A to Zazan, an anthology of haiku
Reviews
A to Zazan, an anthology of haiku ed. Vanessa Proctor. 2004. Kiwiana Publishing, Tauranga, New Zealand. ISBN 0-9582438-5-9. 96pp. Copies from Vanessa Proctor, 11 Rushall Street, Pymble, NSW 2073, Australia. Price £8.50 inc. p&p.
There is a warmth to this anthology that lets you feel that this is a project born of friendship. The six authors of the Zazen Haiku Group all have New Zealand connections, though not all still live there. The collection first grew out of a snail-mail poetry workshop, then an e-mail haiku workshop with monthly zazen. In Vanessa Proctor’s introduction she highlights its purpose “to show the broad range of haiku that zazen members produce”, and also “to emphasise each haiku poet’s individual style”. In an instructive afterword by Jeanette Stace that gives “a brief history of haiku in New Zealand” it becomes clear that the history of haiku interest in NZ is short and that, though there are quite a few haiku “stars” in this country of a comparatively small population, there is, at present, no NZ Haiku Association. This seems to have made the core group even more closely bound together, and the overwhelming impression of the book is one of companionship and co-operative endeavour.
Each of the contributors has his or her, own representative selection of individual haiku, a personal photo and a short CV. At the back of the book each author except Bertus de Jonge, who sadly died in 2002, offers a haiku sequence contribution. The collection exudes good humour and enthusiasm and reading it is a great way to get to know Bertus de Jonge; Ernest Berry; Tim Bravenboer; Catherine Mair; Vanessa Proctor and Jeanette Stace.
Page(s) 66-67
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