Customer Reviews

Cafe Haiku

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An American photographer and a Japanese poet met in a New York City café. The culmination of that meeting is the book Cafe Haiku, a collection of photographs and haiku poetry with a café/coffee theme. The photographs are vivid black and white scenes of the elements of a café; from the laptop taping techs to the cigarette waving philosophers to the jars of stirring sticks and display cases of pastries. The poetry ranges from whimsical to romantic, with some contemplation in between.

I read this brief collection while sipping an Americano (with half-n-half) at the café around the corner from my house. Unfortunately, the noise of conversations around me in the crowded space did not allow for much contemplation. My attention was drawn to the more whimsical poems and pictures. Particularly one photograph of a tin labeled Cinnamon resting on a marbled table top. The haiku that accompanied the picture expressed the complexity of modern café accoutrements:

How did the bark of
trees end up in can we
sprinkle on milk foam?


This book will be comfortable on both a coffee table or a bookshelf in a café.

This tiny tome is as espresso for the awakening mind, still groggy from the night's adventures. Those of us living in foggy San Francisco know the extreme importance of a very good cup of freshly ground haiku first thing in the morning to jumpstart the day. The creators of Cafe Haiku have brewed up this literally and visually entertaining book to reward those who sip from it -whether slowly, savoring each haiku/image blend, or tossed down & dash for the door - with calming simple pleasure, much as a perfect cuppa joe from the corner caffe.

Nice visuals accompanied by inebriation-inspired haiku. What more does one need to kick off any business meeting, family reunion or friendly party.

Enjoy

I am a coffee nut so could not help but buy this volume (actually four copies for some co-nuts)...but when my son-in-law, a lover of photography, saw this little volume he was so stunned that he lifted one of my copies.

Seemingly simple (short poems, b&w photos)...but complex and thoughtful. Intelligent and elegant. Nuances intermingle as you percieve both poem and photograph.

Even if you can get an idea by doing an inside search (do it)..holding this little volume and savoring it is something else altogether: Like comparing the experience of slowly drinking freshly brewed quality coffee to that of just downing a cup of instant.

when I first saw this little book I read it from cover to cover before I could put it down! the photos were beautiful and combined with clever haiku. they artists were really able to capture the cafe culture. I hope to find other titles soon from this independent publisher from san francisco.