etc.," the most general problem with Haiku in English is simple: too much cheesy subjectivity. You don’t see a scene, but rather a clumsy poet fumbling to describe a scene, with the help of various pointless adverbs. See, for example, Michael Welch:
Has any actual poet ever written "crackling beach fire" unironically? I’m guessing not. Or John Taglibaue:
Was this written by a precocious five-year-old, or an actual adult in full possession of his faculties? The editors don’t provide Mr. Taglibaue’s age so I’ll assume the former.
Or Alexis Rotella:
Did you notice something there? Oh, that’s right -- subjectivity. The author’s tedious subjectivity, which is literally the first thing thing that any haiku poet should be striving to leave out of their poetry. Some of the other pearls of wisdom in this collection include:
These "poets" are bad, and they should feel bad. There is almost certainly a way to adapt haiku to contemporary American/European sensibilities and to do something vigorous and interesting with it, the way that Shiki did with the classical haiku tradition, but no one in the English language has come remotely close. Wright and Kerouac, while talented, do not really expand the form beyond Shiki (Wright at his best is about as good as it gets, for English-language haiku; Ungaretti is easily the best in terms of Romance languages).
Ultimately, the title of this book raises an interesting question -- if a tiny group of untalented amateur poets decide to "innovate" the sonnet form by writing random collections of words without a rhyme scheme and self-publishing them to zero acclaim, am I supposed to call their terrible poems "sonnets"? Probably not?
English-language haiku (almost entirely written by Americans) are probably worth reading just to see more easily the difference between good and bad haiku. Great haiku are so deceptively simple that it might seem, at first, as if anyone could do it, really -- but read any of the poems in this collection to be very quickly disabused of this notion.
Apart from the arguably-sort-of-important fact that these clueless authors are using the word 'haiku' to mean "tepid prose arbitrarily split into three lines" rather than "a deep poetic tradition rooted in tanka and spanning over a thousand years, involving the subtle use of engo, fukinsei, fūryū, makurakotoba, etc.," the most general problem with Haiku in English is simple: too much cheesy subjectivity. You don’t see a scene, but rather a clumsy poet fumbling to describe a scene, with the help of various pointless adverbs. See, for example, Michael Welch:
Crackling beach fire
we hum in place of words
we can't recall
Has any actual poet ever written "crackling beach fire" unironically? I’m guessing not. Or John Taglibaue:
A child looking at
ants; an elephant looking
at universes
Was this written by a precocious five-year-old, or an actual adult in full possession of his faculties? The editors don’t provide Mr. Taglibaue’s age so I’ll assume the former.
Or Alexis Rotella:
Trying to forget him--
stabbing
the potatoes
Did you notice something there? Oh, that’s right -- subjectivity. The author’s tedious subjectivity, which is literally the first thing thing that any haiku poet should be striving to leave out of their poetry. Some of the other pearls of wisdom in this collection include:
They actually
are pretty quiet ...
wild flowers
Television light
lies on the
American lawn
A deep gorge
some of the silence
is me
These "poets" are bad, and they should feel bad. There is almost certainly a way to adapt haiku to contemporary American/European sensibilities and to do something vigorous and interesting with it, the way that Shiki did with the classical haiku tradition, but no one in the English language has come remotely close. Wright and Kerouac, while talented, do not really expand the form beyond Shiki (Wright at his best is about as good as it gets, for English-language haiku; Ungaretti is easily the best in terms of Romance languages).
Ultimately, the title of this book raises an interesting question -- if a tiny group of untalented amateur poets decide to "innovate" the sonnet form by writing random collections of words without a rhyme scheme and self-publishing them to zero acclaim, am I supposed to call their terrible poems "sonnets"? Probably not?
January 10, 2014
LOVED it! Page after page of extraordinary haiku! The "afterward" by Jim Kacian, an overview of 100 years of ELH (English-language haiku), should have been the foreword, but with an intro by Billy Collins (and the opportunity to have a name people will recognize on the front cover), it was stuck after all the poems. I'd recommend starting with it and then reading the haiku. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this volume, with such fine haiku as my friend Penny Harter's:
broken bowl
the pieces
still rocking
This is a book I could start all over and read again--and will.
broken bowl
the pieces
still rocking
This is a book I could start all over and read again--and will.
