The Haiku Year

by Michael Stipe, Grant Lee Phillips, Rick Roth

Michael Stipe and six friends agree to write one haiku a day and mail them to each other. At the end of the year, they realize that their collection of simple, critical observations has given them a new way to look at the details of their lives.

Genres: Poetry, Zen, Nonfiction

120 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

About the author

John Michael Stipe is an American singer who is the lead vocalist for the alternative rock band R.E.M.. Stipe has become well-known (and occasionally parodied) for the "mumbling" style of his early career and for his complex, surreal lyrics, as well as his social and political activism. Stipe is in charge of the band's visual image, often selecting album artwork and directing many of the band's music videos. Stipe's work extends outside of the music industry, and he runs his own film production companies, C-00 and Single Cell Pictures.

Reviews

[Tommy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A breezy, quick read, this collection of western haikus was a happy accident, a fluke. Seven friends from the Athens, GA area agreed to stay in touch via daily haikus sent on postcards for the entirety of a year. REM frontman Michael Stipe and somewhat lesser-known musicians, filmmakers, and writers make up the group of friends. I don't think they ever intended for these to be shared in a public forum, but the result is a delightfully entertaining glance at a year through the lens of a handful of misfit friends: cynics, artists on the brink, romantics, idealists, and ironists.

The group agreed - either intentionally or tacitly - to abandon the traditional 5-7-5 syllable cadence of Haiku and went with a combination of classical Eastern form (seasonal reference, a moment seized purely, and a unique point-of-view) and Western beat poet looseness, something Kerouac referred to as "pops", little spontaneous poems that offer a burst of energy or enlightenment. The result is funny, touching, illustrative, snarky, and affirming.

Don't think too much, just find a copy and read a few daily. The poems are only attributed through an appendix in the back of the book, which keeps it delightfully anonymous and allows the reader to start to see patterns that might point to the author of some of the haikus, but that's beside the point. This is what happens when friends lean into art as a tool for loving, playful communication.

NOTE: I found the book on a whim, walking away from the poetry section at a used bookstore, the title caught my eye and I doubled-back to pick it up, thumbed through it, and decided i would buy it. I was in the checkout line before I realized Stipe and other Georgia artists were the authors, which only sealed the deal for me. Even finding the book felt like a haiku: spontaneous, epiphanic, fateful.

[M🫶🏻 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this poem book because it is set up different than other poem books. It was different then all the other poem books because we got different types of poems all in one book.

[Hannah C · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poetry novel entitled " The Haiku Year, " written by several authors, is a combination of haiku poems written by a group of 7 friends who decided to write one haiku a day for one year. Thus, becomes the idea of the novel itself. I have never actually read a poetry book before this one and I've always seemed to turn away from them because I figured they would be boring, too complex to understand, or hard to relate to. I'm very glad I picked up this book since it changed my view on poetry novels in general. I enjoyed seeing how the people writing the poems ( the friends ) changed over time and as each season or holiday passed. You can see their true philosophies and their deepest passions but, you can also see little things they plucked out of their day and wrote a poem about, like perhaps a boy on the street they saw. In most cases, I could understand what the writer was trying to convey and could picture the deeper meaning behind it and see the thought that was put into that three line haiku. Although throughout the year that the friends decided to do this, they were traveling and usually not together, you can tell that they were still thinking about one another. I loved the concept behind this novel and I admired the friends reasoning for actually doing this in the first place. From now on, I won't judge poetry books before I get a chance to read them myself. I highly recommend this read for any poetry lovers ( or non-poetry lovers! ) who are looking for a compelling, detailed, delightful, and quick read!

[mayday · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of those "it is what it is" book projects--it's friends who sent haikus to one another, and who admit in this book that none of them were ever meant to be published or read by anyone else. because of this, some of the poems are little more than shallow musings or bad jokes--but some of them are actually really quite stunning, with unexpected layers of meaning the more you reflect on them.

furthermore, there's something about the similar images and themes used across poems that together paint a larger picture, and allow me to imagine what the intertwined lives of these friends must have been like at that point in time. overall, a pretty good collection!

