The Haiku Anthology: Haiku And Senryu In English

by Cor van den Heuvel (Editor)

"Generous, irreplaceable. . . . It's an eye-opener and a who's-who of haiku today."― Providence Sunday Journal Originally a Japanese form that flourished in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, haiku has recently experienced tremendous growth in popularity in the English language. The Haiku Anthology , first published in 1974, is a landmark work in modern haiku, honoring a genre of poetry that celebrates simplicity, emotion, and imagery―in which only a few words convey worlds of mystery and meaning. This third edition, now completely revised and updated, comprises 850 haiku and senryu (a related genre, usually humorous and concerned with human nature) written in English by 89 poets, including the top haiku writers of the American past and present. A new foreword details developments since the publication of the last edition. "Each of these perfect little poems will come as a revelation to the uninitiated reader and will bring joy to the haiku enthusiast. . . . This is an exceptional selection of English-language haiku at its finest."― Library Booknotes

Genres: Poetry, Japan, Anthologies, Collections, Nonfiction, Literature, Japanese Literature

363 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

I discoverd haiku in 1958 in San Francisco and have concentrated my writing on that kind of poetry and its related genres (senryu, haibun, haiga, etc.) ever since. I grew up in Maine and New Hampshire. Between my freshman and sophomore years at the University of New Hampshire, I served three years in the U.S. Air Force. At that time I was interested in the poetry of John Keats and the science fiction of Ray Bradbury among other general literary interests. I knew I wanted to be a writer, but I wasn't sure what kind.

Between my junior and senior years at UNH I took off a year to live in New York City, where I worked as a copyboy for the Woman's Home Companion. While in New York I saw the original English performance of Beckett's Waiting for Godot and began reading his works. I became a fan of Salinger's writing in the New Yorker.
After graduating from UNH with a BA in English Literature in 1957, I went to work as a cub reporter at the Concord Monitor in Concord, NH. It was in the fall of '57 while working at the Monitor that I happened to pick up at a local newstand the second issue of the Evergreen Review which was devoted to the San Francisco poetry renaissance. It had selections of work by Jack Kerouac, Robert Duncan, Jack Spicer, Allen Ginsberg, and others. It was a whole new way of writing that impressed me so much that I decided to quit my job and go to San Francisco to experience it first hand.

I arrived in the city by the Bay in the spring of 1958 and found a room in a small hotel, The Sunny Hotel, on Bush Street just up from the corner of the street that runs through Chinatown all the way to North Beach where the poets hung out. There I met, in a bar called The Place, a poet who was part of the Robert Duncan/Jack Spicer group of writers who met periodically to read and discuss their work. He, George Stanley, happened to be hosting these meeting at the time and he invited me to attend them. At one of these meetings I met Gary Snyder who mentioned a kind of poetry called haiku and that began my long love affair with the genre.

(to be continued)

Reviews

[Zohreh Hanifeh · Rating 3 out of 5]

انتخاب‌های خوب و جذابی بود. بعضی‌ها قشنگ منظره‌ای را می‌نشاند جلوی چشم‌هات. گر چه به قوت و قدرت هایکوهای ژاپنی نبودند. آن اصالت و ایجاز که یک تصویر کهن را مجسم می‌کنند. اما به‌روز و ملموس بود برای زندگی اکنونمان.
فقط ای کاش نام سراینده‌ها را می‌نوشتند، که آدم بداند کدام هایکو از کیست، برای ما که دسترسی به اصل کتاب نداریم.

[Negar Ghadimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

برگشته از تعطیلات / می‌گذارم / ماسه بر صندوقِ ماشین بماند
——————————————
دخترک زمین می‌خورد / برای عروسکش هم / چسبِ زخم می‌خواهد
——————————————
وقتِ رفتن است / سنگ‌هایی که پرت کردیم / تهِ اقیانوس‌اند
——————————————
بارانِ تابستانی / تاریک می‌کند کتاب فروشی را / بوی رمان‌های جدید
——————————————
قهوه / در فنجانِ کاغذی / چه دورم از خانه
——————————————
عریان / نقش‌های امروز آویزان / از چوب لباسِ آهنی
——————————————
آخرِ تابستان / باغ می‌آورم برای او / در دامنم
——————————————
نوازنده‌ی نابینای دوره‌گرد / لیوانِ فلزی‌اش را دراز کرده / چند دانه برف در آن جمع می‌شود

