Reviews

I’ve been reviewing the situation. The following reviews (and many mini-reviews) focus mainly on haiku and tanka books, and were first published, mainly in Woodnotes, from about 1990 onward. As a result, some of these reviews may include ordering details, especially addresses and prices, that are no longer accurate. These are reviews I’ve written; for reviews of my books written by others, I provide links mainly on the Books page, where available, and sometimes on the Commentary page. See also Blurbs (which are a kind of review) and Recommended Books on Haiku. If you have any comments or questions, please contact Michael Dylan Welch.


★ = most recommended reviews (start with these)

Books About Haiku

African American Haiku: Cultural Visions, edited by John Zheng [see unpublished longer version]

Contextualization Icebergs: A Review of On Haiku by Hiroaki Sato

    Creativity: A New Psychology by George Swede [not strictly about haiku]

    Discovering Fire by David Grayson

    Essentially Oriental: R. H. Blyth Selection, edited by Kuniyoshi Munakata and Michael Guest

    The Genius of Haiku: Readings from R. H. Blyth, edited by David Cobb

    Haiga: Takebe Sōchō and the Haiku-Painting Tradition by Stephen Addiss

    Haiku and Zen: The Bodhisattva of Forgetfulness by Brian Tasker

    The Haiku Bag by Naomi Beth Wakan

    Haiku Compass: Directions in the Poetical Map of the United States of America by William J. Higginson

    The Haiku Habit by Jeanne Emrich

    Haiku: One Breath Poetry by Naomi Wakan

    A Haiku Path: The Haiku Society of America 1968–1988

The Haiku Seasons by William J. Higginson

Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac, by William J. Higginson

    JuxtaOne and JuxtaTwo, edited by Peter McDonald

    Oasis in the Heart by Toshimi Horiuchi

    On My Mind, an interview with Anita Virgil by vincent tripi

    Raking Sand, an interview with Virginia Brady Young by vincent tripi

Renga Roots: Haiku Before Haiku by Steven D. Carter

    The Seasons in Haikai by William J. Higginson

Sharing Experience: Robert Aitken’s River of Heaven

Shiki’s Winter: Donald Keene’s The Winter Sun Shines In: A Life of Masaoka Shiki

Three Simple Lines by Natalie Goldberg

    Tribe: Meditations of a Haiku Poet by vincent tripi

    Writing Across Cultures: A Handbook on Writing Poetry & Lyrical Prose by Edna Kovacs

