Baseball Haiku: The Best Haiku Ever Written about the Game

by Nanae Tamura (Editor), Cor van den Heuvel (Editor)

Presenting more than two hundred of the greatest haiku ever written about the game. There are moments in every baseball game that make fans catch their breath: the pause while a pitcher looks in for the sign, the moment a cocksure rookie gets picked off first, or the instant a batter lashes a game-winning homer into the night sky, just before the sell-out crowd explodes onto its feet. Haiku captures these moments like no other poetic form, and Baseball Haiku captures the sights, the sounds, the smells, and the emotions of the game like no previous collection. Some of the most important haiku poets of both America and Japan are featured in this anthology; including Jack Kerouac, a longtime baseball fan who pioneered English-language haiku; Alan Pizzarelli, one of the top American haiku and senryu poets of the last thirty years; and Masaoka Shiki, one of the four great pillars of Japanese haiku―a towering figure―who was instrumental in popularizing baseball in Japan during the 1890s. With over two hundred poems spanning more than a century of ball playing, Baseball Haiku reveals the intricate ways in which this enduring and indelible sport―which is played on a field, under an open sky―has always been linked to nature and the seasons. And just as a haiku happens in a timeless now, so too does Baseball Haiku evoke those unforgettable images that capture the actions and atmospheres of the national pastime: each poem resonates like the lonely sound of cleats echoing in the tunnel as a grizzled veteran leaves his final game. The largest collection of haiku and senryu on baseball ever assembled, Baseball Haiku is an extraordinary treasure for any true baseball fan.

Genres: Poetry, Baseball, Sports

256 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2007

Reviews

[Thom · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good introduction and conclusion, fun intros to each of the poets, and of course Haiku (and Senryu). As the editor points out, the Haiku is uniquely suited to Baseball; especially the pastoral setting and lack of a time limit. My favorite from this volume:

carrying his glove
the boy's dog follows him
to the baseball field

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

John O'Connor, my friend and author of Wordplaygrounds (on writing poetry as a kind of daily learning and living practice), musician, lifelong teacher, now at New Trier, gave me this book because we had been going to baseball games and writing poetry, and because he was a member of the Illinois and American Haiku Societies and he was coming to my class to help us write poetry. He had also told me about a guy in the Illinois chapter, a guy in his eighties who had been writing a baseball haiku every day for several years. I thought John's submission to my/our baseball poetry blog was terrific, and I tried my hand at a few, in my lazy fashion, and submitted a handful to various haiku rags, got some encouraging response and promptly gave up. John, who had not given up, had published many haiku in these magazines and had a collection of his own haiku published as well, gave me this book, which is unusual in that you would think it is so impossible, maybe even a joke, to put together a book on such a specialized subject, but it is beautiful: the cover, the conception, the way it convinces you of the importance of poetry as necessary part of life. In this book two countries share the love of baseball and poetry (haiku and senryu) together in a lovely hardcover book.

A couple things I wanted to add, just having reared the book: Cor Van den Huevel does a kind of odd thing, for an editor, I noticed in reading t more closely: He includes a disproportionate number of his own poems right smack dab in the middle of the collection, which seems… a little.. disproportionate, given that he writes short biographies on all the other authors he includes and makes it see me they are all pretty equally legendary in this area.. Okay, it IS co-edited, but still… though yes, they are very good poems. I wanted to add that the first baseball haiku according to them was written by Jack Kerouac, who learned about the form from Gary Snyder, who had learned it himself in his work and travels in Japan. All the essays about haiku, and senryu, the more human version of haiku, same form, often a little more on the lighter side, are great. They make the case that haiku is especially a good form for the slow moments of baseball, where you can take a close look at things. But again, it is a gorgeous book, great cover, beautifully laid out, fine essays, fine poetry. If you like baseball and/or poetry, you will like this book.

[Beth Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since Martin started reading so much about haiku this year, this baseball haiku book seemed like a good place for me to start. I really enjoyed seeing the differences between older haiku about baseball and more modern poems, as well as the differences between American poets and Japanese poets.

