The Unswept Path: Contemporary American Haiku

by John Brandi (Editor), Dennis Maloney (Editor)

The Unswept Path is a diverse gathering of American poets who have chosen the haiku as one of the forms in which they write. This anthology presents the many faces of the haiku. Each poet chosen has worked the territory of the haiku into a personal landscape, and they offer a panorama of images and sound, joy and sadness, recollection and thought. The Unswept Path is wonderful introduction to the art of the haiku for the writer and reader alike. Contributors Christopher Herold, Elizabeth Searle Lamb, William Higginson, Penny Harter, Margaret Chula, Edith Shiffert, Michael McClure, Diane DiPrima, Sonia Sanchez, Steve Sanfield, Patricia Donegan, John Brandi, and Cid Corman.

Genres: Poetry

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2005

About the author

John Brandi, poet, painter, essayist and haiku writer, has resided in New Mexico for 35 years. Over the decades his poems and essays have celebrated his rambles into the unexpected crannies of the high desert, as well as presenting his conversations with bizarre loners, spunky elders, and eccentric renegades.

As a poet, Brandi owes much to the Beat tradition, and to poets as diverse as Federico García Lorca, Pablo Neruda, and Matsuo Basho. Brandi's writing and visual art is specifically informed by his world journeys. His dozens of publications include poetry, travel essays, limited-edition letterpress books, hand-colored broadsides, and modern American haiku. He has lectured at the Palace of the Governors Museum, Santa Fe, at Punjabi University, India, and has been a guide and lecturer for university students studying in Bali, Java, and Mexico. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for Poetry and four Witter Bynner Foundation for Poetry teaching awards.

Reviews

[W.B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great little anthology. Some of the anthologized haikuists open with introductory essays before sharing their work, while others just let the poems speak for themselves. It's interesting to see the different paths the poets took to find their way into this form.

Some of my favorites:

about to kill an ant
but no it's carrying
a corpse

--John Brandi

maple leaves
barely moving
in the earthquake

--Patricia Donegan

New Year's Eve--
I feed my birthday cards
to the fire

--Penny Harter


first light
everything in this room
was already here

--Christopher Herold

[Alex Fyffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Matthew Schulze · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL COLLECTION

Contemporary American Haiku seems to be in a great place.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each chapter in this anthology is written by a different poet, with a short introduction followed by a small collection of their work. Each chapter is very firmly written in the voice of its author, creating some very diverse styles of thought and subject matter, some traditional, gentle, nature-based and seasonal, some more modern, punchy and unusual, even.
The introductions to each poet are also individual and a joy to read. We have a couple who lived in a run down house in Japan for many years and wrote poetry about their stay. We have a man who had a brief but passionate affair with a mysterious Japanese woman with whom he translated some haiku into English and then wrote his own about her. We have an old couple who have lived in Japan for many years, writing and walking their way through the landscape they love, only now in their eighties, find themselves in sheltered accomodation and too ill to go far from home. There are many more.
The introductions also include many descriptions of what Haiku means to them, why this very distinct form of writing is important to them. My particular favourite came from Patricia Donegan...
"Haiku can be the antedote to the speed of post-modern culture, allowing one to step off the spinning wheel, to stop and breathe deeply and slowly. To note the birth and death of each moment."

[CX Dillhunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth the time; seems a good introduction into the wildness & variety of haiku. First anthology I've read of all American haiku writers from such diverse backgrounds & writing sensibilities. Breaks all the rules, follows all the rule. A short book, extremely well written haibun style both typical travel with also philopsophical introspection. Quite a find at the half price bookstore. All very strong except for Sanfield & Shiffert selections (last two); Brrandi, Corman, DiPrima & Donegan are exceptional.

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haiku seems to be a forgotten art form, maybe because writers today have too much to say and want more room to say it. I liked the crystalline simplicity and imagery of these poems, especially those from Cid Corman. Though many of these haiku are a departure from the 17-syllable and seasonal/nature-based poems of their origins, they have evolved into a wonderfully succinct art form.

[C.B. Wentworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful collection that explores both traditional and experimental forms of haiku. Each author's collection is prefaced by a small essay, anecdote, or prose to introduce the inspiration and/or philosophy regarding his or her writing practice. My only complaint is this little book was much too small!

[Ben Gaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like to read as much as I can and enjoyed the trip through this anthology. While not all the poets and essays called to me, each one challenged me to self define what makes a good haiku a good haiku. What more could one ask from a book?

[Bob Redmond · Rating 3 out of 5]

haiku rules!