Bill Cullen published his first haiku in Modern Haiku in 1988. His poems have appeared in many of the major journals over the years as well as several of the Red Moon Anthologies and in a number of contests (Henderson, Mainichi, Mie Times among others). He lives with his wife and fellow haiku poet Brenda Gannam in Brooklyn, New York. They have two college-age sons, Emmett and Charlie.
1) Why do you write haiku?
To release images within me that yearn to be free, so maybe, someday when I die, someone will take kindness on me and release my soul from the prison of my body and mind.
Other reasons I hope I aspire to include elevating the moral imagination of my people, making a contribution to the literature of my age, and learning to be a better husband, father, and friend.
2) What other poetic forms do you enjoy?
I can’t think of a poetic form that I don’t enjoy.
3) Of the many wonderful haiku you've written, what do you consider to be your top three?
It’s hard for me to say whether any of the haiku I've written qualify as 'wonderful', but three haiku of recent years that I have recalled are:
All Souls' Day
drop by drop by drop
yesterday's rain
Modern Haiku, 37.1, Winter Spring 2006
full moon
mist from my whisper
on her silver earring
Frogpond, 29:1, Winter 2006
rainbow
a yacht on top
of a sand dune
Mainichi Daily News, March 3, 2009
If you've been enjoying this weekly series and have not contributed, please consider sharing your response (whether it be for haiku or tanka) to the three little questions that Bill answered. You must be a published poet in order to participate.
Peter Newton will be our guest next week.
