Special Thank You’s

Posted on by Colleen M. Chesebro

We belong to one of the best poetry communities around… did you know that? Through the years, I’ve developed friendships that I really treasure. We all learn together too, which is something I truly love.

Today, I want to thank two friends for their friendship and for sharing their love of poetry with me.

First is Tina Frisco, who I’ve had the pleasure of knowing for over six years now. The other day, I received an email from Tina, alerting me that a gift was on the way.

A few days later, came the book “One hundred Great Books in Haiku,” by David Bader. These wonderfully funny poems all fall into the senryu category. I enjoyed them all. In fact, I chuckled at most of them. Thanks so much, Tina, for thinking of me in such a special way. You touched my heart with your kindness. ❤️

“Why spend weeks slogging through The Iliad when you can just read the haiku? From Homer to Milton to Dostoyevsky, the classics are finally within reach of today’s busy readers.”

~David Bader is a Manhattan attorney turned haiku humorist~

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Wild. Strange. A bit damp.
Heathcliff waits for Cathy's ghost.
Women. Always late. 

© David Bader, pg. 36, One hundred Great Books in Haiku

And today, I received a gift from Selma Martin, “Haiku People, Big & Small in Poems and Prints,” by Stephen Addiss, with Fumiko and Akira Yamamoto.

Human beings take center stage in this book of haiku. Remember, our kigo words include a section on humanity for each season! What I really love is the introduction of the book where it explains how Japanese haiku contain seasonal reference words called kigo… but in this book they followed the natural cycle of human life from childhood through maturity to old age.

Several interpretations accompany each poem. It is the balance between the natural world and human nature that makes the book such a stunning read.

Plus… (how can there be more?) the woodblock masters Harunobu, Hokusai, and Hiroshige are featured in the book. The prints aren’t haiga, but the author presented the prints so the poetry and print could resonate together.

Thank you so much, Selma. This is a wonderful gift and I will treasure this book.

Thank you, Tina and Selma, for these lovely books. I feel the abundance of the new moon has given me many blessings.

🙏🏻 ❤️ Namaste.

30 thoughts on “Special Thank You’s”

Comments are closed.