April 27, 2014
The value of this collection of haiku is that it tells the story of haiku written in English over the last one hundred years. If you are a haiku poet and have read and studied haiku then I recommend that you first read the essay by Jim Kacian at the end of the book. It is superb! This anthology of English-language haiku is edited by Jim Kacian, Philip Rowland and Allan Burns. To put the book together, they obviously have read thousands of haiku published in the haiku magazines in the the last 60 years. They document the growth and changes in haiku through the work they have selected.
The anthology begins with some of the shorter poems of Ezra Pound and includes some well-known poets and writers like Wallace Stevens, Amy Lowell, Langston Hughes, e. e. cummings, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and Jack Kerouac. Most of these poets dabbled in haiku but their real work was elsewhere. Then the anthology shifts to early haiku poets like Cor van den Heuvel who is best known for his anthology called The Haiku Anthology. The book is still the best collection of haiku written in English. It is the book that I would recommend to anyone interested in reading haiku.
For a period of 7 years between 1975 to 1982, I wrote and published more than 100 haiku in more than 20 haiku magazines. I also read the haiku of many of the poets in these pages. One of my favorites is James W. Hackett. I own several of his small books. Others who I read include: Nick Virgilio and Robert Spiess. Spiess was the editor of Modern Haiku, one of the best haiku magazines and one of the oldest that is still published. I was fortunate to have dinner with the man one evening in Madison, WI where he lived. I also remember reading the haiku of John Wills, Rod Willmot, Virginia Brady Young, Michael McClintock, Geraldine Clinton Little, Janice Bostok, Alan Pizzarelli, Elizabeth Searle Lamb, Marlene Mountain, George Swede, Ruth Yarrow, Gunther Klinge, Peggy Willis Lyles, Alexis Rotella, James Kirkup, and Lee Gurga. I own two hardback collections of Raymond Roseliep, the Iowa priest who wrote haiku: Rabbit in the Moon and Listen to Light. Lorraine Ellis Harr, who has three haiku in this anthology, published my first haiku in her magazine, Dragonfly. I also met Randy Brooks who published several of my haiku in his magazine, High/Coo. So reading this book for me was like taking a trip down memory lane. A special thanks to Jim Kacian, Philip Rowland and Allan Burns.
The anthology begins with some of the shorter poems of Ezra Pound and includes some well-known poets and writers like Wallace Stevens, Amy Lowell, Langston Hughes, e. e. cummings, Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and Jack Kerouac. Most of these poets dabbled in haiku but their real work was elsewhere. Then the anthology shifts to early haiku poets like Cor van den Heuvel who is best known for his anthology called The Haiku Anthology. The book is still the best collection of haiku written in English. It is the book that I would recommend to anyone interested in reading haiku.
For a period of 7 years between 1975 to 1982, I wrote and published more than 100 haiku in more than 20 haiku magazines. I also read the haiku of many of the poets in these pages. One of my favorites is James W. Hackett. I own several of his small books. Others who I read include: Nick Virgilio and Robert Spiess. Spiess was the editor of Modern Haiku, one of the best haiku magazines and one of the oldest that is still published. I was fortunate to have dinner with the man one evening in Madison, WI where he lived. I also remember reading the haiku of John Wills, Rod Willmot, Virginia Brady Young, Michael McClintock, Geraldine Clinton Little, Janice Bostok, Alan Pizzarelli, Elizabeth Searle Lamb, Marlene Mountain, George Swede, Ruth Yarrow, Gunther Klinge, Peggy Willis Lyles, Alexis Rotella, James Kirkup, and Lee Gurga. I own two hardback collections of Raymond Roseliep, the Iowa priest who wrote haiku: Rabbit in the Moon and Listen to Light. Lorraine Ellis Harr, who has three haiku in this anthology, published my first haiku in her magazine, Dragonfly. I also met Randy Brooks who published several of my haiku in his magazine, High/Coo. So reading this book for me was like taking a trip down memory lane. A special thanks to Jim Kacian, Philip Rowland and Allan Burns.
