A Path to the Sea

First published in Woodnotes #30, Autumn 1996, page 47.

A Path to the Sea by Dan Brady, Helen K. Davie, Pat Gallagher, and Evelyn Hermann, edited by Christopher Herold. Two Autumns Press, 1996, 28 pages, paperback, 5½ by 7 inches. $5.00 postpaid from Ebba Story, 478 Guerrero Street, San Francisco, California 94110 [address no longer correct]. This is the seventh book in a rich series of publications by the Haiku Poets of Northern California, coinciding with an annual reading held this year on August 25, 1996. A Path to the Sea, like the previous anthologies, contains 12 poems by each of the featured poets, along with an introduction by the editor plus short and interesting biographies about each poet. The poems appear at three per page in blue ink to match the water theme of the title and the cover photograph. While each poet offers several excellent poems, I found the editor’s selection of Dan Brady’s poems to be a particularly pleasant surprise, showing the value of good editing. Do treat yourself to this special collection. Here’s the poem by Otsugi from which the book takes its title:

spring rain—

through the trees

a path to the sea