Our Sweet Little Time: a year in haiku by Hamish Ironside

It has been a while since I recommended a Haiku poetry book and indeed since I got a new one. Inpress Books are an online bookstore for independent publishers and have a great collection of Haiku books. The prices are reasonable with free postage in the UK and now they also operate a loyalty scheme.

Every now and then they e-mail me promotions and it was from one of these that I picked up on this little treasure. It follows a year in Hamish's life, month by month, in Haiku poems and accompanied by illustrations by Barnaby Richards. The poems offer snapshots, thoughts and observations of monthly events, including the birth of his daughter.

This is a lovely book, I love contemporary Haiku and I found many of these already among my favourites. The book as a whole is a complete set of intricate parts that fit so well together.

The best Haiku are those that, for 3 lines, can provoke emotional reactions. Even when their subject is sad the best ones can issue a warmth from the strength of feeling in such a tiny compact form. There are many of these in this book.

I love Haiku and have done for a long time. Our Sweet Little Time is an excellent and welcome addition to my collection and I will dip into it often.

Recommended for Haiku fans, and also for those new to this form of poetry.

You can check out the British Haiku Society by following the link.

You can also read excellent Haiku poetry online at sites such as The Herons Nest.

Poetry Books reviewed at The Octogon

There seem to be a few Poetry titles that I have talked about in the past so I have given them their own section for reference. Click on the title for the review...

Short and Sweet: 101 Very Short Poems

The Dead Sea Poems by Simon Armitage

The Unswept Path: Contemporary American Haiku

Haiku Humour: Wit and Folly in Japanese Poems and Prints

The Haiku Year

The Iron Book of British Haiku

Our Sweet Little Time: a year in haiku by Hamish Ironside

The Haiku Year

I wanted to share this little book with you. I found it a few years ago and loved it instantly. It has become one of my favourites.

The paragraph on the back of the book explains how these poems came together...

'In 1996, seven friends agreed to write one haiku a day and mail them to each other. At the end of the year, they realized that their collection of simple, critical observations had given them a new way to look at the details of their lives.'

Told in a seasonal cycle the haiku in this book are really inspiring, and I have many favourites among them. There is a quote from someone called Todd Colby on the back also...

'In this era of computer screens, it's nice to be reminded just how underrated reality is. Sometimes we miss the most sublime moments on our way to where we'd rather be. These haiku remind us to look, listen, and feel what's right at the end of our noses.'

The other thing that is interesting about this book is who the collection of friends are...

Tom Gilroy - actor, director and playwright from New York

Anna Grace - a writer and performer from New York

Jim McKay - film and videomaker

Douglas A Martin - writer and poet

Grant Lee Philips - songwriter and recording artist for the group Grant Lee Buffalo

Rick Roth - human rights activist, businessman

Michael Stipe - singer/songwriter with REM, photographer and film producer.

A wonderful find and an excellent collection of contemporary haiku.

Highly recommended!

Haiku Humor: Wit and Folly in Japanese Poems and Prints

For all of you who enjoy Haiku poetry, this is a book that is well worth a look.

Containing, not just poetry, but some witty Japanese drawings too, it is all about seeing the funny side of life in a snapshot. For all of our differences across the world, diversity that makes us all fascinating and enables us to learn from one another, I have found the ability to laugh together to be one of the strongest and most delightful common denominators. Sharing a good laugh or a giggle at the absurdities of life is one of the pleasures of being human and this book contributes hugely.

It is a combination of traditional and contemporary poems, so spans the centuries as well as the globe, showing humour to be entertainment, a show of intelligence, or a coping mechanism during difficult times.

There are loads of humourous Haiku out there, one of my favourites was the Spam-ku website, yes its all poetry about SPAM luncheon meat! Some of them are hilairious. What I like about this book is that it collects together the more traditional form of the poem, old and new, with a playful slant that we can all relate to. Keep an eye on my Haiku of the week, on my sidebar, for more funny (and not so funny) poems in this form.

Simon Armitage at the Liverpool Literary Festival

I was here last night at the Bluecoat Chambers in Liverpool to see Simon Armitage as part of the Liverpool Literary Festival: Shipping Lines. He was reading some of his poetry and taking part in a Question and Answer session.

I first came across Simon Armitage's poetry in a second hand bookshop in Whitby called Endeavor Books and I have bought some more of his poetry collections since then. I have featured The Dead Sea Scrolls previously and you can read that post here.

I love to hear a poet read his own work and being from Huddersfield in Yorkshire, Simon's accent lends an interesting slant to the poems that we heard last night.

The small room where he performed was packed full and people were trying to buy tickets on the door, asking for cancellations. I think that his poetry is very accessable and both entertaining and often emotional. There are unusual subjects that play with the reader and their perceptions of the world. I also find his poetry to be very current and I nearly always connect to something that I recognise or that excites and inspires me.

Another interesting part of the session was the Q&A part. Simon was asked about his own poetry influences and also his musical influences because of his passion for being in a rock band and writing music. He spoke about Ted Hughes and Bob Dylan among others, of his admiration and inspiration. He was on for an hour, which went over quickly, but it was good to have been there, and to have taken part of the Literary Festival too.

The Way Things Are by Roger McGough (Giveaway)

Those who know me, know that I have enjoyed Roger McGough's poetry for a long time. He writes entertaining and accessable poetry for adults and children and makes an excellent night out when performing his poems live. There is a lot of humour in his work, but also truth, humanity and sadness too.