January 21, 2016
The other books of haiku I wanted from my library were checked out, so I read this one instead. I was pleasantly surprised. This is a nice little anthology which attempts to present the history of haiku in English, organized by publication date, beginning with Ezra Pound and moving forward. I found quite a few poets whose work I will be seeking out in their own collections. There are some examples of short poems which are not haiku included to show the interplay between the haiku form and other poetic forms, which I did not really appreciate, but as this is as much a history as an anthology, I thought their inclusion was justified. The most striking poem of the lot? Not a surprise:
Suicide's Note
The calm,
Cool face of the river
Asked me for a kiss
Langston Hughes
However, many of the later examples were also very good. The overview of haiku in English at the end provides a nice prose history of the form. I only skimmed the introduction by Billy Collins, though.
Suicide's Note
The calm,
Cool face of the river
Asked me for a kiss
Langston Hughes
However, many of the later examples were also very good. The overview of haiku in English at the end provides a nice prose history of the form. I only skimmed the introduction by Billy Collins, though.
January 27, 2022
Not a perfect anthology in terms of format, but I'm rating off of the poems, which I can only say are immaculate, creative, and eye-opening. Brimming with inspiration after reading these!
May 21, 2024
** Enjoyed immensely!! **
One of those iconic 'must read' haiku books I'm always hearing such great things about, which proved completely deserving of associated hype, worth adding to library for foreword & introduction, essential overview alone!! Crucial histories, valuable insights into contemporary and future practice, delivered in a highly captivating and knowledgeable fashion, can't recommend enthusiastically enough!!
One of those iconic 'must read' haiku books I'm always hearing such great things about, which proved completely deserving of associated hype, worth adding to library for foreword & introduction, essential overview alone!! Crucial histories, valuable insights into contemporary and future practice, delivered in a highly captivating and knowledgeable fashion, can't recommend enthusiastically enough!!
October 27, 2015
I previously reviewed The Haiku Anthology by Cor van den Heuvel, Haiku in English is perhaps best seen as a companion collection to it.
Some of the content is duplicated in each volume but they both have different objectives.
The former is a third edition of mainly North American Haijin (the third edition IIRC dropped some important early contributors like Janice Bostok from Australia) and it tends to provide a number of poems from prominent Haijin, enabling the reader to get a real sense of each poets oeuvre. I believe Cor attempted to choose the best examples of the form he could.
Haiku in English broadens the field of poets to include European, UK and Australian Haijin (current and historical) and attempts to reflect the history of the form, showcasing proto-English Haiku at the beginning and highlighting experiments in short poetry that stem from this Japanese form.
Indeed the jacket copy calls it “the first anthology to map the full range of Haiku in the English tradition”. So, as the editors forewarn in their foreword, it’s not a collection of the best of the best in the form. Which is not to say that those haiku selected are deficient in any way.
Where a Haijin may have made an impact or pursued a variation to great enjoyment and success, only selected poems have been chosen to illustrate the achievement. Some poets only have one Haiku listed and it may not be that which is considered best from their body of work, more that it might illustrate an important step in the tradition.
To that end Haiku in English is more about the form and its English history than individual poets or groups of poets.
We begin with Pound’s:
In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Examine parts of Wallace’s Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird:
Amoung twenty snowy mountains,
The only moving thing
Was the eye of the blackbird
and then it’s more or less off into more familiar Haiku territory.
There’s some 800 poems here including those from many top poets still active in the form. The collection is capped off with a comprehensive historical essay by Jim Kacian, which in conjunction with the various introductions collected in The Haiku Anthology, serve to preserve the history of the form and the important achievements of its Haijin.
There is a very real danger that due to a lack of interest from the core of Western poetry tradition (despite works being included from Heaney and Collins) that much could be lost. This collection serves to head off this possibility.
Haiku in English should form part of a core reading cannon in anyone seriously attempting the form. There’s also sufficient variety in the Haiku selected, that as a reader of The Haiku Anthology I don’t feel as though I have paid for the same material.
Haiku in English is currently available in hardback, though a paperback version is slated for release in January.
Some of the content is duplicated in each volume but they both have different objectives.
The former is a third edition of mainly North American Haijin (the third edition IIRC dropped some important early contributors like Janice Bostok from Australia) and it tends to provide a number of poems from prominent Haijin, enabling the reader to get a real sense of each poets oeuvre. I believe Cor attempted to choose the best examples of the form he could.