[Alialiarya · Rating 4 out of 5]

خیلی خوب کاش همه کتاب ترجمه میشد حیف

[Mohammad Hanifeh · Rating 3 out of 5]

دو هفته بود که حتی یک خط هم نتونسته بودم کتاب بخونم. این کتاب رو برداشتم که به نوعی این دورۀ کتاب‌نـخونی رو تموم کنم. به نظرم هایکوهای این کتاب قطعاً به پای هایکوهای ژاپنی نمی‌رسن ولی بالاخره بین‌شون چیزهایی پیدا می‌شه که بشه ازشون لذت برد.

چند تا از هایکوهایی که بیشتر ازشون خوشم اومد:

قهوه
در فنجان کاغذی
چه دورم از خانه!

صدای قدم‌هایش
در اتاق بالای سر
موهایم را شانه می‌زنم

آینه را بخار می‌گیرد
نامی نوشته بر آن از دیرباز
به‌آرامی پدیدار می‌شود

برادرِ مُرده‌ام...
خنده‌اش را می‌شونم
در خندۀ خودم

[Melissa Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised when I read through half this anthology in one sitting. I had intended to savor it slowly over the summer, but I couldn't help reading one more, and then one more poem. I've loved writing haiku's since I was introduced to them in a high school creative writing class. Since, for me, writing poetry has always been a secretive and cathartic form of self expression, I was never bothered by the fact that I hadn't read any haiku's beyond those first few. This summer, I decided to remedy that, and I found this book to be a fantastic introduction! I would really recommend at least skimming the forward first. It explains the way haiku's have been adapted to the English language, and talks about the various authors the book highlights. One particular line was helpful in explaining: "A haiku is a short poem recording the essence of a moment keenly perceived in which Nature is linked to human nature." That one piece of information added volumes to my enjoyment. After reading each poem, I would consider for a moment how it reflected human nature. There is such a variety in this collection that I think it has a little something for everyone. There are poems that are heartbreaking, profound, funny, and even a few that are creepy. I look forward to browsing through this for years to come. Here are a few of my favorites.

Nick Avis:

longing to be near her
i remember my shirt
hanging in her closet


Tom Clausen

Farm country back road:
just like them i lift one finger
from the steering wheel


Virginia Brady Young

persimmons
lightly swaying -
heavy with
themselves


Penny Harter

grandmother's mirror-
age spots
the glass


Clement Hoyt

A Hallowe'en mask,
floating face up in the ditch,
slowly shaking its head.


Lee Gurga

two little boys
paddling like mad-
the beached canoe


Unfortunately the goodreads writing editor deletes extra spaces, so some of these can't be written exactly as they appear in the book.

[S.B. Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

For any compendium of Haiku to make it to wide publication seems amazing (from my reading, Haiku was/is generally supported almost exclusively by small press in the west) but The Haiku Anthology made it to a 3rd edition and until Haiku In English - The first Hundred Years, was probably the latest and largest collection of quality English Language Haiku and Senryu in print.

It catalogues works from the beginning of the genre in the west to the late 1990's and reading it does give you some idea of the various historical changes and trends while also displaying the variety of approaches in what seems like such a restricted form. If I have one minor gripe, it’s the absence of works outside of North America. I understand that in earlier editions it included the work of Australian pioneers like Janice Bostok and possibly for space and target market reasons these have been dropped.

The Haiku Anthology includes the previous two edition’s introductions (yes that’s three different introductions) all in reverse chronological order. This was informative and provided historical information that’s likely to get forgotten as the genre moves on.

There’s a broad range of nature and urban Haiku and the Senryu vary from the rude and obviously comic to being difficult to decide whether they are Senryu or Haiku:

Alan Pizzareli’s Senryu vary from:



the fat lady

bends over the tomatoes

a full moon



to

reaching for

the wind-up toy

it rides off the table



There’s some early work by JW Hackett in the 5-7-5 format:



Half of the minnows

within the sunlit shallow

are not really there



and then there’s Nick Virgilio’s work, which demonstrates the form’s applicability to urban situations:



approaching autumn:

the warehouse watchdog’s bark

weakens in the wind



and it’s power to handle grief and passing



my dead brother…

hearing his laugh

in my laughter



In terms of gender representation the collection is about 70/30 in favour of males, which I found interesting in the context of the Australian scene which seems largely dominated by women. Perhaps its the effect of early proponents such as the Beat Poets (Kerouac and Ginsberg) who lent it some early legitimacy/cool for men interested in the form.

