Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac [Paperback]

William J. Higginson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1997

Haiku are rapidly becoming an international poetic form. "Haiku World" comprises an anthology of 1000 haiku written poets in 45 different countries - all present in both their original language and in English.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

William J. Higginson studied Japanese at Yale University where he discovered the haiku, and served, with the U.S. Air Force in Japan. He is a charter member of the Haiku Society of America, founded in 1968, and edited and published Haiku Magazine (1971-76). He has three published collections of longer poems and one of haiku, and has work appearing in magazines and anthologies worldwide. He has also taught in the National Endowment for the Arts "Poets-in-the Schools" program, leading writing workshops in hundreds of schools, and he regularly speaks at conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Japan. Higginson's international anthology of haiku for children, Wind in the Long Grass, is a classroom favorite. His two-volume sequel to The Haiku Handbook, The Haiku Seasons and Haiku World, gives a comprehensive view of the history, present state, and international possibilities of seasonal consciousness in poetry.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Nature and Organization of This Book

Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac includes over 1,000 poems originally written in 25 languages by more than 600 poets from some 50 countries. The poems are organized under 680 seasonal and nonseasonal topics. To summarize its main features:

1. For the first time in any language, Haiku World collects a substantial number of haiku and related poems by Japanese and non-Japanese poets on an equal footing in their most traditional setting, so that this poetry, originating in Japan but now composed and appreciated worldwide, may be seen by all parties as a truly global phenomenon. Thus, Haiku World provides a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in the latter decades of the twentieth century.

2. Haiku World shows how haiku and related poems written in all languages equally reflect the primary characteristics of the haikai genre. Arranging the poems by traditional topics allows each poem to join the global effort to see and appreciate the human and natural world, to become a part of the great chorus rather than remain isolated as a private solo.

3. Haiku World demonstrates the diversity and unity of the various poetries collectively known as haikai--haiku, senryu, and renku--with a broad sampling from all three.

4. Haiku World offers a selection of Japanese as well as non-Japanese haikai poems that apply to aspects of life beyond the borders of any specific season by including a nonseasonal section based on the deepest aspects of the tradition and on recent developments in constructing Japanese saijiki.

[The following excerpt is from the Saijiki, under "Winter: The Heavens," with some typographical adjustments.]

winter moon, fuyu no tsuki (all). By turns beautifully crystalline and shrouded in cold mist or clouds, the winter moon offers either stark or meager light. For those clear, cold moonlit nights, cold moon (kangetsu) may be the better season word to use.

winter moon
nudge of the unborn child
between us
Jean Jorgensen, Alberta [k]
wolf moon (late). Algonquin name for the first full moon after the winter solstice, usually in January. See also hunter's moon in autumn.

the power out--
through deep windows
wolf moon
K. G. Teal, NY [k]
winter stars, fuyu no hoshi (all). The clarity and chill of winter skies bring the stars closer. The opening lines of the following poem suggest early winter.

one more ride
with the top down--
winter stars
Yvonne Hardenbrook, PA [k]
orion, orion (all). The constellation Orion governs the winter sky with its bright red star, its blue-white star, and its belt of three stars straight across. In the northern temperate zone it appears in November and falls out of view in April.

Orion's belt...
three sparks
in a curl of woodsmoke
Mark Evans, IA [k]

the Greyhound's
running lights
under Orion
Gene Doty, MO [k]
winter wind, fuyu no kaze (all). Winter is known for its winds; see withering wind and north wind, following. A "winter wind" will simply suggest a cold wind during the winter months. A more intense expression: freezing wind (itekaze).

archery practice:
sound of a bowstring quivers
in the freezing wind
Zhu Hao, China [k]

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha International (JPN); First Edition. 1 in number line and staes edition (February 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4770020902
• ISBN-13: 978-4770020901
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,848,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A necessity for readers and writers of haiku and renku!, October 15, 2001

By 

Hortensia Anderson "Hortensia Anderson" (nyc, ny, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac (Paperback)

I love both reading and writing renga/renku and other collaborative poetry endeavours. That said, I don't recall any of my collaborators in poetry not owning the Haiku Almanac. It is indispensable and has William Higginson's amazing ability to create a reference book equally valuable to the already published professional and the curious novice.

Higginson provides a wealth of examples and manages to tie them together despite their diversities. Pure joy!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant publication, November 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac (Paperback)

Higginson has demonstrated the global relevance of haiku and, in doing so, has given haiku poets the world over a brilliant and valuable resource text.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant book, October 30, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Varazdin, CROATIA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac (Paperback)

very very very good and very systematic and anthologic book of world haiku