Haiku in English broadens the field of poets to include European, UK and Australian Haijin (current and historical) and attempts to reflect the history of the form, showcasing proto-English Haiku at the beginning and highlighting experiments in short poetry that stem from this Japanese form.
Indeed the jacket copy calls it “the first anthology to map the full range of Haiku in the English tradition”. So, as the editors forewarn in their foreword, it’s not a collection of the best of the best in the form. Which is not to say that those haiku selected are deficient in any way.
Where a Haijin may have made an impact or pursued a variation to great enjoyment and success, only selected poems have been chosen to illustrate the achievement. Some poets only have one Haiku listed and it may not be that which is considered best from their body of work, more that it might illustrate an important step in the tradition.
To that end Haiku in English is more about the form and its English history than individual poets or groups of poets.
We begin with Pound’s:
In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Examine parts of Wallace’s Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird:
Amoung twenty snowy mountains,
The only moving thing
Was the eye of the blackbird
and then it’s more or less off into more familiar Haiku territory.
There’s some 800 poems here including those from many top poets still active in the form. The collection is capped off with a comprehensive historical essay by Jim Kacian, which in conjunction with the various introductions collected in The Haiku Anthology, serve to preserve the history of the form and the important achievements of its Haijin.
There is a very real danger that due to a lack of interest from the core of Western poetry tradition (despite works being included from Heaney and Collins) that much could be lost. This collection serves to head off this possibility.
Haiku in English should form part of a core reading cannon in anyone seriously attempting the form. There’s also sufficient variety in the Haiku selected, that as a reader of The Haiku Anthology I don’t feel as though I have paid for the same material.
Haiku in English is currently available in hardback, though a paperback version is slated for release in January.
December 12, 2015
An excellent overview of the history of haiku in english, presented by Jim Kacian, one of the foremost haiku editors and historians. A fine complement to The Haiku Anthology. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an introduction to haiku, or anyone familiar with haiku who wants a deeper historical grounding.
Read
December 7, 2013Excellent read. Recommend it to anyone interested in the history of
Haiku in English, and who wants to know a little about the key players past and current.
The Mini Bios in the back of the book were worth the price. Nothing didactic or biased about the presentation of the information, either
Haiku in English, and who wants to know a little about the key players past and current.
The Mini Bios in the back of the book were worth the price. Nothing didactic or biased about the presentation of the information, either
February 22, 2014
Essential reading for any lover of haiku. Includes many journals and websites to explore.
February 6, 2016
Especially recommended is the introduction by Billy Collins.
May 20, 2019
Once upon a time about eleven years ago, I had a haiku published in a sci-fi magazine called Scifaikuest. So, when I stumbled across this anthology in my library, I thought I'd finally read a book of haiku instead of just trying (and failing 99% of the time) to write one.
The title for this book should actually have been [Blank] Rain because it seems that every other haiku in here mentions summer rain, winter rain or some other sort of rain. This is a big deal to me since the haiku poems only take up about a third of this book. The rest of it is filled with acknowledgements, table of contents, a brief history of English language haiku and lots of yada, yada, yada.
For a book on haiku, there's surprisingly little haiku in it. At times I just rolled my eyes and thought, "What would George Carlin do?"
Okay, that's not exactly in the 5-7-5 format we were taught as kids, but neither are many of the haiku in this book. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but one word haikus just seem to be taking the piss.
I did learn that the haiku in English can be blamed on good ol' Ezra Pound. That's right -- the same guy who published the War and Peace of modern poems, T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" is also responsible for generations of American schoolkids having to be forced to write a three-line, 5-7-5 poem OR ELSE. He's also responsible for an incredible amount of bad haiku -- or whatever passes for haiku in English these days.
Some of those are, sadly, included in this book. They read almost like parodies. You really have to mine deep to find the few really mind-blowing ones and some deeply disturbing ones that would make Stephen King envious. The one that sticks the most in my mind is by Clare McCotter. It's untiled and goes (in its icy entirely) like this:
"clouds in a mare's eye the fracture beyond repair"
I also had trouble with the organization of the book, perhaps because I'm not used to reading haiku. Haiku is usually untitled -- but three or more haiku often appears on the same page. I can't help but subconsciously run the three together and wonder how they look like as a whole. This made for some very jarring reading experiences -- such as reading first about a guy making love and then suddenly about a dead cat in the rain.
