A Shadowed Path

First published in Woodnotes #31, Autumn 1997, page 50.

A Shadowed Path: 1995 Yuki Teikei Haiku Society Members Anthology, edited by Patricia Moran Machmiller. Yuki Teikei Haiku Society, 1996, 40 pages, paperback, 5½ by 8½ inches. $6.00 postpaid from Alice Benedict, 2579 15th Avenue, San Francisco, California 94127 [address no longer correct]. A Shadowed Path presents 44 poems by members of the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society. These poems, divided into the four seasons, lean toward the so-called “traditional” in haiku, and exhibit a more-or-less 5-7-5 format with a kigo or season word. Editor Patricia Machmiller provides a brief introduction and, to conclude the book, a brief summary of season words and their use. Pat Shelley’s illustrations are a pleasing and poignant component of this book, especially since her recent passing. Alice Benedict designed A Shadowed Path (the cover paper is particularly pleasing), and the book’s title is based on a fine poem by Jocelyn Conway:

last day of summer—

we stop on the shadowed path

not touching