St Martin de Castillon: Koyama Press, 2006.
Gift of Giselle Maya, [editor and] publisher, to whom much thanks.
This handsomely produced booklet of 36 unnumbered pages comes sewn inside a stiff hand-made paper cover, the insides nicely printed on high-quality book paper, all in pleasing earth-tones. (The production values suggest letter-press, though that does not seem to be the printing process.)
The poems, which span the range indicated above, are by an’ya, Ion Codrescu, Christopher Herold, Kirsty Karkow, Mari Konno, Elizabeth Searle Lamb, Angela Leuck, Giselle Maya, June Moreau, Pamela Miller Ness, and Jane Reichhold, so those familiar with the haiku-and-related scene in North America will find work by many writers whom they already know. The renga, a kasen (i.e., 36 stanzas) between the editor and Jane Reichhold and a six-verse piece by the editor and Ion Codrescu, are both presented as if they were series of tan-renga, or two-person tanka. Otherwise, the poems are all in the contemporary mode of free-verse or organic-form haiku and tanka, in three or five lines, respectively, with some attention to the usual short-long rhythmical patterns characteristic of these kinds of poems. As the title suggests, “peace” is either an obvious theme or at least an undercurrent through the work. One of the many attractive tanka is this light-hearted, positive-affect piece by June Moreau:
at last the foal
is able to stand
I think
it got a little help
from the robin’s song
A very pleasant addition to anyone’s haiku/tanka/renga collection.
Copies may be purchased from the publisher:
Giselle Maya
Koyama Press
84750 St. Martin de Castillon
France
Inquire price via e-mail to Giselle Maya.