I think that's put me off sex for the rest of my life.
But, oddly enough, it hasn't put me off trying to read haiku again. I'm going to check out other haiku books from my library. If you have any you'd like to recommend, feel free to mention them in the comments below.
The title for this book should actually have been [Blank] Rain because it seems that every other haiku in here mentions summer rain, winter rain or some other sort of rain. This is a big deal to me since the haiku poems only take up about a third of this book. The rest of it is filled with acknowledgements, table of contents, a brief history of English language haiku and lots of yada, yada, yada.
For a book on haiku, there's surprisingly little haiku in it. At times I just rolled my eyes and thought, "What would George Carlin do?"
Okay, that's not exactly in the 5-7-5 format we were taught as kids, but neither are many of the haiku in this book. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but one word haikus just seem to be taking the piss.
I did learn that the haiku in English can be blamed on good ol' Ezra Pound. That's right -- the same guy who published the War and Peace of modern poems, T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" is also responsible for generations of American schoolkids having to be forced to write a three-line, 5-7-5 poem OR ELSE. He's also responsible for an incredible amount of bad haiku -- or whatever passes for haiku in English these days.
Some of those are, sadly, included in this book. They read almost like parodies. You really have to mine deep to find the few really mind-blowing ones and some deeply disturbing ones that would make Stephen King envious. The one that sticks the most in my mind is by Clare McCotter. It's untiled and goes (in its icy entirely) like this:
"clouds in a mare's eye the fracture beyond repair"
I also had trouble with the organization of the book, perhaps because I'm not used to reading haiku. Haiku is usually untitled -- but three or more haiku often appears on the same page. I can't help but subconsciously run the three together and wonder how they look like as a whole. This made for some very jarring reading experiences -- such as reading first about a guy making love and then suddenly about a dead cat in the rain.
I think that's put me off sex for the rest of my life.
But, oddly enough, it hasn't put me off trying to read haiku again. I'm going to check out other haiku books from my library. If you have any you'd like to recommend, feel free to mention them in the comments below.
March 2, 2025
the brevity of words that tell entire stories felt like a deep breath of air in a calm forest.
---
A child looking at
ants; an elephant looking
at universes.
at the height
of the argument the old couple
pour each other tea
crickets...
then
thunder
summer night:
we turn out all the lights
to hear the rain
In the falling snow
A laughing boy holds out his palms
Until they are white.
city street
the darkness inside
the snow-covered cars
yesterday’s paper
in the next seat—
the train picks up speed
walking with the river
the water does my thinking
the sound
of rain on the sound
of waves
passport check
my shadow waits
across the border
Turning everything
into itself
the wind
leaves blowing into a sentence
spring wind—
I too
am dust
dove song shortens the lane to where she waits
crackling beach fire—
we hum in place of words
we can’t recall
meteor shower...
a gentle wave
wets our sandals
back from the war
all his doors
swollen shut
among leafless trees
too many thoughts
in my head
elevator silence—
our eyes escape
into numbers
The earth shakes
just enough
to remind us.
summer solstice—
the sun reaches a new place
on the fridge
all day long
i feel its weight
the unworn necklace
night train
we are all in this
alone
say no words
time is collapsing
in the woods
a child’s drawing
the ladder to the sun
only three steps
losing its name
a river
enters the sea
---
A child looking at
ants; an elephant looking
at universes.
at the height
of the argument the old couple
pour each other tea
crickets...
then
thunder
summer night:
we turn out all the lights
to hear the rain
In the falling snow
A laughing boy holds out his palms
Until they are white.
city street
the darkness inside
the snow-covered cars
yesterday’s paper
in the next seat—
the train picks up speed
walking with the river
the water does my thinking
the sound
of rain on the sound
of waves
passport check
my shadow waits
across the border
Turning everything
into itself
the wind
leaves blowing into a sentence
spring wind—
I too
am dust
dove song shortens the lane to where she waits
crackling beach fire—
we hum in place of words
we can’t recall
meteor shower...
