The Unswept Path: Contemporary American Haiku (Companions for the Journey) [Paperback]

John Brandi (Editor), Dennis Maloney (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2005 | Series: Companions for the Journey (Book 8)

The Unswept Path is a diverse gathering of American poets who have chosen the haiku as one of the forms in which they write. This anthology presents the many faces of the haiku. Each poet chosen has worked the territory of the haiku into a personal landscape, and they offer a panorama of images and sound, joy and sadness, recollection and thought. The Unswept Path is wonderful introduction to the art of the haiku for the writer and reader alike.

Contributors include: Christopher Herold, Elizabeth Searle Lamb, William Higginson, Penny Harter, Margaret Chula, Edith Shiffert, Michael McClure, Diane DiPrima, Sonia Sanchez, Steve Sanfield, Patricia Donegan, John Brandi, and Cid Corman.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Brandi is a poet and author of In What Disappears and Heartbeat Geography. Dennis Maloney is a poet, translator,and landscape architect. His books of translation include The House In the Sand and Isla Negra by pablo Neruda, The Naked Women by Juan Ramon Jimenez, and There is No Road: Proverbs of Antonio Machado.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: White Pine Press; First Edition edition (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893996387
• ISBN-13: 978-1893996380
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #640,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a sweeping success, February 9, 2006

By 

Michael Castro "warrior poet" (st. louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Unswept Path: Contemporary American Haiku (Companions for the Journey) (Paperback)

THE UNSWEPT PATH is a great collection of haiku and writings about haiku by contemporary American poets. It's the richest stew of haiku meditations since R.H. Blythe's pioneering work, revealing the haiku as a living vital form. Editors John Brandi & Dennis Maloney have done a brilliant job of gathering writers who exhibit a range of attitudes & approaches toward the haiku. Unlike other haiku related writings in English, this collection does not emphasize the formal elements of the tradition; rather the emphasis is on the haiku as a mode of perception. The reader is encouraged, i.e. inspired, to use it to purify their poetry & their minds. Brandi's brilliant essay sets the tone, evoking the spirit of Basho & Issa in ways related to our own times and establishing freedom and egolessness as haiku's most fertile ground. His work alone is worth the price of admission, as is the selection included by the late Cid Corman. We see familiar writers like Michael McClure, Diane DiPrima, Sonia Sanchez and Patricia Donegan in new ways, and writers new to me like Christopher Herrold and Penny Harter also shine. This book is a real treat for lovers of poetry. It's illuminating & entertaining--a sweeping success.