Jim Kacian - Three Questions

Jim Kacian is the creator of The Haiku Foundation, a nonprofit organization which begins January 1 2009 and is dedicated to archiving the first century of haiku in English and expanding the second; co-founder of the World Haiku Association, founder and owner of Red Moon Press, and past editor of Frogpond, the international membership journal of the Haiku Society of America. He has published thirteen books of haiku, all of which have received awards, the most recent of which is long after, published in Italy and appearing in three languages (English, Italian, German).

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1) Why do you write haiku?

god only knows
it's a kind of curse, perhaps for some infelicity in a previous life, whereby i am now enthralled (often in the middle of what otherwise might be a perfectly enjoyable sleep) by the muse and must do her bidding
all i know is that i must continue, else lose it
and i don't wish to lose it . . .

2) What other poetic forms do you enjoy?

i enjoy pretty much all other poetic forms
a sestina with a toothsome falanghina, for instance, its darkness hidden within a bright surface
a terza rima requires brandy, a sonnet mead, and tanka sake (haiku is so much more shochu)
absinthe for vers libre, vodka for a quatrain, claret for heroic couplet, and for ballad perhaps a humble beer
for epic, something with legs, like a single malt, and i'm happy go to hell with a villanelle and gin

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

a completely unfair question
so instead of choosing which amongst my children shall be overlooked, i'd prefer to offer three poems i particularly favor by other poets:


losing its name
a river
enters the sea

—John Sandbach


why go there
when it's here now?
the Cage exhibit

—R. Grey


under the pier,
the sea roars in—
a woman, a man

—Jack Galmitz


thanks for having me, curtis

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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 Jim answered. You must be a published poet to participate.