For the poet who intends to write Haiku, the anthology is a must have (either this one or Haiku in English above, which I take as a 4th edition, Cor van den Heuvel I assume, having passed on the editorial reins) even if it’s just for the ease of having a large number of quality Haiku readily at hand. Additionally If there’s one thing that is annoying about Haiku, it’s not being able to easily track down print collections of quality proponents. I have been trying to track down copies of Anita Virgil’s work and this collection is about the only place you’ll find a large number grouped together in print.

For the general reader, it might be a bit much to take in at once. Haiku is one of those forms that gains depth with more understanding of the technical aspects. So it’s worth figuring out how a good Haiku is constructed while reading the collection. That being said, some of the Haiku and Senryu contained don’t require an understanding of the form and are “wordless” in getting their image across.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out of a total of 800 Haiku, these are my favorites:

Sunset:
one last parachute
floats slowly down
~ Kay M. Avila

August night:
the lamplight quiet
as our children draw
~ Mike Dillon

Stripping wallpaper into the nite
my wife uncovers someone
else's bedroom
~ Leroy Gorman

her silence at dinner
sediment
hanging in the wine
~ Scott Montgomery

Sitting together on the stoop,
the dog's hip
presses mine
~ Alexis Rotella

Christmas cookies -
nibbling
stars
~ Alexis Rotella

Across the still lake
through uncurls of morning mist
the cry of a loon
~ O. Mabson Southard

Spring thaw
white horse in the pasture
nosing clouds
~ John Wills

[Jason Pettus · Rating 3 out of 5]

2021 reads, #41. Big news -- for the first time in twenty years, I've started writing poetry again! And unlike last time, this time it ain't any of that poetry-slam nonsense either, but actual formal poetry based on actual classic poetry forms, things like sonnets and haikus and other thousand-year-old traditions. I actually know very little about the subject, so the first thing I did was just check out a bunch of random titles at my local branch of the Chicago Public Library system, to see what appeals to me so I can start heading down more specific rabbit holes as the year continues.

Today's book just happened to be the thickest volume of haikus my local library branch had, so I picked it up simply as a way of getting a wide and deep experience in seeing what other poets consider the "best" that haiku has to offer, so to compare it to my own and hopefully get inspired to get better at it. Unfortunately, the editor of this book, Cor van den Heuvel, is yet another one of those people (and there's a lot of them in poetry) who suffer from Pretentious Twaddle Syndrome*, and he writes an extended introduction here that's so insufferably awful that it almost convinced me to give up before I even got to the poetry itself. Especially problematic here is the way he snuffles his nose at the entire concept of a haiku having to follow the traditional rule of three lines, consisting of five then seven then five syllables apiece, insisting that the only haikus you actually see like this must've obviously been written by either a child or a dilettante, and that the only true haiku is the one that follows no form or rules at all, but rather is dictated by the inner struggle of that poet's attempt to find the perfect phrase to express this moment in time he's trying to capture, no matter how many lines or how many syllables that phrase ends up being.

No, no, no! FUCKING NO, COR!!!! One of the insights I've recently had, in fact, is that so-called "free verse" poetry is one of the main things that's kept poetry off my radar for most of my life; for without the rules, without the tradition of that form, you haven't actually written a "poem" at all, but instead you've written a tiny little short story cut up into funny-looking lines. I've become convinced that this is the main reason poetry is now largely dismissed as pointless by the vast majority of the general population, because we now have 100+ years under our belt of people writing terrible little prose stories, cutting them up into funny-looking lines, then presenting it to the world as a "free verse poem," and that the vast majority of the general audience can instantly see this as the bullshit it is, and therefore dismisses the entire medium with a single wave of the hand.