    A Year’s Speculations on Haiku by Robert Spiess


Haiku and Senryu Collections

    Alachua: North Florida Haiku by Kenneth C. Leibman

    All Eyes by Francine Porad

Along the Way by Gilles Fabre

    a matter of wings by anne mckay

    American Gothic by Steven Carter

    American Senryu by James D. Hodgson

    American Zen by a Guy Who Tried It by Steve Sanfield

    Among Floating Duckweed by Bruce Ross

    At Bat by Cor van den Heuvel

    at mull river by anne mckay

    At the Zendō by Penny Harter

    Autumn Wind in the Cracks by Tom Clausen

    Awareness Beyond Mind by Kenneth Verity

    Before All the Leaves Are Gone by Gary Hotham

    Bending with the Wind by Nick Avis

    Between Two Waves by H. F. Noyes

    Between Waves by Alexis Rotella

    Bluegrey by Martin Lucas

    Border Crossing: Haiku and Related Poetry by Jean Jorgensen

    Braided Rug by sally l. nichols and Carol Purington

    The Butterfly’s Weight by vincent tripi

    Buzz by David Jacobs

    can i get there by candle by anne mckay

    Cascadia by William Scott Galasso

    Chester Creek Ravine by Bart Sutter

    Chrysanthemum Dusk by Susan B. Auld

    Clocking Out by Carlos Colón

    Cold Moon: Erotic Haiku by Gabriel Rosenstock

    come at nine come at nine by anne mckay

Complex Echoes: A Review of North Lake by Ce Rosenow

    Cricket Song by John Thompson

    Cry of the Hawk by Hank Dunlap

    Curve of Light by Elizabeth St Jacques

    curve into curve by anne mckay

    Dance of Light by Elizabeth St Jacques

    Dandelion Seeds by Arvinder Kaur

    Darkness & Light by Martin Lucas

    A Dash Through Leaves by Penny Griffin

    Desert Wind by Ferenc Bakos

    Drawings Among Haiku by Ion Codrescu

    Driveway from Childhood by Pamela Miller Ness

    Drumming in the Free World by Kim Redshaw

    The Duck’s Wake by Jeff Witkin

    Eating Blowfish by Frank Higgins

    Emerald Rain by William Scott Galasso

    The Essence of Modern Haiku by Seishi Yamaguchi

    Extended Wings: Haiku and Tanka by Francine Porad

    The Fingertips of a Glassblower by Bill Cooper

    First Frost by Zhu Hao

Flamingo Shapes by John Barlow

    Fog Lifting by Francine Porad

    footprints by Nick Avis

    Forest House with Cat by Edith Marcombe Shiffert

    Foxes in the Garden and Other Prose Pieces by Patricia Neubauer

    Frogs Singing by Nika [Jim Force]

    From the Upper Room by anne mckay

    Getting On by Ernest J. Berry

    Grandma’s Chip Bowl by David Jacobs

    Grinding My Ink by Margaret Chula

Grit, Grace, and Gold by Kit Pancoast Nagamura

    Haiku by Bill Albert

    Haiku and Sumi-e by Lidia Rozmus

    Haiku Chiaroscuro by David Cobb

    Haiku Edge: New and Selected Haiku by Robert Epstein

Haiku, Green Tea & Sushi by Ernest J. Berry [see previously unpublished longer version]

    Haiku Tapestry by Naomi Y. Brown

    Hairs & Hawk Circles by Gary Hotham

    Happy Wake Up by Milenko D. Ćirović Ljutički

    Home Sick From Work by John Sheirer

    Horizon by Anatoly Kudryavitsky

    Housebound in Nirvana by Brian Tasker

    Hundreds of Wishes by Francine Porad

    In and Out of Fog by Lee Gurga

    I Smell Something Foul by Alison Herschberg

Joy in Me Still by George Swede

    Joy Is My Middle Name by Francine Porad

    Jumping from Kiyomizu: A Haiku Sequence by David Cobb

    Just a Moment by Jim Norton

    Ladles and Jellyspoons by Francine Porad

    Landings Soft by Elizabeth St Jacques

    Layers of Content by Werner Reichhold

    Mandalas by Edna Kovacs

    Monsoon by William Hart

    A Moon in Each Eye by Charles B. Dickson

    The Moon Tonight by Cathy Drinkwater Better

    Mountain Climbing by Carlos Colón

    The Mown Meadow by Wally Swist

    Moyayama: Russian Haiku: A Diary by Alexey V. Andreyev

    Musical Chairs: A Haiku Journey Through Childhood by Alexis Rotella

    The Music of Tree Limbs by Marsh Cassady

    My Haiku Journey by Jack Stamm

    The Neighbor’s Red Car by John Sheirer

    Nine Steps: A Japanese Garden in the Fog by Wilma M. Erwin and Brad J. Wolthers

Noddy by Robert Spiess

    No Love Poems by Kenneth Tanemura [also includes tanka]

