| Oregon Haiku & Tanka Society |
| B o o k R e v i e w |
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| an'ya, Haiku for a Moonless Night Reviewed by Gerald England from the NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW ON-LINE an'ya is a Serbian who lives in America. This handbound book, complete with its built in bookmark, reflects not just her Balkan background and her Northwest American domicile, but also international concerns. A page of tributes on the back testify to her standing in the haiku world. Like traditional Japanese collections, the haiku are grouped into five sections according to season. The spring section, THE WAKING OF INSECTS, includes: a broken branch by the village gate sprouts oak blossoms The summer section is titled SCENTED BREEZES: scented breeze the town's name written in sweet alyssum CRACKLING VOICES includes autumn ocean just for our anniversary the cadence of rain THE COLD TIME is winter when we find banked fire a sigh from the watchdog asleep in my arms and after winter the book ends with a New Year section, YEAR OF THE SHEEP first lost sheep the shepherdess climbs new mountains This last, like a number of others in the book, has been made into a delighful coloured haiga by Kuniharu Shimizu. This is haiku at its purest and a book to treasure. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * AN'YA: HAIKU FOR A MOONLESS NIGHT The Natal Light Press PO Box 1168 Crooked River Ranch OR 97760 USA ISBN 0 9727130 0 X $15.95 [+$3 shipping within US] |