Some favorites:

August heat
umpire and manager
nose to nose

bottom of the ninth
the rookie stares
at his clean spikes

the last kid picked
running his fastest
to right field

back to back walks...
the catcher takes the pitcher
to the top of the mound

bottom of the 8th
eight determined drunks
get the wave going...

called third strike --
the slow roll of the ball
back to the mound

until raised to Heaven
I'll go to the fields of green
carrying my glove

[Rick Jackofsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of baseball (which I love) haiku (which I also love), so I knew I would like this book, but I think what I like most about "Baseball Haiku" is the inclusion of the information about the different "schools" of haiku and the schisms that were occurring in Japan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries due to the emergence of gendai (modern) and muki (no season word) haiku. Many of the same debates have been taken up by North American haiku poets in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

[Sean Korpela · Rating 5 out of 5]

until raised to Heaven
I'll go to fields of green
carrying my glove

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really excellent collection of poetry, but the formatting leaves something to be desired. Each poet's full-page introduction intruded upon the poems.

[Vanessa Dargain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somebody left me a copy for summer reading to break the boredom 0f housesitting .
What an unexpected pleasure . I was very entertained .
This collection of poets are quite good at capturing those fleeting decisive moments in a baseball (and most team sports) fan's mind
that are momentarily cramped with spatial-temporal anticipation and human emotion .
And I am not even a baseball fan !

Here are 4 that I find most relatable :
"9th inning moths fly around the ballpark lights" p25

"a blimp above the baseball stadium floats by the moon" p67

"my son runs toward the budding tree -their first base" p177

"above the bartender's head Game 7" p 133

The "Warming Up" introduction was the best at giving the history
of Japanese baseball in a nutshell . Some of the authors have very scholarly backgrounds . Heartfelt thanks to all .

This is second favorite baseball poetry book . BATS AT THE BALLGAME
by Brian Lies is my most favorite poem on this subject .

[Kerfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the editors say, haiku is uniquely suited to baseball. A wonderful commentary from poets both American and Japanese on the ups

bases loaded--
at the crack of the bat
the crowd pops up
--Alan Pizzarelli

downs

rainy night
a hole in the radio
where a ballgame should be
--Ed Markowski

ins

The last kid picked
running his fastest
to right field
--Mike Dillon

outs

after the error
the player still faces the outfield
towering clouds
--Imai Sei

resignations

dog days of summer
twenty-three games
out of first
--Michael Ketchek

and rewards

until raised to Heaven
I'll go to fields of green
carrying my glove
--Yotsuya Ryu

There are also poetic and baseball biographies for each writer represented, and a comparison and history of the American and Japanese versions of the game.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like baseball and poetry, so this is pretty much a home run for me. I think that the natural elements inherent in haiku work rather well for baseball - a sport that encompasses three seasons. The brief bios of the poets before their selections was nice; and I liked how the editors mentioned - for the American poets, at least - which position each played. For the Japanese haiku, it was interesting to see the poems translated into English, but with the Japanese characters and phonetic sounds included.

A couple of my favorites:

rainy night
a hole in the radio
where a ballgame should be
- Ed Markowski

Over
the outfielder's loneliness -
the summer moon.
- Suzuki Murio

[Karen Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this in a Little Free Library in my neighborhood - what a treasure for this lifelong baseball (Cubs and Brewers and lots of little league) fan. It has inspired me to start writing haiku about my personal baseball experiences - Cubs games of my youth, Cubs games more recent, as well as playing baseball with my neighborhood possse and my dad in the 60's.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

village ball game, through knot holes in the old fence, evening sunbeams

The historical parts of this were quite interesting, and some of the poems were nice, but none of them really blew my mind.

I did really like being able to read the original Japanese poems in addition to their translations.

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

The midwest snow melts,
I read some bad poetry.
This book kind of sucks.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a baseball fan, so I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. I found the difference between American and Japanese Haiku surprising.

[Sarahb. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great quick read by the pool!

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

VERY cool collection of Haiku (and other forms) from both American and Japanese writers. Really solid ntroduction about the forms of poetry included. VERY well done. GREAT collection.

[Tony Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baseball and haiku are a match made in heaven, or at least the corn fields of Iowa and the green pastures of Hokkaido. Poets from former enemy nations come together for pitch and catch with words.

[Stephanie Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Thomas Nahigian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book about Baseball Haiku. The poetry of each entry is terrific.

[Nicole]

poetry and baseball- all in one book!