Cool Announcement: New Release, The Way of Haiku by Naomi Beth Wakan

My Dear Friends:

I'm happy to share with you this exciting news: NeverEnding Story contributor Naomi Beth Wakan just published her new book,The Way of Haiku, (the contact for purchase, mail@pagesresort.com), "a guide for learning to write the most popular form of Japanese poetry: haiku.... a comprehensive examination of the form and an eye-opening view into the way that reading and writing haiku can change the way one looks at life." 

"'Writing haiku helps you appreciate the wonder of ordinary things and ordinary days.' Wakan discusses the history of haiku’s development, its important literary elements, and the differences between haiku written in Japanese and those written in English. Numerous examples of haiku are provided, some written by Japanese haijin (haiku writers) and presented in translation, and some written by English-speaking writers. The rich explanation of the experience of writing haiku and the encouraging words of the author encourage readers to write their own haiku while remaining open to the possibilities it provides for personal growth."

About the Author: Naomi Beth Wakan is the Inaugural Poet Laureate of Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, and the Inaugural Honorary Ambassador for the Federation of British Columbia Writers. She has published over fifty books, including the American Library Association selection, Haiku - one breath poetry (Heian International). Her latest titles are The Way of Tanka and Poetry That Heals, both from Shanti Arts. Wakan is a member of The League of Canadian Poets, Haiku Canada, and Tanka Canada. She lives on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, with her husband, the sculptor, Elias Wakan.

Selected Haiku

spring memorial
the dampness
in a handful of soil

Alice Frampton

white on white roses
on her wedding day
her pale face

Angelika Kolompar

wet beach sand --
a sandpiper's song
of footprints

Michael Dylan Welch

a dewdrop world
though a dewdrop world
and yet ...

Kobayashi Issa

New Year's Day
dead chrysanthemums still
at the garden's edge

Masaoka Shiki

summer grasses --
the wheels of the locomotive
come to a stop

Yamaguchi Seishi

at the crescent moon
the silence
enters the heart

Fukuda Chiyo-ni