    No Reason At All by John Brandi and Steve Sanfield

    Notes from a Humdrum: A Year in Haiku by Brian Tasker

    Nothing Sensible: Erotic Haiku by Sue Dering

    101 Corporate Haiku by William Warriner

    One Hundred Butterflies by Peter Levitt

    One Jumps Free by Kevin Hull

    One Leaf Detaches by Margaret Chula

ongoing song: the voice of anne mckay

    The Open Eye by Lenard D. Moore

    Out of Cassiopeia by Charles B. Dickson

    Paris by William Hart

    The Patchwork Quilt by Francine Porad

    A Path of Desire: Tan Renga by Peter Newton and Kathe L. Palka

Practicing Kindness: Mitsu Suzuki’s A White Tea Bowl

    Presents of Mind by Jim Kacian

    Puerto Rico by Anita Virgil

    A Ragbag of Haiku by Brian Tasker

    Rectangle of Light by Marje A. Dyck

    The Regulars by Matthew Paul

    A Ribbon of Silver Thread by Joseph Kirschner

    River by Phyllis Walsh

    Row of Pine: A Collection of Haiku by Jeff Winke

    Rumblestrips by John Sheirer

    Rumours of Snow by anne mckay

    Senryu: Poems of the People by J. C. Brown

    Sexy Hieroglyphics by Laurie Fox

    Silent Stones, Empty Passageways by Jean Dubois

    Silver Mine by Walter Liggett

    Silver Path of Moon: Haibun by Janice M. Bostok

    A Simple Universe by Sonō Uchida

    Skipped Stones: Faces in Time by Harvey Hess

    The Slant of Winter Light by Randal Johnson

    A Slip of Bamboo: A Collection of Haiku from Maui by Victor C. Pellegrino

    Small Things Make Me Laugh by Yu Chang

Snow Bones by Masaya Saito

    Snow Falling on Snow by vincent tripi

    Something Unerasable by John Stevenson

    A String of Monarchs by Alexis Rotella and Florence Miller

    Students Breathing by John Sheirer

    Summer in Italy by Jerry Ball

    Tendrils of the Eye by George Knox

    Tenement Landscapes by Paul David Mena

    39 Haiku by Robert Kania

    This Moment by Margaret Chula

    Trawlers by Sam Savage

    Two Little Girls: Haiku for Fun by Patricia Neubauer

    Unsold Flowers by Ion Codrescu

    Vermilion Falling by William Scott Galasso

    Voice of the Cicada by Raffael de Gruttola

    Waiting for the Seventh Wave by John Barlow

Wall Street Park: A Concrete Renku by Raffael de Gruttola and Carlos Colón

Wanting the Mouth of a Lover by Charles Gramlich [previously unpublished]

    Waterlily Shadows by Margaret Molarsky

    Waveforms: Bull Island Haiku by Pat Boran

    What Light There Is by Sylvia Forges-Ryan

    White by vincent tripi

    Wild Strawberries by Winona Baker

    Winding the Clock Again by Jerry Ball

    Windmill Shadows: A Hunter’s Book of Haiku by John Howard Laugenour

    The Wind’s View: A Selection of Haiku by Gary Hotham

    Wings of Moonlight by Garry Gay

    Winnows by Maxianne Berger

    Woodsmoke by Brian Tasker

    Wooing the Meadowlark by Mary Fran Meer

    Yes by Alexis Rotella and Florence Miller

Young Osprey by Bill Cooper


Poetry Books

Archipelago by Arthur Sze

    A Hummingbird’s Dance by Ok-Koo Kang Grosjean

Kyoto’s Spirit of Place, Revealed

Shadows of Moments: A Review of Paul E. Nelson’s American Sentences

    Stages and Views by Penny Harter [includes haiku]

    You Can’t Be Serious by Ronald Wallace


Japanese Translations

    Bashō’s Narrow Road, translated by Hiroaki Sato

    Cage of Fireflies: Modern Japanese Haiku, translated by Lucien Stryk

The Dover Haiku Anthology: A Review [previously unpublished]

    Endless Vow: The Zen Path of Soen Nakagawa, translated by Kazuaki Tanahashi and Roko Sherry Chayat

    The Essential Haiku: Versions of Bashō, Buson, and Issa, edited by Robert Hass

    A Haiku Garden by Stephen Addiss

    A Haiku Menagerie by Stephen Addiss

    A Hidden Pond: Anthology of Modern Haiku, edited by Kōko Katō, translated by Kōko Katō and David Burleigh

