Sitting in the Sun

Sitting in the Sun Michael Dylan Welch and Crystal Simone Smith, editors. Kate MacQueen, artwork. Press Here, Sammamish, Washington, 2019, 64 pages, 94 poets (one poem each), ISBN 978-1-878798-40-4. Sitting in the Sun collects haiku and senryu by 94 attendees of the 2019 Haiku North America conference, held 7–11 August 2019 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Edited by Michael Dylan Welch and Crystal Simone Smith, with North Carolina–themed artwork by Kate MacQueen, this anthology showcases many of North America’s leading poets, plus an upcoming generation. As the introduction says (adapted here), “Sitting in the Sun celebrates the fifteenth biennial Haiku North America conference. These conferences provide an array of academic research and inspired readings and presentations, but they’re also a kind of ‘sitting on the porch a spell,’ a gathering of friends to enjoy the day, to talk about a favorite poetic subject, and to ponder—or avoid—the ups and downs that life has to offer. In the very first Haiku North America anthology in 1991, the collection’s poems were arranged by each poet’s first name, and we’ve been doing that ever since. It’s a sort of front-porch familiarity that we continue to value—and seek to promote. So please sit a spell with these poems and poets.” You can read the entire introduction, see the contributor list, and order the book on Amazon. Here are 40 sample poems from the anthology. late spring the emptiness inside a cracked blue egg                 Agnes Eva Savich                 Austin, Texas tending gumbo the blend of our voices                 Bill Cooper                 Naples, Florida New Year’s Day a toddler’s shovelful of snow                 Brad Bennett                 Arlington, Massachusetts yellowjacket in the bottle’s throat summers end                 Brent Goodman                 Rhinelander, Wisconsin slow-falling snow the steady hand of the beggar                 Bryan Rickert                 Belleville, Illinois                                                                                 Sandia mountain                                                                                 there’s no word in Tiwa                                                                                 for “whale”                                                                                                 Charles Trumbull                                                                                                 Santa Fe, New Mexico                                                                                 making tamales                                                                                 the flow                                                                                 of family stories                                                                                                 Claire Vogel Camargo                                                                                                 Austin, Texas                                                                                 bedtime                                                                                 wind and streetlight                                                                                 play tag in our tree                                                                                                 Craig Kittner                                                                                                 Wilmington, North Carolina                                                                                 progressive church                                                                                 in the collection plate                                                                                 a lottery ticket                                                                                                 Crystal Simone Smith                                                                                                 Durham, North Carolina                                                                                 church bells                                                                                 at dusk—I swing                                                                                 at the last pitch                                                                                                 Dave Russo                                                                                                 Cary, North Carolina the White House whiter than ever November chill                 David G. Lanoue                 New Orleans, Louisiana winding up the pitcher launches summer thunder                 Erin Castaldi                 Mays Landing, New Jersey The dog’s gray muzzle rests in my hands still holding the ball                 Garry Gay                 Windsor, California early daffodils deep in an unkempt forest— her curls upon curls                 Gideon Young                 Chapel Hill, North Carolina                                     full                                   moon                                   tango                                      on                                   water                             Jen Murdock                 Charlotte, North Carolina                                                                                 safe house                                                                                 in the back yard                                                                                 a sleeping doe                                                                                                 Jennifer Hambrick                                                                                                 Worthington, Ohio                                                                                 snow-dome                                                                                 quietly                                                                                 steadily                                                                                 I too settle                                                                                                 Jill Lange                                                                                                 Cleveland Heights, Ohio                                                                                 taut tent                                                                                 the tympani                                                                                 of rain                                                                                                 Jim Kacian                                                                                                 Winchester, Virginia                                                                                 Superbowl party                                                                                 I make new friends                                                                                 with the dog                                                                                                 Joshua Gage                                                                                                 Cleveland, Ohio                                                                                 one fortune cookie                                                                                 for the two of us to share                                                                                 crescent moon                                                                                                 Julie Warther                                                                                                 Dover, Ohio a hawk takes off          after a while I touch down                 Kala Ramesh                 Pune, India Durban bus stop I stoop to fill my hands with frangipani                 Kate MacQueen                 Chapel Hill, North Carolina first snow a teacher joins her class at the window                 Kathe L. Palka                 Flemington, New Jersey night breeze I listen to jazz in my car                 Lenard D. Moore                 Raleigh, North Carolina molting swallow she tells me about her rapist                 Lori A. Minor                 Madison Heights, Michigan                                                                                 ants crawl                                                                                 across our unfolded map—                                                                                 highway rest stop                                                                                                 L. Teresa Church                                                                                                 Durham, North Carolina                                                                                 the weight                                                                                 of a paper crane                                                                                 first snow                                                                                                 Makoto Nakanishi                                                                                                 Matsuyama, Japan                                                                                 dark night                                                                                 playing the harp by touch                                                                                 power outage                                                                                                 Marcyn Del Clements                                                                                                 Claremont, California                                                                                 end of the year—                                                                                 the swing’s muddy underside                                                                                 reflected in a puddle                                             +                                                                                                 Michael Dylan Welch                                                                                                 Sammamish, Washington                                                                                 deep autumn                                                                                 her left side sagging I visit                                                                                 the right side                                                                                                 Patricia J. Machmiller                                                                                                 San Jose, California shop owner dishes out gelato and gossip                 Robert Moyer                 Winston-Salem, North Carolina fading photo a moment of our youth sitting in the sun                 Robin Palley                 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania over the wall without papers migrating geese                 Sarah E. Metzler                 Marion Center, Pennsylvania a new lift to the door— Grandma, cherry blossoms are waiting!                 Shinko Fushimi                 Mito, Japan home from the mammogram fresh squeezed orange juice                 Shirley Brooks                 Taylorville, Illinois                                                                                 new diagnosis                                                                                 learning to live with                                                                                 the way she says it                                                                                                 Susan Antolin                                                                                                 Walnut Creek, California                                                                                 rainy day—                                                                                 I can’t see the bright side                                                                                 of anything                                                                                                 Susan Burch                                                                                                 Hagerstown, Maryland                                                                                 cloud shapes . . .                                                                                 my sister and her wife                                                                                 discuss baby names                                                                                                 Tanya McDonald                                                                                                 Woodinville, Washington                                                                                 wishing                                                                                 she wasn’t cremated                                                                                 Mother’s Day                                                                                                 Tia Haynes                                                                                                 Lakewood, Ohio                                                                                 family graves                                                                                 all tombstones except grandpa’s                                                                                 lean to the right                                                                                                 Valerie Fern                                                                                                 Carmel Valley, California