Recommended reading list and haiku videos

Here are a few books that I've had the privilege of reading in recent weeks.



While The Light Holds and One Hundred Droplets, are anthologies one and two in a new series from the folks who bring us the excellent journal Magnapoets. These books are affordable and very beautiful, with poems from many of the leading haiku and tanka poets in the world today. Here's a sampling:

one son dead, the other shipped to Afghanistan— my sister's long winter --M. Kei

autumn morning I still have the tooth I lost in my dream --Collin Barber

I weigh the options— butterfly --Peggy Willis Lyles

green tea red plums and oranges on blue china even at breakfast time this man colors my life --Kirsty Karkow

Haiku Wars by poet David Lanoue, published by Red Moon Press, is a highly entertaining romp through the world of haiku, modern and past, through the eyes of a ferret named Oscar. I found myself smiling and, yes, laughing while reading Haiku Wars. Lanoue masterfully blends fiction and factual haiku history. I could not put the book down, reading it in one sitting; it's that good. :)

an orange balloon penis
some clown
left it

The Onawa Poems 1999-2008 edited by Paul W. MacNeil is a superb collection of poems from poets who have visited MacNeil at his summer home located by the shores of Lake Onawa. Poets in this volume are as follows: Yu Chang, Ferris Gilli, Gary Hotham, Kirsty Karkow, Paul MacNeil, Paul David Mena, paul m., John Stevenson, Hilary Tann, and Paul Watsky.

after the hokku we begin our journey --Hillary Tann whistling in a lakeside breeze my beer bottle --Paul David Mena

summit-poem written a web I missed on the way up --paul m. Onawa sunset a few yellow leaves quiver on the poplar --Yu Chang

Ksana, by John Martone, is another offering from Red Moon Press. Martone is a master haijin whose sharp eye for detail has produced an excellent volume of haiku. His arrangement or structure of each haiku in the book enables the reader to pause and savor each poem more deeply. This is a book that will be read on more than one occasion. A keeper!

leaf dancing
a little dance
in the road
just one

walking
tonight

lifting
my
arms

rowing
them
slowly

flew
above
houses

flew
above
houses

I'll post another reading list next week.

---

And finally, Dietmar Tauchner sent the following link with several video readings from the WHA haiku gathering in Lithuania this month:

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=WHAvideo#g/u

Enjoy!