Saturday, January 31, 2009

Collin Barber - Three Questions

Collin Barber lives in Marion, Arkansas, and works at a local hospital in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. He began writing haiku a few years ago, while spending hours on the banks of the Mississippi River reading the works of writers such as Richard Wright and Jack Kerouac.

He maintains a website of poetry at http://collinbarber.com.



1) Why do you write haiku?

I was hooked from the moment I discovered haiku. To me, there is a certain magic to a good one, and perhaps I enjoy the challenge of trying to create this myself.


2) What other poetic forms do your enjoy?

Naturally, I like tanka and haibun, but I also enjoy free verse poetry and sonnets. I must admit, however, that it is becoming increasingly difficult for me to write a free verse poem, because my attempts usually end up taking the shape of a haibun or tanka.


3) Of the many wonderful haiku you've written, what do you consider to be your top three?

Deciding on my 'top three' was a difficult yet enjoyable challenge. What criteria does one use to do this? I suppose I chose these because I remember the moments so vividly:



autumn morning
I still have the tooth
I lost in my dream

Frogpond XXIX:3, autumn 2006



butterflies . . .
a child's name
set in stone

Modern Haiku 38.3, autumn 2007



honeymoon over my suntan peels

Frogpond XXX:1, winter 2007



Thanks, Curt.


If you've been enjoying this weekly series and have not contributed, please consider sharing your response to the three little questions that Collin answered. You must be a published poet in order to participate.

Darrell Byrd will be our guest next week.

3 comments:

Pris said...

I don't get to the series on a regular basis but find reading the different perspectives interesting when I DO get here. Thanks for sharing these.

Area 17 said...

I agree with Pris wholeheartedly!

all my best,

Alan
The With Words Competition 2009

.

Anonymous said...

Collin,
All three choices are so delightful - that bit of humor with the staying power is lovely.