Discover the beauty of haiku in this poetic memoir of life abroad
Price : US$14.95
ISBN: 978-1-933330-04-4 236 pp, paper, 5.4 x 8", 4 b/w photos and illustrations
Foreword by Michael Dylan Welch
"A deft and seamless merging of
genres: at once memoir, travel literature, and an unpretentious guide
onto the terrain of Japanese poetry. It will appeal not just to poetry
lovers, but to all readers who are curious about the world beyond their
own borders." —Foreword Magazine
"Friedman is an
appealing guide through an alternate Japan where modern people make
poems about teacups and temples but also about skyscrapers and kidney
surgery." —East Bay Express
The problem came to a head one
day as I was driving through Tokyo. While waiting for the light to
change, I saw the following public service announcement on the side of
a bus: Omoiyari hitonikurumani konomachini (Sympathy / toward
people, toward cars / toward this town). Seventeen syllables.
Five-seven-five format. It must be a haiku, I thought. But when I
reached the office and repeated the announcement to my Japanese
coworkers, none of them thought it was a haiku. I knew they were
thinking to themselves, What kind of a lunatic is she? One tried to break the news to me gently, It’s not a haiku, it’s an advertising jingle. Well, I knew it was an advertising jingle, but still, wasn’t it an advertising jingle haiku? —From The Haiku Apprentice
Abigail
Friedman was an American diplomat in Tokyo, not a writer. A chance
encounter leads her to a haiku group, where she discovers poetry that
anyone can enjoy writing. Her teacher and fellow haiku group members
instruct her in seasonal flora and fauna, and gradually she learns to
describe the world in plain words, becoming one of the millions in
Japan who lead a haiku life. This is the author’s story of her literary
and cultural voyage, and more: it is an invitation to readers to form
their own neighborhood haiku groups and, like her, learn to see the
world anew.