That said, when you put together a collection of over 800 haikus spanning nearly 400 pages, the sheer volume of the text guarantees a lot of winners popping up in there, which means that van den Heuvel has put together a successful book here despite all his conscious efforts, not because of them, which is what earns this book an additional two stars beyond the one star I'm giving to just the 57-page (!!!) introduction. In particular, what I discovered by reading 800 haikus in three days is that the ones that work absolutely best are the ones that convey an unusually quiet, unusually intimate moment in our lives, the kind of super-specific moment that all of us tend to think is something we've only experienced or noticed ourselves, and so which give a flash of happy surprise and recognition when we see a complete stranger mention it too. For example, let me cite this one by Betty Drevniok: "a drift of snow // in the picnic table's shadow // first day of spring;" or this one by Jim Boyd: "morning surf // a dog fills the sky // with seagulls;" or this one by Lee Gurga: "candlelight dinner-- // his finger slowly circles // the rim of his glass." (Note that this last one actually follows the 5-7-5 form, which I guess to van den Heuvel makes Lee Gurga either a child or a dilettante.) I found all of these (and many more) to be great, because they don't just express a moment in time, but also express something surprising and intimate, a moment that nicely represents the small magic inherent in our otherwise blasé daily lives. That's a great lesson to learn while moving forward with my own experiments in haiku (for example, here's one of my own that I only wrote after reading the book: "sparrows in sprinkler // dancing like gleeful children // summer hits us all"); and so in this, I'm glad I took the time to check out this book and read it from cover to cover. It comes recommended in this spirit to other aspiring poets like myself.

*Pretentious Twaddle Syndrome: When someone who's a fan of an obscure subject, and wishes to get more people in the general population to become fans too, ends up writing so pretentiously about the subject that they literally scare away the general audience members they were trying to attract in the first place. See also: classical music, jazz, comic books, whiskey, and pretty much anything else loved by white men in their sixties.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This classic collection of American haiku has gone through three editions (with a preface, forward, and introduction included for the three; you don’t even get to the first haiku until you have traversed 68 pages of front matter) and numerous reprintings. All the introductory stuff is useful and informative but the value comes with the poems themselves from a range of contemporary (mid- to late-twentieth century) poets, the most famous being Jack Kerouac and everyone else, including the book’s editor, being new to this lay reader.

My favorite poets were Marlene Mountain, Alexis Rotella, John Stevenson, George Swede, Cor Van den Heuvel, Nicholas Virgelio, among others. I don’t know enough to comment about who is in and who isn’t or how much space individual poets get—the favorite sport of reviewers of any anthology—other than noting Richard Wright is not represented and that seems odd. Wright during the last year and a half of his life while living in exile in France wrote and published haiku. I believe some of his work would have benefited the anthology.

The best of the collection impress with how much can be evoked with so little: twelve syllables or less.

Like this one by Foster Jewell: “Cliff dweller ruins / and the silence of swallows / encircling silence.”
These from Alexis Rotella: “Undressed— / today’s role dangles / from a metal hanger.” And: “Late August / I bring him the garden / in my skirt.”
From O. Mabson Southard: “The waves now fall short / of the stranded jellyfish / In it shines the sky.”
From John Stevenson: “cold saturday— /drawn back into bed / by my own warmth” and “checking the driver / as I pass a car / just like mine”.
From Arizona Zipper: “The calliope! / Walking to the fair / a little faster.”
From George Swede: “alone at last / i wonder where / everyone is” And: “Night begins to gather between her breasts”. And: “One button undone / in the clerk’s blouse—I let her / steal my change.” And: “Leaving my loneliness inside her”.
From the editor: “summer afternoon / the long fly ball to center field / takes its time.” And: “the blues singer / tells you how bad it is / then the sax tells you too.”
From Anita Virgil: “quiet evening: / the long sound / of the freight train fades.” And: “holding you / in me still… / sparrow songs”
From Nicholas Virgilio, a sequence: “deep in rank grass, / through a bullet-riddled helmet: / an unknown flower.” “The autumn wind / has torn the telegram and more / from mother’s hand” “my dead brother… / hearing his laugh / in my laughter” and “my dead brother…/ wearing his gloves and boots / I step into deep snow”

This was the most impressive part of the anthology: the range and diversity of topics, from simple moments that netted universal truths of the small sort (“The calliope!”) to moments of love, eroticism or heartbreak to complex themes of war and loss. Spendid and inspiring.