a gentle wave
wets our sandals
back from the war
all his doors
swollen shut
among leafless trees
too many thoughts
in my head
elevator silence—
our eyes escape
into numbers
The earth shakes
just enough
to remind us.
summer solstice—
the sun reaches a new place
on the fridge
all day long
i feel its weight
the unworn necklace
night train
we are all in this
alone
say no words
time is collapsing
in the woods
a child’s drawing
the ladder to the sun
only three steps
losing its name
a river
enters the sea
January 29, 2023
This is a well researched and well written anthology of English language haiku. Probably a little deeper and more academic than I was ready for but I did enjoy learning a bit of the history of ELH (English Language Haiku). Following the changes in the form of the ELH over its first hundred years through the different poets was interesting. Many poems resonated with me and others left me clueless. My knowledge of haiku was my middle school teacher having us write 3-line poems with the syllable count of 5-7-5. The development of ELH has gone beyond this yet still holds to some of the traditional Japanese features. The overview at the end of the book was a bit difficult for me to follow but I liked the way the editor wrapped up the changes in form of ELH in the last paragraphs. Talking about the approach to the "wild" in traditional haiku and how that takes on new meaning today with human sprawl, climate change, and our alienation from nature.
"Perhaps we can find reconciliation of these concerns, and our way forward in haiku,
in the spirit of one of its great exemplars. Basho wrote, 'Do not seek to follow in the
footsteps of the masters. Seek what they sought.' It is the cultivation of this spirit
that will most ensure that haiku continues asa living poetic genre." Jim Kacian
"Perhaps we can find reconciliation of these concerns, and our way forward in haiku,
in the spirit of one of its great exemplars. Basho wrote, 'Do not seek to follow in the
footsteps of the masters. Seek what they sought.' It is the cultivation of this spirit
that will most ensure that haiku continues asa living poetic genre." Jim Kacian
April 29, 2025
I truly enjoyed most of the poems. However, the commentary and the "Overview of Haiku in English" portion were tedious and dull. If you grab this book, just read the haikus.
Here are some favorites:
"Suicide's Note
The calm,
Cool face of the river
Asked me for a kiss." - Langston Hughes
"A child looking at
ants; an elephant looking
at universes." -John Tagliabue
"Small Song
The reeds give
way to the
wind and give
the wind away."- A.R. Ammons
"As we got
Closer, the
Rainbow disappeared." - Julius Lester
"the white of her neck
as she lifts her hair for me
to undo her dress" -Bernard Lionel Einbond
"a deep gorge...
some of the silence
is me
one last look
through the old apartment
a dry sponge
jampackedelevatoreverybuttonpushed" - John Stevenson
"New Year's parade-
beneath the dancing dragon
the feet of men" - Patricia Neubauer
"look at the red throat
of the hummingbird- then tell
your story again" - Ronald Baatz
"stuck to the slab
the i
of the frozen f sh." - David Steele
"losing its name
a river
enters the sea" - John Sandbach
"Haiku for miles and indigo
if your ancestors
could build pyramids then your
dreams are but mild stones" -Kwame Alexander
Here are some favorites:
"Suicide's Note
The calm,
Cool face of the river
Asked me for a kiss." - Langston Hughes
"A child looking at
ants; an elephant looking
at universes." -John Tagliabue
"Small Song
The reeds give
way to the
wind and give
the wind away."- A.R. Ammons
"As we got
Closer, the
Rainbow disappeared." - Julius Lester
"the white of her neck
as she lifts her hair for me
to undo her dress" -Bernard Lionel Einbond
"a deep gorge...
some of the silence
is me
one last look
through the old apartment
a dry sponge
jampackedelevatoreverybuttonpushed" - John Stevenson
"New Year's parade-
beneath the dancing dragon
the feet of men" - Patricia Neubauer
"look at the red throat
of the hummingbird- then tell
your story again" - Ronald Baatz
"stuck to the slab
the i
of the frozen f sh." - David Steele
"losing its name
a river
enters the sea" - John Sandbach
"Haiku for miles and indigo
if your ancestors
could build pyramids then your
dreams are but mild stones" -Kwame Alexander
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2022
Ahh, the blank paper sheet
a terrifying presence to me
Haiku is very hard.
