True story.
Back in 2013, I mailed a haiku postcard to President Barack Obama. A few months later, I received a very boilerplate letter from the White House thanking me for voicing my concerns, even though it was just a haiku, and a very apolitical one at that.
Sounds fairly normal. Citizen writes POTUS, White House responds with form letter.
But get this:
I mailed the postcard while I was living at one address, but received the response after I’d moved to another address entirely. My haiku postcard listed no name, provided no return address, and aside from my own boilerplate message, included only my haikuandy.com URL.
But they found me. Someone took the time and effort to figure out a) who is Haiku Andy, b) where does he live, and c) what kind of threat does he pose? All to mail me a form letter.
A form letter.
I wasn’t sure if I should be honored that they went through the trouble, or scared very scared that they went through the trouble, or angry that my tax dollars were being spent to have some intern track down people who mailed quasi-anonymous haiku to the President of the United States.
Anyway, I still have the letter. It’s kind of cool. Or is it?
Here are last week’s seven haiku postcards, including one addressed to Senator Bernie Sanders, which got me thinking about about that time I sent one to Obama.
haiku 20240212 Maplecrest, NY USA
preparing the ground
for spring
snow crocus
haiku 20240213 Chapin, SC USA
garbage night
after rolling out the bins
silence
haiku 20240214 Sacramento, CA USA
garbage night
the bins heavy
with stardust
haiku 20240215 Youngsville, NC USA
breakfast nook
the morning light
suddenly rosy
haiku 20240216 Burlington, VT USA
blue morning light
the cat through the grass
step by step
haiku 20240217 Alamo, CA USA
the cosmos swirling
in my coffee cup
breakfast nook
haiku 20240218 Ithaca, NY USA
blue and white speckles
amid pine needles and mulch
early wildflowers
That’s all seven! See you next week! And remember…
I STILL want to send you a card
It’s kinda weird you read my Substack but haven’t requested a card yet. I don’t get it. Please ask! It’s free. I ask nothing in return, aside from your good graces or maybe a cup of coffee if you’re so inclined.
Follow me on Instagram
If that’s your thing… https://www.instagram.com/haikuandy/
And I’m posting reels of each week’s haiku postcards on Instagram. The “live” photos feature lets you see my sloppy attempts to angle in on the best shot. Check it out!
Recommended reading
I heartily recommend all the books below. I get no commission, zip zero nada, if you buy through my links. (Amazon Associates gave me the boot because I didn’t move enough merch. Oh well.)
Haiku: An Anthology of Japanese Poems, Stephen Addiss/Fumiko Y. Yamamoto/Akira Y. Yamamoto
With the exception of The Haiku Anthology (see below), this was the first haiku anthology I bought when I first started sending out haiku cards. I stumbled across this small, beautiful book, while making my requisite writer’s pilgrimage to Shakespeare’s Books in Paris (ooh la la). The richness and scope between the covers in this little book is simply amazing, featuring over 102 poets, many more if you include anonymous authors. It’s my go-to when packing for a trip. Buy it here.
The Haiku Anthology (Third Edition), Edited by Cor van den Heuvel
Want to know what modern English-language haiku really looks like? What it is capable of? Here is your answer, and a must for every haiku poet’s bookshelf. When I first started writing haiku, this volume served me very well. Many of the haiku within have remained with me throughout the years, and I have been privileged to now count some of the contributors as colleagues and friends. Buy it here.
Three Simple Lines: A Writer’s Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku, Natalie Goldberg
Many writers will immediately recognize Goldberg from her forever bestselling Writing Down the Bones. As it happens, she has been writing haiku for her entire adult life, and has much to teach us. In Three Simple Lines, she intertwines memoir, history, and travelogue in a magnificent way as she journeys through Japan, chasing down the ghosts of Bashō and Buson, among others. She also draws much needed attention to women haiku poets, who were too often overshadowed by their male contemporaries. Buy it here.
Mountain Tasting - Haiku and Journals of Santoka … (tr. John Stevens)
I found Santoka challenging at first. Much of his haiku feels incomplete to me or dashed off. But he grew on me. Soon I felt like a companion on his journey, bouncing from inn to inn, begging for alms by day, pounding sake by night. Buy it here.
The Essential Haiku - Versions of Bashō, Buson, & Issa
Essential is right! Edited by Robert Hass, a great poet in his own right. Hass includes great essays on the history and evolution, as well as other writings by the poets themselves. A true master class in haiku! Buy it here.
Narrow Road to the Interior and Other Writings, Matsuo Bashō (tr. Sam Hamill)
Haiku poets have a tradition of wandering the countryside, and Bashō set the example! Buy it here.
Selected Poems, Masaoka Shiki (tr. Burton Watson)
I wrote a whole post about Shiki. Haiku might not exist today without his influence and renewal of the form. Buy it here.
Issa's Best: A Translator's Selection of Master Haiku, Issa Kobayashi (tr. David G. Lanoue)
Issa is probably the most beloved of the classic poets. His humility and joy in the face of unbearable loss and poverty endear him to haiku lovers everywhere. Lanoue seems to have made translating Issa his life’s mission, and I love his versions. Buy it here.