Frogpond 34.3 • Autumn 2011 (pdf) - Haiku Society of America
Frogpond 34.3 • Autumn 2011 (pdf) - Haiku Society of America
Frogpond 34.3 • Autumn 2011 (pdf) - Haiku Society of America
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An early departure<br />
The painful tug <strong>of</strong> ten o’clock<br />
I am not ready.<br />
Anne Curran<br />
If I had read the above haiku in a book not about death awareness,<br />
would I have thought this poem was about death? I have<br />
to say, probably not. I would say the person in the poem is not<br />
packed for her trip and/or not emotionally ready to leave on<br />
her trip. But since it is in a book about death awareness, death<br />
seems an added trip possibility. There are a few other poems<br />
that are chameleon-like in this regard because <strong>of</strong> the book’s<br />
context. However, I’m ambivalent about removing them.<br />
In the haiku literature there are a few books that have appealed<br />
to a general readership beyond the haiku community.<br />
I’m thinking particularly <strong>of</strong> the haiku anthologies edited by<br />
Cor van den Heuvel and Bruce Ross. 5 These two are good at<br />
showing the general reader the great breadth <strong>of</strong> life-content in<br />
English haiku writing. However, it’s possible to do anthologies<br />
<strong>of</strong> great strength and weight on narrow aspects <strong>of</strong> haiku<br />
writing as long as the topic is meaningful and emotionally<br />
charged, and is not something relatively benign such as showcase<br />
collections for birds, various animals, flowers, tea, particular<br />
seasons, and so on. Death awareness is a charged topic,<br />
and as a result <strong>of</strong> its selected content, Epstein’s book shows<br />
how great the breadth and depth <strong>of</strong> this particular topic can be<br />
in haiku writing. His book has the heft <strong>of</strong> an anthology <strong>of</strong> longer<br />
mainstream poems on death. Perhaps, Greg Piko’s haiku<br />
was written about H<strong>of</strong>fman’s book or some other source, but I<br />
feel his sentiment also applies to Epstein’s collection.<br />
braver today<br />
after reading all those haiku<br />
about death<br />
I hope this anthology will have a long printing life and at least<br />
one revised edition in its future. I want, simply and selfishly,<br />
to see and experience more <strong>of</strong> this collected terrain and maybe<br />
feel a little braver in the process.<br />
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br />
88 <strong>Haiku</strong> <strong>Society</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>America</strong>
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