How did you like my attempt at a Haiku? My first encounter with this poetry form was in fifth grade. I had to write a haiku, but I hated the idea because it is constrictive.
Now, I can pull them out of my brain if I think about almost any subject. This one might not have the syllables, but here's another.
The open window
snowfall rushes in
why did I do that?
That one is pretty good.
The book is a collection of Haiku in English from various sources. It covers the genre chronologically, starting with Ezra Pound and continuing to other authors. Haiku done well is a beautifully evocative piece of writing. It might be easier in other languages. I can only read and write in English, but I know the art form originated in Japan. If you are unfamiliar with Haiku, the idea is to arrange the words in a pattern where the syllables are limited to five-seven-five lines. That is a traditional Haiku. Other forms aren't so limiting.
Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.
a terrifying presence to me
Haiku is very hard.
How did you like my attempt at a Haiku? My first encounter with this poetry form was in fifth grade. I had to write a haiku, but I hated the idea because it is constrictive.
Now, I can pull them out of my brain if I think about almost any subject. This one might not have the syllables, but here's another.
The open window
snowfall rushes in
why did I do that?
That one is pretty good.
The book is a collection of Haiku in English from various sources. It covers the genre chronologically, starting with Ezra Pound and continuing to other authors. Haiku done well is a beautifully evocative piece of writing. It might be easier in other languages. I can only read and write in English, but I know the art form originated in Japan. If you are unfamiliar with Haiku, the idea is to arrange the words in a pattern where the syllables are limited to five-seven-five lines. That is a traditional Haiku. Other forms aren't so limiting.
Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.
November 26, 2023
#
In the castle’s shadow
the flowers closed
long before evening.
#
the field’s evening fog—
quietly the hound comes
to fetch me home
#
walking with the river
the water does my thinking
leaves blowing into a sentence
#
I bring him the garden
in my skirt.
At the top
of the ferris wheel,
lilac scent.
#
Today’s role dangles
from a metal hanger.
#
Moss-hung trees
a deer moves into
the hunter’s silence
#
A flame set to fit the need between yes and no
#
She enters
the earth on her knees
back from the war
all his doors
swollen shut
#
Feeling one’s own face
from the inside
daffodil morning—
looking for something
very blue to wear
#
A party
where everyone says goodbye
then stays
#
Among leafless trees
too many thoughts
in my head
#
The earth shakes
just enough
to remind us.
#
You choose to die
with a shrug,
some of the silence
is me
#
These hills
have nothing to say
and go on saying it
#
Losing its name
a river
enters the sea
#
Autumn colours
we let mother lie
about our childhood
In the castle’s shadow
the flowers closed
long before evening.
#
the field’s evening fog—
quietly the hound comes
to fetch me home
#
walking with the river
the water does my thinking
leaves blowing into a sentence
#
I bring him the garden
in my skirt.
At the top
of the ferris wheel,
lilac scent.
#
Today’s role dangles
from a metal hanger.
#
Moss-hung trees
a deer moves into
the hunter’s silence
#
A flame set to fit the need between yes and no
#
She enters
the earth on her knees
back from the war
all his doors
swollen shut
#
Feeling one’s own face
from the inside
daffodil morning—
looking for something
very blue to wear
#
A party
where everyone says goodbye
then stays
#
Among leafless trees
too many thoughts
in my head
#
The earth shakes
just enough
to remind us.
#
You choose to die
with a shrug,
some of the silence
is me
#
These hills
have nothing to say
and go on saying it
#
Losing its name
a river
enters the sea
#
Autumn colours
we let mother lie
about our childhood
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2022
Haiku in English has a very pleasing layout, which enhances the reading experience. The bulk of the book comprises examples of haiku by more than 200 authors, in a wide variety of styles. The simplicity of the haiku form is complemented by the spacious arrangement of the poems on the page. Each author is accorded a full page (or occasionally two), with the result that the poems--frequently one per page--are set off by large, pleasing margins. Following the chronologically arranged haiku is an informative and interesting history of haiku written in English. The volume concludes with an alphabetical listing of authors containing brief biographical information, sources for all works included in this volume, a list of major published works, and an index to the author's page. I found this latter aid useful when I came across names in the history whose work I wanted to revisit. I would have found it useful if references to authors in the history section were similarly indexed.