    A Long Rainy Season: Haiku and Tanka, edited and translated by Leza Lowitz, Miyuki Aoyama, and Akemi Tomioka

    Morning Mist: Thoreau and Bashō Through the Seasons by Mary Kullberg

    Pathways: Restful Meditations by Kamishiwa Sensei, Gary Crounse, translator

    A Poet’s Anthology: The Range of Japanese Poetry by Makoto Ōoka

    Right under the big sky, I don’t wear a hat by Hōsai Ozaki, translated by Hiroaki Sato

    The Sound of Water: Haiku by Bashō, Buson, Issa, and Other Poets, translated by Sam Hamill

    Ten Poems by Issa, translated by Robert Bly

    White Flash/Black Rain: Women of Japan Relive the Bomb, edited and translated by Lequita Vance-Watkins and Mariko Aratani


Haiku Anthologies (mostly)

    A Box of Zen, edited by Manuela Dunn Mascetti

    After Lights Out [Spring Street Haiku Group]

    All Day Long [Haiku Poets of Northern California]

    A Shadowed Path: 1995 Yuki Teikei Haiku Society Members Anthology

    Beginning: British Haiku Society Members’ Anthology 2016

    Blue Spilling Over [Haiku Canada]

    Cherry Blossom Rain [Haiku Northwest]

    Climbing Mole Hill: An Anthology of Haiku and Haiga for the Republic of Mole Hill, edited by Lidia Rozmus

    Dreams Wander: Haiku Society of America 1994 Members’ Anthology

    Echoes Across the Cascades [Haiku Northwest]

    Fig Newtons: Senryu to Go, edited by Michael Dylan Welch

    Frog Bytes, edited by Lorraine Ellis Harr

    Full of Moonlight: Haiku Society of America 2016 Members’ Anthology

    Haiku Anthology: Second International Haiku Conference

    Haiku Canada 15th Anniversary Holograph Anthology

Haiku Iz Rata: War Haiku, edited by Marijan Čekolj

    Haiku Moment: An Anthology of Contemporary North American Haiku, edited by Bruce Ross

Haiku 21 (see also “Notes on Gendai Haiku”), edited by Lee Gurga and Scott Metz

    Hands Full of Stars [Boston Haiku Society]

    A Harvest of Haiku [Haiku Poets of Upstate New York]

    Heiwa: Peace Poetry in English and Japanese, edited by Jiro Nakano and Brien Hallett

    Impressions of Morning: Haiku by World Children [JAL Foundation]

In Praise of Japanese Love Poems, introduced by Regina Sara Ryan [with new postscript]

    Into the Wind [Yuki Teikei Haiku Society]

    Listening to the Rain [Small White Teapot Haiku Group, Christchurch] [previously unpublished]

    Met on the Road: A Transcontinental Haiku Journal by William J. Higginson with Penny Harter [essentially a haibun]

    Midwest Haiku Anthology, edited by Randy M. Brooks and Lee Gurga

    Morning Snow [Two Autumns, HPNC]

    Northern Lights [HNA]

    “Nothing Special,” edited by Brian Tasker

    One Breath: Haiku Society of America 1995 Members’ Anthology

    Paper Lantern [Two Autumns, HPNC]

    A Patch of Wildflowers: An Anthology of Haiku by Members of the Western World Haiku Society, edited by Lorraine E. Harr 

    A Path to the Sea [Two Autumns, HPNC]

    Playing Tag Among Buddhas [HPNC]

    Poetry Postcard Quarterly: Haiku 96, edited by Peter Taylor

Recognizing Influences: The Unswept Path

    Scratch-n-Sniff: Haiku and Senryu About Dogs [HPNC]

    Shades of Green [HNA]

    The Shortest Distance: 1993 Haiku North America Conference Anthology

    A Small Umbrella [Spring Street Haiku Group]

