Almost lost in the pile of Christmas packages that arrived at my door last week was a thick envelope that helps prove the old saw “better late then never.” It contained a copy of “flower of another country: the Haiku Society of America 2007 Members’ Anthology” (edited by Wanda D. Cook and Linda Porter, 2007). The stubby volume (4.25 by 5 inches), with a purple cover and a lime green bookmark ribbon, presents 186 poems, one per page, written by 186 members of HSA. (As the editors prominently remind readers, each member is assured that one of his or her submitted poems will appear in the anthology.) I want to thank Linda and Wanda for undertaking a time-consuming and often unheralded and under-appreciated job.
Although I am far too lazy and self-absorbed (and tired of reading haiku in massive numbers) to ever volunteer for the task of editing the Members’ Anthology, I am also far too opinionated to refrain from making a couple suggestions to future editors and contributors, based on my personal preferences: 1) these annual anthologies deserve to be preserved on our personal library shelves, and can more easily be honored and housed if they are published in a more conventional shape and size (such as last year’s award-winning version, fish in love, which was 8 inches tall and 84 pages); 2) to make the HSA Members’ Anthology more valuable and memorable, the chosen poems should, to the extent possible, be previously unpublished; therefore, members should submit and editors should choose poems that aren’t already widely known and available in the most-read haiku journals; and, naturally, 3) for the sake of quality and pedagogy, “show-ems” should always be vastly preferred over “tell-ems.”
The 2006 anthology has been sold out for quite awhile. You can still order the 2007 edition: The price per copy is $11.50 in the United States, $12.00 for Canada / Mexico and $15.00 elsewhere. To receive a copy, send your check to Paul Miller, HSA Treasurer, 31 Seal Island Road, Bristol, RI 02809-5186.
As expected, most of our f/k/a Honored Guests participated in this year’s HSA Members’ Anthology. Here, in alphabetical order, are the 19 poems submitted by the f/k/a family and selected by the editors of flower of another country:
morning mist
a bent back sweeps
yesterday’s blossoms…………. roberta beary – Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival 2006 (Highly Commended)
a dandelion or two
none of her new friends
best friends yet
……………… randy brooks
banana leaf
our small talk
in the rain…………. yu chang – The Heron’s Nest 9:1 (2007)
in the garden
right by St. Francis
the woodchuck hole
…………….. tom clausen – Upstate Dim Sum 2006:2
eyeing
that mosquito —
frog and I
…………….. david giacalone (see original haiga here)
a butterfly
so long at my window
summer dusk………. carolyn hall – The Heron’s Nest 9:1 (2007)
no old habits–
the newborn’s
cry
……………….. gary hotham – The Heron’s Nest 8:1 (2006)
……. jim kacian – Kusamakura Haiku Contest 2006 (2nd place)
beer bottles on the table
a chess
problem
…………….. david g. lanoue
Sunday afternoon–
butterflies sweep the slow end
of the soccer field………… peggy willis lyles – Mayfly #41, 2006
snow patches
the bones of bears
in this dirt……… paul m.
dinner with an old lover
the tang of unripe olives
……… pamela miller ness – Acorn #17, 2006
Indian summer
his name comes to me
then is gone again…………. w. f. owen
first crocus
I make a promise
I can’t keep…………… tom painting – Shiki Monthly Kukai, April, 2007
winter night
i lie in bed
and imagine it
………….. john stevenson – Upstate Dim Sum 2007:1
from this ridge
not another in sight–
wind and wheat…………… george swede
mountain stillness
the loon call
held by the lake……………. hilary tann – The Heron’s Nest 8:4 (2006)
into the lake,
our skipping stones’
intermingling rings
……………………… michael dylan welch
from deep in the forest
a haunting birdsong
sung just once…………………… billie wilson – The Heron’s Nest 8:4 (2006)
p.s. If you’re still in the holiday mood, you can find year-end and New Year poems by our Honored Guests by clicking here, or take a look at the f/k/a Christmas Season Haiku page, as well as our Holiday Haiku from Schenectady.