[Laura Watt · Rating 4 out of 5]

seven friends made a commitment to send each other one haiku every day for a year, and the result is this collection. I was drawn to it because one of the seven was my musical hero Michael Stipe -- and found a fascinating collection of observations stretching across a calendar year. They don't stick to the most formal definition of haikus, but often that makes for more interesting and spontaneous reflections. (4/00)

[Andrew Mossberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it and for a number of years there was a companion website for people to share haiku as well. Sadly it is gone, but the book remains an inspiration for the poet in each of us.

praise the haiku year
friends sharing their heartfelt thoughts
in five seven five

[Misty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection was a breathe of fresh air.

[Paris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this poem book a lot. I felt like I related to a lot of the poems and they were very nicely written.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book a few years ago and loved it instantly. It has become one of my favourites.
The paragraph on the back of the book explains how these poems came together...
'In 1996, seven friends agreed to write one haiku a day and mail them to each other. At the end of the year, they realized that their collection of simple, critical observations had given them a new way to look at the details of their lives.'
Told in a seasonal cycle the haiku in this book are really inspiring, and I have many favourites among them. There is a quote from someone called Todd Colby on the back also...
'In this era of computer screens, it's nice to be reminded just how underrated reality is. Sometimes we miss the most sublime moments on our way to where we'd rather be. These haiku remind us to look, listen, and feel what's right at the end of our noses.'
The other thing that is interesting about this book is who the collection of friends are...
Tom Gilroy - actor, director and playwright from New York
Anna Grace - a writer and performer from New York
Jim McKay - film and videomaker
Douglas A Martin - writer and poet
Grant Lee Philips - songwriter and recording artist for the group Grant Lee Buffalo
Rick Roth - human rights activist, businessman
Michael Stipe - singer/songwriter with REM, photographer and film producer.
A wonderful find and an excellent collection of contemporary haiku.
Highly recommended!

[Martyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Infuriating, really infuriating. Western Haiku writers have yet to work out how the form works in English and that provokes both creativity and clunkiness - this book has both in equal measure.

The form in English is developing all the time but I don't think that the less rule-bound Western poetic mind will allow for the structures that give Eastern haiku their beauty to be imposed here. This will always result in collections that are at turns beautiful, crazy, poignant, useless, heartfelt and "experimental".

Some of the poems in this book are insightful haiku and some are just painful three line poems - all of them, though, are worth a read. At least once.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled across this book while perusing shelves with a great friend of mine. We decided that one of us had to get it and I am glad I added it to my collection! I really love the story behind the haikus. Each one has it's own voice and I appreciate the variety between them. The one I bought already had the 'make your own' haiku pages filled up with pages of haikus. It was lovely to have an edition that someone else had loved so much. I highly recommend.

[Shaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the story, "The Haiku Year" seven friends decide to write one haiku a day for a year. At the end of this year the seven create this book and look at the stories each one portrayed. Just by writing what may seem like insignificant little things makes their individual stories so different. They're all living different lives making the whole book from their writings unique and diverse. There is no lack of verity what so ever giving "The Haiku Year" a stand out in many people's minds.

[sisterimapoet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful presentation which complimented the contents. I'm really glad I held out for a hardback copy. A lot of good haiku within, much very atmospheric and American, but still enjoyable for someone outside the country. Fun to try to guess who wrote which haiku - I was wrong most of the time. Great to get little glimpses of people and their year. Both enjoyable and inspiring.

[LemontreeLime · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had bought this years ago. It feels like a snapshot of the 90s, so much of it reminds me of a life long gone. Some of the poems are spot on good, some not. I totally respected the concept of the book, however, that's definitely one unusual way to keep in touch with friends.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haiku Year is a collection of haiku written by J. Michael Stipe, Grant Lee Phillips, Tom Gilroy, Anna Grace, Jim McKay, Douglas A. Martin, and Rick Roth.

[Lauri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is chock full of cute, sad, crazy, and silly haikus sent back and forth between Michael Stipe (lead singer of R.E.M.) and his buddies. This is a great book to keep on the nightstand.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

The new, 2004 edition of 1998's The Haiku Year.

[Caitlin Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its easily one of my favorite books. This book will change the way you see the world and maybe spawn a haiku revolution in your life like it did in mine.

[Nappyco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book to gift as an inspirational gift.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love haiku, and this book is especially good. Its subjects are the everyday things people deal with, which is what I enjoy reading and writing about.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this quick read. Some haiku were thought provoking, some sad, some funny.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My best friend turned me onto this book and I couldnt put it down. I loved it!