During his long career he has become something of a National Treasure and was awarded an OBE in 1997, not only for his work, but for being an international ambassador for poetry. From my home town of Liverpool, he now lives in London, but frequently holds events here. He is speaking at the Liverpool Literary Festival held by Liverpool University in November (click here for details).

In celebration of Roger McGough's work and his continuing contribution to poetry in Liverpool and elsewhere, I have a copy of The Way Things Are to giveaway. Just leave a comment below telling me why you would like to win a copy and I will enter you in the competition. The winner will be announced next Sunday and is open to international participants. You can also e-mail me - theoctogenarianATymailDOTcom

Roger McGough's own site can be visited here...

http://www.rogermcgough.org.uk

where there are examples of his work.

More literature in Liverpool 9th-19th Oct

Click here for more information and tickets for this festival.

Liverpool Literary Festival 3rd-9th Nov

The Liverpool Literary Festival schedule has been finalised and tickets are on sale now. There is a whole week of events to choose from at various venues. Speakers include Philip Pullman, Roger McGough, Carol Ann Duffy, Simon Armitage and many more, covering all aspects of literary subjects. You can buy tickets at the Liverpool Philharmonic or online. The whole thing is run by Liverpool University.

Click here for full details.

http://www.liv.ac.uk/literaryfestival

See you there...

The Unswept Path: Contemporary American Haiku

Ok, ok, I admit it. I am a HAIKU JUNKIE, I can say it, I'm not afraid. And this week my weakness won and I bought this lovely book of Contemporary American Haiku.

I have quite a few Haiku collections which I hope to feature here at times in the future, and from which I feature poems for Haiku of the week (in the column to your right). I love both traditional and contemporary versions of these three line poems. I am not going to present the Japanese history or dynamics here. You can learn more about Haiku origins and rules, if you wish, by clicking here.

Each chapter in this anthology is written by a different poet, with a short introduction followed by a small collection of their work. Each chapter is very firmly written in the voice of its author, creating some very diverse styles of thought and subject matter, some traditional, gentle, nature-based and seasonal, some more modern, punchy and unusual, even.

The introductions to each poet are also individual and a joy to read. We have a couple who lived in a run down house in Japan for many years and wrote poetry about their stay. We have a man who had a brief but passionate affair with a mysterious Japanese woman with whom he translated some haiku into English and then wrote his own about her. We have an old couple who have lived in Japan for many years, writing and walking their way through the landscape they love, only now in their eighties, find themselves in sheltered accomodation and too ill to go far from home. There are many more.

The introductions also include many descriptions of what Haiku means to them, why this very distinct form of writing is important to them. My particular favourite came from Patricia Donegan...

"Haiku can be the antedote to the speed of post-modern culture, allowing one to step off the spinning wheel, to stop and breathe deeply and slowly. To note the birth and death of each moment."

There will be many haiku from this book that will make it onto Haiku of the week so look out for those. There are also links on the right hand column for good Haiku sites that I know of...

The Dead Sea Poems by Simon Armitage

I picked up this book from a lovely second hand bookshop in Whitby called Endeavor Books, a great place to lose yourself for an hour or two. As always with poetry books I flicked it open and if something does not catch my eye, I put it back. This one fell open on A Hip Flask and I was hooked. I read the whole book in an evening and found many that I liked and have shared with others many times. While some of the longer poems do not appeal as much, the shorter ones I find interesting and intriguing.
I tend to mark my favourites so I can easily find them when I need to revisit them. In this book these include the strange and disturbing Man with a Golf Ball Heart, the almost nightmarish, Dr Phibes quality of The Anaesthetist, or the funny but poignant C.V. It contains a mixture of rhyming and non rhyming poems.

A Hip Flask

To bring about safe passage to the States
and back, when taken from its sleeve or pouch
this gift sits where it should, tucked like a gun
inside the holster of a pocket, snug
against the leg or thigh or buttock, but
more suitably it fits the chest, the breast,
top left inside a jacket, where it feels
like armour plating or a sheriff's shield.

Good going for a little silver tin:
convex, concave, reflective on the out
and on the in. Misplaced, but then again
not knowing one malt from the next it's gin
that I'll be swigging, tipping to the lips
or sipping from the thimble of its lid.

I have a watch, map, toothbrush, cards and cash,
a licence, permit, pass, a ticket
going Eastern Seaboard, Central, Mountain
and Pacific,
and a hip flask: tailored, weighed
and measured, worked both ways, this present made
to hide the heart and hold the heart in place.

Simon Armitage

If you want to know more about Simon Armitage, here is a link to his website...
http://www.simonarmitage.com/

Short and Sweet - 101 very short poems

I bought this book a while ago from a bookshop in Oxford. It is perfect for dipping into, and I do so, often. No poem is more than 13 lines long and the poets (and the poems) are wide and varied, from William Wordsworth and Thomas Hardy, to Stevie Smith and Sylvia Plath. The introduction by Simon Armitage is funny and entertaining and it is a lovely addition to any bookshelf. It is published by Faber and Faber. One of my favourite poems from this book is written below...


Second Marriage

The sky stops crying and in a sudden smile
Of childish sunshine the rain steams on the roofs;
Widow who has married widower
Poses outside the Registry for photographs.

Their grown up children are there
And damp confetti like a burst from a bag
Accumulated from a morning's marriages
Is second-hand for them against the door.

In the wood of the world where neither of them is lost
They take each other by the hand politely;
Borrowers going to and from the Library
Pass through the group as if it were a ghost.

Stanley Cook (1922-1991)

Here is a link to read an essay about Stanley Cook's work:-
http://www.poetrymagazines.org.uk/magazine/record.asp?id=2315