    Sudden Shower [Haiku Northwest]

    Sunlight Through Rain: A Northwest Haiku Year [Haiku Northwest]

    Timepieces: Haiku Week At-a-Glance 1993, edited by David Priebe

    Timepieces: Haiku Week At-a-Glance 1994, edited by David Priebe

    Timepieces: Haiku Week At-a-Glance 1995, edited by David Priebe

    Unbroken Curve [Haiku Northwest]

    When Butterflies Come: Haiku Society of America 1993 Member’s Anthology

    A White Chrysanthemum [Two Autumns, HPNC]

    Woodshavings [Spring Street Haiku Group]

    World Haiku 2005, edited by Ban’ya Natsuishi


Books for Children or Young Adults

Birds on a Wire by J. Patrick Lewis and Paul B. Janeczko

    Black Swan/White Crow by J. Patrick Lewis

Feeling Haiku Through Thin Wood Walls by David Patneaude

Least Things by Jane Yolen

    Origami Pinwheels by Kay L. Tracy

    Red Dragonfly on My Shoulder by Sylvia Cassedy and Kunihiro Suetake

    Shadow Play: Night Haiku by Penny Harter

    Snow by Steve Sanfield

Three Tanka Books for Children (Tony Medina’s Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy, Robert Paul Weston’s Sakura’s Cherry Blossoms, and Nikki Grimes’ Garvey’s Choice)

Two Books for Children (Keisuke Nishimoto’s Haiku Picturebook for Children and Matthew Gollub’s Cool Melons—Turn to Frogs!) [previously unpublished]

Yuki and the One Thousand Carriers by Gloria Whelan [previously unpublished]


Novels Featuring Haiku

Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King

Feeling Haiku Through Thin Wood Walls by David Patneaude

    The Haiku Murder by Fran Pickering

    The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart


Recordings

The Haiku Poetry of Alexis Rotella by Alexis Rotella

Requiem by Karl Jenkins

    Sigmatropic: Sixteen Haiku and Other Stories


Tanka Anthologies

    Footsteps in the Fog

    Love: The British Haiku Society 30th Anniversary Members’ Tanka Anthology

    Modern Japanese Tanka by Makoto Ueda

Modern Tanka in Japan [not strictly a review, but related]

    Only the Bulbs

    Outcry from the Inferno [from Woodnotes]

Outcry from the Inferno [longer, previously unpublished]

    Tanka Splendor 1992 [contest results booklet]

    Tanka Splendor 1993 [contest results booklet]

    Tanka Splendor 1994 [contest results booklet]

    Tanka Splendor 1995 [contest results booklet]

    Wind Five Folded


Tanka Collections

    The Cold Moon Watching by Helen Robinson

Directions in Tanka: Kenneth Tanemura’s No Love Poems [previously unpublished]

    In Each Other’s Footsteps by David Rice

    Like Salt on Sun Spray by Pamela Miller Ness

    More Light, Larger Vision by Geraldine Clinton Little

    Poems in the Attic by Nikki Grimes

    The Rice Papers by Pat Shelley

    Shining Moments by Neal Henry Lawrence

    Short Songs: Tanka Poems by Amelia Fielden

    A Sprig of Thyme by Reiko Nakagawa

This Hunger, Tissue-Thin by Larry Kimmel

    This Tanka World of Strings by Sanford Goldstein and Kenneth Tanemura

    Tracing Your Ribs by Claudia Rosemary Coutu

    Turning My Chair by Pat Shelley

    the wind-blown clouds by Brian Tasker


Other Tanka Books

Surveying Recent Tanka Criticism

Takuboku Ishikawa and Bokusui Wakayama in English and Spanish translated by Harue Aoki 

    Tanka Elbow Room

    Three Tanka Books for Children (Tony Medina’s Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy, Robert Paul Weston’s Sakura’s Cherry Blossoms, and Nikki Grimes’ Garvey’s Choice)

The Way of Tanka by Naomi Beth Wakan