Dandelion WindMichael Dylan Welch and Lenard D. Moore, editors. Kate MacQueen, illustrations. Press Here, Sammamish, Washington, 2008, 36 pages, 71 poets (one poem each), ISBN 978-1-878798-29-9.
The 2007 Haiku North America conference took place at the Hawthorne Inn and Conference Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. From the introduction: “This book’s title comes from Garry Gay’s poem, and it is to Garry that we dedicate the 2007 Haiku North America conference anthology. It was his idea back in 1990 to start the conference, with the first one taking place in California in the summer of 1991. It immediately became the major gathering of haiku tribes in North America, and has been held around the continent every two years since then. . . . The wish in this book’s title poem drifts away like a dandelion seed, as fleeting and ephemeral as the moment that haiku reveres. Unlike that wish, the wish that Garry had for Haiku North America has not drifted away. Instead, it has seeded and taken root. The anthology you hold in your hand, the ninth in the series, is evidence of the continued growth and vibrancy of the haiku community in North America.” Here are twenty-one sample poems from the book.
First day of fishing— his wife catches the larger trout.
Alexis Rotella Arnold, Maryland
teakettle whistle on the way to the stove she touches his knee
Bob Moyer Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Central Park a juggler upside down in my watch crystal
Carl Patrick Brooklyn, New York
extra innings the setting sun lights the underside of a high fly ball
Cor van den Heuvel New York, New York
spitting for distance— a watermelon seed clings to her nose
Curtis Dunlap Mayodan, North Carolina
camera obscura clouds across her bare shoulders
Dave Russo Cary, North Carolina
chewing their gum in rhythm old couple
David Lanoue New Orleans, Louisiana
summer stars a hint of clover in the bull’s breath
Ferris Gilli Marietta, Georgia
Dandelion wind another wish drifts away
Garry Gay Santa Rosa, California
the pale undersides of purple sandpipers . . . waxing moon
John Barlow Liverpool, England
summer evening coarseness of gingham prints in the quilt
Lenard D. Moore Raleigh, North Carolina
this rainbow day: the baby in a sling begins to fret
Matthew Paul London, England
sunset colors sink and rise at the koi pond
Michael Rehling Livonia, Michigan
fading sunset— still the shine on high-tension wires
Michael Dylan Welch Sammamish, Washington
country churchyard folding chairs on new sod
Paul MacNeil Ocala, Florida
far desert mountains— their secrets shrouded in hazy blue
Paul O. Williams Hayward, California
twilight deepening the space between the goalposts painted on a wall
Philip Rowland Tokyo, Japan
someone already here peonies on Mama’s grave
Randy M. Brooks Decatur, Illinois
returning bones a stone unwinds in the breeze
Richard Gilbert Kumamoto, Japan
we set sail in tall grass no air stirs
Sonia Sanchez Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
from an upstairs balcony arms thrust a potted begonia into the rain
Susan Broili Durham, North Carolina
after the Leonids a falling leaf sets the grassblade quivering
William J. Higginson Summit, New Jersey Endorsements on the back cover of Dandelion Wind:
“Of the small handful of regular occasions that nurture the English-language haiku community, Haiku North America is certainly preeminent: intellectually diverse, socially expansive, emotionally gratifying, it provides more than any other single experience the sense that haiku is a literary force to be reckoned with and capable of work that matters in the rest of the world.” —Jim Kacian, owner, Red Moon Press
“Every two years, at some interesting location in the United States or Canada, the organizers of Haiku North America put together exciting and innovative programs involving leading poets, scholars, editors, and teachers, as well as practitioners of arts that have a kinship with haiku. The result is that HNA is the most eagerly awaited conference on the haiku calendar.” —George Swede, cofounder of Haiku Canada
“Haiku North America offers haiku poets worldwide the opportunity to renew our spirit of community. The Haiku North America conference is a remarkable setting for innovative workshops and spellbinding readings. This unique celebration, known to its devotees as HNA, is the place to experience not only the art but also the heart of haiku.” —Roberta Beary, author The Unworn Necklace
|