The Haiku Anthology

Rating:
Summary: An intro to English-language haiku through its poets.
Review: I have a single poem that appears in this collection of 850 haiku. It represents a decade of work preserved in small press haiku publications and self-published chapbooks. The poem is based on my first parachute jump on June 13, 1982, in Perris, California. What I remember about the jump is intersecting an incredibly sweet silence with the solemnity of sunset filling my eyes. When you read this beautiful book, know that the work--and the included haiku poets--are only the tip of the iceberg.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful collection of contemporary haiku
Review: I have not seen a more comprehensive collection of contemporary English-language haiku than Cor van den Heuvel's remarkable anthology. The book presents over 800 poems, and the introductions (the ones from the previous editions are included) give helpful direction to the overwhelmed reader.

The greatest beauty of this collection, though, is that you can carry it around with you and open randomly to any page and discover something surprising, exciting, wondrous, even breathtaking.

If you think of haiku as silly poems you wrote in elementary school, those three line ditties in a syllable pattern of 5-7-5, then you need this book to purge your preconceptions and demonstrate the many possibilities of the haiku form.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful collection of contemporary haiku
Review: I have not seen a more comprehensive collection of contemporary English-language haiku than Cor van den Heuvel's remarkable anthology. The book presents over 800 poems, and the introductions (the ones from the previous editions are included) give helpful direction to the overwhelmed reader.

The greatest beauty of this collection, though, is that you can carry it around with you and open randomly to any page and discover something surprising, exciting, wondrous, even breathtaking.

If you think of haiku as silly poems you wrote in elementary school, those three line ditties in a syllable pattern of 5-7-5, then you need this book to purge your preconceptions and demonstrate the many possibilities of the haiku form.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent nightstand companion
Review: It is very hard to discuss the quality of haiku since its ability to resonate in our emotions through imagery is so subjective. Let me just say that I discovered new poets I never heard of before who made a powerful impression on me. That alone is worth five stars to me.

Rating:
Summary: Too Many Great Haiku Poets Left Out
Review: Like Mr. van den Heuvel's other editions of this anthology, several of the true "greats" of haiku have been left out. The book disappoints in its lack of real inclusiveness. The editor's spotlight shines far too brightly on a certain few and fails to touch some of the most important poets in the genre's history.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Necessary
Review: The Haiku Anthology is absolutely necessary for anyone considering tackling the writing of haiku in English. I have read it so often that I had to buy another copy as the pages of my original fell out! Like most good things in life, this is best savoured slowly - over and over and over...

Rating:
Summary: A gathering of silences
Review: The point is often made that haiku is an increasingly popular poetic form in English, although the truth is probably more that Americans, among English speakers, have for some reason particularly taken to this classical Japanese discipline. Almost without exception, the 89 writers featured in this anthology are from the USA or Canada, losing it a star - in my estimation - for lack of global range. That said, this book contains many delights. There is a clear and useful introduction explaining the technical differences between classical haiku forms (with their zen-like focus on nature, seaons, and a permanent present tense) and "senryu", which concentrate on human relationships and the distinctly human condition. An anthology survives on its works, however, and there is much here to intrigue. The late Nicholas Virgilio's best known work is included here, full of classical Japanese haiku spirit.

lily:/ out of the water../ out of itself

Some of the senyru owe as much to Homer Simpson as Basho or Buson. Try Alan Pizzarelli's

the fat lady/ bends over the tomatoes/ a full moon

Many deal with unequivocally modern subjects. For example, Alexis Rotella's

Discussing divorce/ he strokes/ the lace tablecloth

For a non-American, many of the works here seem too self-absorbed - the very opposite of haiku's original intention. There are also too many works that are meretricious, that seem dashed off, as if their slight size makes haiku light weight. But in 850 works, there are plenty that achieve the elusive gift of transferring epiphany. This pleasingly bound little hardback should inspire writers, poets, readers. It will also, hopefully, direct the curious back to the great works of the Japanese Masters, Basho, Buson and Issa, in particular. Mostly though, it is a book to nag at us gently, infuriate us occasionally, as slowly its little gems work their way into our thoughts.

my dead brother../ hearing his laugh/ in my laughter

(N. Virgilio)

Rating:
Summary: The suggestiveness of words
Review: The standard anthology for haiku in English. All of the poems included are of the highest quality. Must have for all haiku lovers.

Rating:
Summary: Too Many Great Haiku Poets Left Out
Review: When I ordered this book I wasn't aware that it was a collection of haiku written by English-speaking folk. And the results are not good, I'm afraid. All great haiku show a deep connection to a Zen mind. Without it, the results are often quite shallow for the genre. Haiku is the ultimate compression of meaning; these did very little for me. I'm returning the book pronto!