Customer Reviews

One Summer, A Thousand Days

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As someone who's been exploring the possibilities of and learning about haiku and scifaiku for many years (even developing a haiku form offshoot, "dreamku") I ordered this book with much excitement. I might learn more about these endlessly intriguing forms and find some inspiration. I also particularly wanted to support the unique scifaiku form having found publication in a collection.

But I was rather disappointed. Although the author clearly enjoys writing in what he understands these two forms to be about, it is not clear to this reader that he's done much reading into the parameters of either form. A rare haiku will sparkle with haiku spirit, and the ocassional scifaiku shares humor. But the vast majority show no grasp of the formal requirements of haiku or scifaiku, neither traditional parameters nor the more modern innovations. (At least as I've learned about them to date, and I'm still learning.) Although the author has a section of non-traditional haiku, unless one has deeply absorbed a form's requirements innovations are rarely, if ever, successful. As is the case here, IMHO.

However, given that very occasional sparkle of haiku spirit that comes through in this basically disappointing book, I do hope the author will continue to learn about the haiku form.