[Bryson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe that the pictured edition is the second edition; I have the third addition, which is hardback.

The book just came to me this weekend while I was on a haiku retreat in Seabeck, WA., and it's awesome. In all seriousness, this book may be the only case in which I read the introduction before I actually started reading the rest of it. And I actually enjoyed it. Cor van den Heuvel is easily one of the most brilliant poets of the age, and his Foreward to the Third Edition is helpful for understanding the culture of the haiku community. I rather like it.

The haiku themselves are quite good, as well. The anthology is organized in alphabetical order by poet, which is nice. You can get more of a feel for the style and aesthetics for each poet. As a beginning haiku reader, this is helpful for me, because it enables me to get a sense of the possibilities for haiku that exist.

Highly recommended. The third edition's ISBN is: 0-393-04743-1.

[Abner Rosenweig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthologies of English haiku are rare and good ones even rarer. This is the best I've found. I didn't like all the selections but I don't expect that from an anthology whose purpose is to introduce a wide variety of haiku-related content to demonstrate the range of the form. There are one to four poems per page, leaving a lot of zen emptiness for reflection, yet in spite of all the blank space I found the book taking much longer to read than a thick volume of prose. With over 800 poems I will frequently return to van den Heuvel's anthology to contemplate and celebrate the eternal beauty of life's ephemeral moments.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a *beautiful* and, judging by its size, very thorough, collection of original english haiku. The number of poems is daunting so (even though they're tiny) I think it's best to read and absorb the haiku in small increments.

[John Pappas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely essential, vital and dynamic poetry from haiku poets writing in English. So good...

[K. R. B. Moum · Rating 5 out of 5]

deadline
with an injunction
and an urge
to devour

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book it notes that haiku are unrhymed poems "recording the essence of a moment keenly perceived, in which nature is linked to human nature". I couldn't sum it up better. I love that when beginning one it feels like a tiny mystery, anticipating enlightenment which comes with the end only a few words away. They vividly recall in this reader past sights, sounds, tastes, touches, smells. They ignite my senses and my memories. What a fantastic experience this book was.

[Bremer]

pregnant belly of
sunlight, bouncing
over an open book

[Parkyparkpark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I GET HAIKU

[Dan Burt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding compilation of modern English language haiku.

[Elliot · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice all around haiku (and senryu) collection. If you want to dig deep into an emotional core haiku is not the place to do it. Haiku is more centered on bringing a particular feeling, sensation, or observation into sharp relief for a flash of a moment. It's the ah-ha moment of poetry, but it does not linger, nor is this collection particularly designed to encourage lingering as it is organized by poet rather than subject as you might find in some collections. You read a poem, feel something (or don't), and move on. By its nature haiku is bite-sized, not a full meal - and like most tiny treats if you try to enjoy too many in one sitting they quickly lose their appeal. This is a book to read in small chunks over time.

I was pleased to discover there are plenty of contemporary poets and subject matters in this collection, as well as an abundance of the more traditional natural themes. I'm particularly glad I decided to read this in the winter time as many of the poems helped me focus on the beauty of the season (instead of just the cold - I'm not a winter person). There are several poets featured, and as with any anthology my enjoyment waxed and waned depending on whose voice was being featured. All in all this was a nice way to pass the time with my morning cup of tea over a few weeks. If you want to explore haiku/short form poetry, and fine tune your senses, then you may want to give this collection a try.

[LeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caveat: I didn't finish this anthology. However, despite my unstated personal standard of only reviewing books that I've finished, I've decided to make an exception for Van Den Heuvel's haiku collection.

Many of the western haiku in this collection are written more in keeping with the spirit of the Japanese poetry that inspired them than in the form taught traditionally in the West. In my previous reading of the art form, I learned that the Japanese haiku are written using seventeen word sounds which Western poets have adapted as syllables; however, this isn't strictly true. So there is more flexibility in composing haiku than most of us have been taught as schoolchildren. In addition, Japanese haiku are written as a single line, which can aid in painting an image (and perfect for Twitter, as I've found). The key ingredients: an allusion to the seasons and a contrast or comparison between two images, one often based in Nature, the other on humanity.