July 14, 2018
There are enough poems in this anthology that I could like many of them and still feel ambivalent about the collection as a whole. I appreciate the historical scope and being able to watch English-language haiku develop, but at the level of liking or loving (or not) individual poems, it was hit or miss. Which is true of many anthologies.
After the poems, there is a historical overview of haiku in English. I thought this was the best reason to read the book—and it wasn't the reason I chose it, so this was a pleasant surprise. I wish it had been placed at the beginning because then I would've had a historical context for the haiku as I read them. Come for the haiku, stay for the excellent explanation.
After the poems, there is a historical overview of haiku in English. I thought this was the best reason to read the book—and it wasn't the reason I chose it, so this was a pleasant surprise. I wish it had been placed at the beginning because then I would've had a historical context for the haiku as I read them. Come for the haiku, stay for the excellent explanation.
July 5, 2021
I'm in no position to judge haikus or their creators. Overall, I thought the anthology achieved its mission - a sampler from this highly specific poetry form in one language. But I do think better care should have been applied to organization and formatting. For one, several haikus would be grouped on the same page, giving them the confusing look of a longer poem - a simple dash or tilde between each would have been wonderful. There were also no dates included with the authors or poems, so even though the anthology is said to be chronological, you have no idea what decade any of these are associated with. The ending section explaining the origin of haikus and this English selection would also have been appropriate at the beginning.
January 14, 2017
If you are an English teacher, a person who appreciates poetry, or someone that is in the process of learning more about poetry, this is for you. Several of the poems stood out to me, though they didn't really seem like, "Haiku." Personally, I think I still prefer to read traditional Western poetry, but that's just me. Still, a decent read. I would have liked to have spent more time pondering and reflecting on the poems. But I think I would need to be guided by someone a little more educated in poetry.
October 27, 2020
An anthology of poems following the development of the haiku form as it has evolved in English since its introduction to the West and its popularization by the Beats. Some familiar names here who have tried their hand at the form as well as lesser known poets. Many of the poems do not follow the classic 5-7-5 form as the debate continues about whether haiku is a strict form or more of a feel. The book concludes with a long essay about the evolution of the form in English.
July 20, 2025
Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years is a rich and comprehensive anthology that traces the evolution of English-language haiku over the past century. Edited by Jim Kacian, Philip Rowland, and Allan Burns, the collection features a diverse range of poets and styles, showcasing the form’s growth from traditional roots to modern experimentation. With an insightful introduction by Billy Collins, the book offers both historical depth and poetic brilliance.
October 23, 2019
So glad I stumbled upon this book in the library. I write haiku almost everyday, so I was intrigued by this title.
I enjoyed learning about the history of haiku, its evolution beyond its standard form and substance, and its journey to globalization.
I was especially touched and inspired by the Introduction by Billy Collins.
If you enjoy haiku, pick this book up today.
I enjoyed learning about the history of haiku, its evolution beyond its standard form and substance, and its journey to globalization.
I was especially touched and inspired by the Introduction by Billy Collins.
If you enjoy haiku, pick this book up today.
January 31, 2023
Collection of haiku from english poets. Very different than the 5-7-5 form I was taught in middle school. Most still nature based with a certain rhythm and mic drop moment. Chapter at the end describes history of haiku being brought to American audiences and the resulting interpretation of the form. Found it a bit dry but informative. Liked more poems than not.
July 20, 2025
Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years is a thoughtful and beautifully curated collection that captures the evolution of English-language haiku over the past century. With an insightful introduction by Billy Collins, it blends tradition and innovation, offering both timeless and contemporary pieces. A must-read for poetry lovers and haiku enthusiasts alike.
May 8, 2017
Fantastic Forward and poetry. The Overview at the end by Jim Kacian, however, was the biggest piece of written snobbery I've ever read. Clearly, he only had one small audience in mind when he wrote it.
October 26, 2017
I loved the Haiku's but I feel I would have taken more from the Overview if it had been mixed through the entire book, covering the impact of the author's that are mentioned before or after the poet's haiku.
I did like the first part of the Overview where they talk about the format of haiku.
I did like the first part of the Overview where they talk about the format of haiku.
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