another countryEdited by Nigel Jenkins, Ken Jones, Lynne Rees, Gomer, £9.95
This book makes the bold claim that “this is the first ever Welsh national anthology of haiku poetry.” This might give the impression that only very few Welsh poets write haiku, but I suspect, just as everyone who has ever attempted poetry will have at least one sonnet, so most will have written a few haiku as well.
It‟s just that you don‟t see many books of the stuff because basically, due to the compact nature of the form, it‟s difficult to fill out a book. I used to be a fan of haiku,
but I‟m not so sure now. It‟s limited, of course it is, and I wonder if it can get a little tedious sometimes – how many times will you hear something along the lines of “ghastly snow tumbles….”?
The standard, if that‟s the right word is quite high in this book – here are a couple of my favourites – the very first in the book by Noragh Jones, followed by ones by Pamela Brown and Tony Conran:
Dandelion clock
the child‟s cheeks balloon and time takes wing
Small country town the bull‟s rosette
in the butcher‟s window
Short noonday shadows - umpires tightening tennis nets
But still, there is apparently the problem of how to pad out the book. The solution attempted here is to have quite long prose sections, with the haiku poems between. This could have worked reasonably effectively, but it‟s not done very well here. The worst would be for prose sections explaining the haiku – we‟re spared that at least. Instead, the prose sections are, well, quite dull, entirely superfluous and do not relate well to the haiku, which surely should take priority.
In another of his books, Blue, Nigel Jenkins, the main editor of this book, allows just one haiku per page, interspersed occasionally with illustrations, which works far better I think, especially as traditionally haiku were often displayed alongside illustrations, which again makes me think about how haiku can be compared to advertising slogans. I know that the editor of this magazine has an idea of doing something very similar himself, and still plans at some stage to bring out a book like this.
As an introduction to the form, another country works well, and more “seasoned” lovers of haiku will also enjoy it, with several good examples. On reflection, I did not see any mention in the opening notes of the necessity of a “season” word in haiku, which I always thought was essential, and yet so many people seem to be ignorant of this – even several of the poems in this collection lack this ingredient. But then, many also vary in length, and I suppose, like any form that has rules, the rules can be bent and broken, just like a snapped twig in/an Autumnal garden bird bath…or something.
I definitely think the book would have been improved if some haiku by Square‟s editor had been included. Here is his haiku about, as he says, the single greatest event in the history of mankind –
Coventry v Stoke in fog. Old man produces torch and shines on screen
31 ENGLEBURT BARTFAST
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