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e pluribus haiku
many moments, one haiku from 50 states. This was the original collection of 565 poems written before 2011, when it was first published on Amazon. Early versions were simply printed on paper and hand-stapled, but those versions are rare, as are the Amazon versions of 2012-2015, which are now out of print. This collection of haiku documents travel through the United States; each haiku has both a season clue and a geography clue. The author spent years traveling North America and then, when his travel journal was borrowed and not returned, he documented his travel one moment at a time, from memory, as the years went on. Sometimes the truth is bent for the purpose of making a good, concise, visual poem, but for the most part, the haiku represent real events that happened in the course of an incredible journey.
189 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 27, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 22, 2022
Loved the overall flavour.
I had not read a book of Haiku before, but many books of 'ordinary' poetry so wondered what I was getting into.
The written form soon entered my mind and became a pattern but each haiku seemed too short to convey much, I thought. As I read on I discovered something. The author / poet, has grouped the haiku in sections, each section being a state of the USA. Reading each poem in the state gives an overall flavour of the state, be it California or Colorado.
I enjoyed, without knowing the states, knowing California to be hot / dry helped and the overall feeling conveyed by all haiku in that section made me feel I knew it better. And on, through other states. As a Brit I now feel as if I have an understanding of how states differ, much as the countries of Europe do.
I had not read a book of Haiku before, but many books of 'ordinary' poetry so wondered what I was getting into.
The written form soon entered my mind and became a pattern but each haiku seemed too short to convey much, I thought. As I read on I discovered something. The author / poet, has grouped the haiku in sections, each section being a state of the USA. Reading each poem in the state gives an overall flavour of the state, be it California or Colorado.
I enjoyed, without knowing the states, knowing California to be hot / dry helped and the overall feeling conveyed by all haiku in that section made me feel I knew it better. And on, through other states. As a Brit I now feel as if I have an understanding of how states differ, much as the countries of Europe do.
May 29, 2021
This is the original and much shorter collection which the author put together from his travels around America and later expanded to include in his E Pluribus Haiku: An Anthology, which I have reviewed separately. That is not to detract from the effectiveness of these poems in expressing the spirit of the USA travelled within them. An excellent read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews