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night bird

The week before last saw me rereading the 2023 issues of The Heron’s Nest, trying to finalise my top ten for the Reader’s Award. There’s an overwhelming amount of good contemporary haiku in this journal and I’m never disappointed when I read it, plus it’s free online, and I’m grateful for that.

I can’t influence anyone else’s vote now, because the deadline has passed, and I suppose there should be some sort of confidentiality attached to my choices, but you’ll probably conclude that the above poem by Dave Bonta was in my top ten. Why? Because it’s spare, unshowy, truthful, and also because it conveys a sense of the poet being present, surprised at the night bird (which could be any bird associated with the night, or dreamt rather than seen of course). But there’s a jolt, a jump: ‘we startle as one’. For a split second, man and nature occupy the same space. A brief moment that stays with us (both poet and reader) and a brief poem that stays a while longer. It’s a poem that’s enhanced by its simplicity too – okay haiku is a short form, but there would have been room to specifically name the bird, to describe the location. I’m glad it isn’t adorned in this way though; as is often the case, less is more. So, I’ll leave you to ponder it a little longer. It really merits rereading (in The Heron’s Nest, December 2023, page 11)

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Tinywords

Great to have this monoku appear on the Tinywords website today. I’ve just been choosing a favourite winter poem to share with the Yorks/ Lancs haiku society, who meet monthly via Zoom. So many to choose from. In the end I went for this poignant haiku by Bill Kenney who is sadly no longer with us:

winter passes
a few minor revisions
to my death poem

(from tap dancing in my socks, Red Moon Press, 2022)

I love the interiority of this poem. Winter, especially when it’s as cold as it is here today, turns us inward. But there’s a casual tone to ‘a few minor revisions’ which prevents the poem from being maudlin. Juxtaposing that matter-of-fact second line with the shock of ‘my death poem’ in the final line increases the impact. Winter passes, and, we realise, so will the poet. When I reviewed this book I said that I felt, despite his passing, the poet’s voice remained with us, and I think that still holds true.

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a new resonance …

I’ve been spending some time reviewing A New Resonance 13 (Red Moon Press 2023) and came across some amazing haiku (see above and below) by ‘our thomas’ – the pen name of Rod T. Boyer. Many of his poems are previously unpublished so it’s well worth investing in A New Resonance 13 just for his work alone – and it does contain a selection of haiku from 17 poets in total so it’s excellent value for money at $ 20, even with the postage to the UK. Here’s another by our thomas – I love the free association of images here. Somehow, it creates an unsettling effect, while alluding to tradition.

So, if you want to begin the New Year in the company of some inventive haiku, buy this book!

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The Haiku Calendar

How lovely to start the new year with a haiku, below, from The Haiku Calendar (Snapshot Press).

Last year, my January challenge was to do a post a day on the blog. It was hard, but it went reasonably well and I did manage to complete it. I thought I might try to do the same this year, although I wondered if this might be setting myself up to fail. So, I’ll just aim to post more frequently! In the meantime, I’ll leave you with those ghostly mute swans, those ethereal snow clouds, the movement of feathers and snow flakes, and all the entrancing sounds Polona Oblak’s haiku contains.

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Crochet kindness …

Found this little ‘worry worm’ on my walk yesterday, but left it as I though maybe a child might be out with parents today and that they should have it. However, it was still there when I went out today, late afternoon and turning dark, so I brought it home. I’m telling myself how fortunate I am in my own life – I don’t have any major worries, nothing that keeps me awake at night. I do fret about not having done enough though, whether it’s reading, writing or playing the guitar. So, maybe the worry worm will be my talisman as we head into 2024. Happy New Year to everyone. May your worries be less of a burden with the worry worm. And thank you to the kind and generous person who crocheted it.

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a poem by John Stevenson ..

Thought this one was particularly apt, given the recent weather. It’s from John Stevenson’s recent collection, This Once (Red Moon Press, 2023). It’s slightly ominous, I know, but maybe that’s why it stands out.

At the start of this year I accepted the post of reviews editor at Presence. Needless to say, it’s been a busy year, and a steep learning curve. Still, I’ve managed to fit it in, around work, my ongoing commitment to learning the guitar, and of course my own writing. At various times I’ve short-changed the hobbies, but I keep telling myself it’s okay just to keep them on the boil ( that way I won’t be bored when I retire)! But if Stevenson’s ‘named storm’ is metaphorical, I should try not to look too far ahead and stick to the here and now, which is a rainy but mild Autumn morning, half term, washing drying on the radiators, books all over the kitchen table and a few emails to answer.

I know incomes are stretched (I’ve just turned the thermostat down) and haiku books can be quite expensive, but independant publishers and small press magazines are generally operating on a shoestring. So, if you can, in any way, please support them.

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You can’t beat …

… a good guitar poem. I came across this one in the latest edition of Presence (issue 76) and it stopped me in my tracks. It’s the way it echoes the Robert Johnson story/myth without mentioning it directly. It sent me back to that raw, dark and melancholy blues that Johnson is famous for, and that sad resignation that I can’t help but hear when he waits at the crossroads and no one will stop to give him a lift. The story about him selling his soul to the devil was apparently attributed to him after his death, and maybe it’s outside this haiku, but there again, ‘a guitar tuning’ does allow for the possibility that the devil is tuning it before he hands it back and seals the pact. Anyway, it’s an unusual and accomplished haiku, and especially resonant if, like me, you’re learning to play the guitar!

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holiday reads …

Back from our camping trip, so thought I’d share my slightly eclectic mix of holiday reads. Sadly, no haiku as my copy of Presence didn’t make it before we left. It was waiting for me when I got back though, so I’m having my fill of haiku now!