hiku [pull]

by James A.H. White

An Elgin-nominated chapbook containing 17 poems.

Genres: Poetry

24 pages, hand-tied chapbook

Published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Mary Soon Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Elgin-nominated chapbook contains seventeen short poems, only one of which ventures onto a second side. The poems are lacking in punctuation, but not in grace. Collectively they appear to tell parts of the narrator's life, framed by poems about his parents. As I read through these, I had some difficulty piecing together what had happened, but much of my confusion cleared up as I proceeded. I found the poems quietly haunting. I believe I liked every single poem, but my favorite is "Sawaruna [Do Not Touch]," about the narrator's Japanese grandfather, a poem that conveys more in its sixteen lines than is often found in sixteen pages.

N.B. Despite its Elgin nomination as one of the best speculative poetry books of 2016, my interpretation of this book is that it contains no science fiction or fantasy elements. Others may interpret it differently.