In the last couple of weeks, I’ve had the special pleasure of learning about two haiku poets, Raymond Roseliep (1917-1983) and vincent tripi (?-2020).
Roseliep was the focus of Randy Brook’s recent essay in Modern Haiku 54:2, “Personae: Narrative Voices in the Haiku of Raymond Roseliep.” The examples that Brooks cites in his discussion blew me away, making me want to learn more.
vincent tripi (yep, he preferred lowercase) came up in a Facebook post by Tom Clausen because a new collection of his work is forthcoming from Swamp Press.
I sense in mr. tripi’s work and practice a kindred spirit, maybe because the haiku in the new collection were selected posthumously from thousands of index cards he left behind.
After I enjoy their works, I’ll recommend specific titles below.
Meanwhile, here are the past week’s seven haiku, and where they were sent.
haiku 20230612 » Potomac, MD USA
I open my eyes
birds sing the crown molding
into existence
haiku 20230613 » Quathiaski Cove, Canada
at my age
a lesson in abundance
picking strawberries
haiku 20230614 » Grants Pass, OR USA
lapsed buddhist --
my zafu
sits by itself
haiku 20230615 » Benicia, CA USA
north berkeley
a couple with gray hair
dressed like students
haiku 20230616 » Russellville, AR USA
home from a trip
the cat wrapped
around my ankles
haiku 20230617 » Twentynine Palms, CA USA
cool of the evening
we wander the twilight
in search of nothing
haiku 20230618 » Washington, DC USA
estate sale dresser
someone else's
loose button
That’s all seven! See you next week! And remember…
I 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.
Buy haiku books
Yes, I do get a small commission if you buy these through my Amazon links, but these are books I would happily recommend without mercenary motivations. You can support my work and build up a fine haiku library!
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 the sake at 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 work, and I love his versions. Buy it here.