Northern LightsMichael Dylan Welch, editor, Press Here, Foster City, California, 1995, 24 pages, 50 poems by 29 poets, ISBN 1-878798-13-8.
With the 1995 conference, Haiku North America visited Canada for the first time, taking place at Ryerson Polytechnic in Toronto, Ontario. This conference’s anthology is divided into two sections, the first with more of a view towards nature and the seasons, titled “Northern Lights”; the second with more of a focus on senryu, titled “Northern Lights.” Here’s a quotation from the introduction: “Whether you are the lone haiku voice in an isolated town, or one of many talented poets in a single city enjoying much camaraderie, haiku is its own reward.” The following are fourteen sample poems from the book.
spring breeze— some of the seedlings turn over in the road
Bruce Ross Rochester, New York
view windows behind the guest speaker wind twists the leaves
Francine Porad Mercer Island, Washington
The river forks . . . our raft drifts through summer clouds
Garry Gay Windsor, California
sss-pit, sss-pit goes the sprinkler among the cherry trees
George Swede Toronto, Ontario
autumn sunset— a berry between the toes of a titmouse
Jeff Witkin Potomac, Maryland
barefoot in wet grass the soft bursting of the slug
Karen Sohne Amityville, New York
country road . . . slanted sunbeams following the pickup truck
Kenneth C. Leibman Archer, Florida
dusk at winter’s end the cardinal’s color goes into its song
LeRoy Gorman Napanee, Ontario
at the haiku workshop everyone an expert
Margaret Saunders Hamilton, Ontario
cool sunset— on the footpath a punctured balloon
Martin Lucas Lancaster, England
cedar waxwings in the hawthorn tree red berry stains on the snow
Patricia Neubauer Allentown, Pennsylvania
steam rising after the snow squall: buds on the lilac
Timothy Russell Toronto, Ohio
summer solstice the cat wakes up a few minutes early
William J. Higginson Santa Fe, New Mexico
a dark path across the lawn ends in a snowman
Winona Baker Nanaimo, British Columbia
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