Knowing this, I found the haiku in Van Den Heuvel's work often beautiful and haunting -- and an ideal collection to dip into for the briefest meditation during busy days.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are great----succinct glimpses of life in just 3 lines such as "After being chosen last, he raced to outer field" and "When the neighbor children left, the cat slipped out of the hall closet". You know that the boy was still excited to play ball and how the cat didn't like the neighbor children. With so many authors, the subject matters vary but the intensity remains.

[Harley · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are multiple editions of this book. The one on my bookshelf was published 1986. If you want to read the best of American haiku this is the book to start with and it does not matter which edition.

[Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really beautiful poetry, and maybe I only think so because I rarely read poetry, but I love it anyways. Haiku poems are just so pretty and visual, even without a lot of fancy drawings, that this book left me thinking of it for awhile after I read it. This is something I'd like to own.

[Marianna Monaco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a deep appreciation for all 3 editions of this anthology of haiku in English.
I found the first edition, published in 1974, in a used book store 1989. This little book started me on my haiku journey.

[Ben Gaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished my 5th trip through this book and it just gets better and better the more I read it. A great collection of poets and haiku that everyone who is engaged in this genre needs to have in their possession.

[Nik Maack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Half brilliant, half pretentious garbage. Everything I love and hate about haiku in a single book. Some resonate profoundly, some do nothing for me at all. Still, this is probably the fourth or fifth time I have checked this book out of the library & read it.

[Bahare_kar · Rating 4 out of 5]

جا می گذارم
تنهای ام را
در او

[J Uribe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Haiku but this book is my absolute favorite of all Haiku books. Simply delightful.

[Lucas Sipe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The haiku is a simple collection of lines and syllables calling one to nature or man's relationship to nature. It is intimately connected to things. In phenomenological terms, the haiku maps onto the presence and absence of things; when one reads a haiku we are called to the thing, to the intuition of the thing, but also to the absence, the empty field surrounding the haiku. What is not there, the unsaid, remains just as important. Take, for example, this beautiful haiku found in the anthology:
"Stripping wallpaper into the nite
my wife uncovers someone
else's bedroom."
At its best, the haiku brings to mind world. People love this short poetry for it's beauty but overlook how it resists the enframement of modern life. It resists the objectification, the reliance upon appearances. Haiku accepts the seeming "overlapping" and "derivative" in favor of the inexhaustible manifold of beings. In an era where world and things are constantly being driven out, the haiku is valuable for its direct, rich, and irrefutable love of world.

This collection does that pretty well. Being regulated to only American/ Canadian haiku of the 20th century, there's a limiting factor. While the art form might be global, it is essentially Japanese. When I picked it up, I expected more or less a history/ collection of haiku as such. That's not the text's fault but by focusing only on America there is a certain lack. There are great entries of course but the introduction to the text is quick to laud the further movement away from the typical structure. That disregard for the being of the haiku is part of why the globalization of the art form often leads away from the thing as such. There's an entry that's just the word frog jumping. That's not a haiku in anything but name. Enough entries and comments like that misplaced and misunderstood the essential nature of the haiku.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mindfulness and awareness play an important role in poetry. The ability to observe, to notice, to see. The ability to zoom in and zoom out. Haiku is a distillation of that mode, mindfulness in poetic form, the noticing of the particular. There's a keen link with photography in this regard as well, or a snippet from a lingering style of film.

Haiku exhibit a crafted simplicity of speech - an artfully composed snapshot. They seek to surprise with connections made in the commonplace. Due to brevity, they are as much about what is unsaid as said, so they leave space for the mystery and poignancy of silence and echo.

For the reader, a haiku grounds you in the present moment, connects you with your environment (often the natural world and its seasonal rhythms), and enhances your ability to see. And, I think, encourages an embodied and incarnational mode... Even though in one sense the poem is only the poem, and the moment is only the moment (sufficient upon itself), a haiku (a small, smooth stone cast into a pond) contains the potential to trigger outbound ripples and deeper plunges.

This collection of (American) haiku written in English is excellent. It was published in 1999 and continues to be highly regarded. I got my copy well over a decade ago, but have only recently given proper time to it. I remember buying it, if I remember rightly, due to a combination of interest sparked by encountering haiku in Kerouac's poetic experiments and being interested in the idea of short poetry - the 'punchlines' and individual moments of poems were always my favourite part anyway.