CAMDEN — Five of the authors in the new haiku anthology “Scent of Pine, A Maine Haiku Anthology” will be at the Camden Public Library for a reading at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16. Bruce Ross, editor of the anthology, said, “This is the first comprehensive anthology of Maine haiku poets, including a number of seasoned, well-published haiku poets.”
The readers will include Bruce Ross, Hampden; Astrid Andreescu, Hampden; Kirsty Karkow, Waldoboro; Liga Jahnke, Friendship; Paul Gross, Madawaska; and possibly Tyler Pruett, Augusta.
The event will begin with a short introduction to haiku in the United States, Japan and the world, with a final focus on Maine and allusions to Thoreau’s visit to Maine. Haiku poets in the anthology will read their work and that of others who could not attend. There will be copies of the anthology available for purchase.
Ross received a doctoral degree in comparative poetics from the University of Buffalo, New York. A humanities educator, he is a past president of the Haiku Society of America. He has taught Japanese poetry and painting forms in a variety of educational formats, including Empire State College, Burlington College, the University of Vermont, the University of Alberta and the University of Maine. He has lectured on haiku in the United States, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Romania and Sweden. His original haiku, senryu, haibun, tanka, haiga and collaborative renga appear in many haiku journals worldwide.
Two sample haiku from Bruce Ross:
cold morning
the empty tea kettle
gives a whistle
abandoned cabin
the windows light and dark
with the clouds
From Edward Reilly:
distant birdsong —
the old man lays down
his binoculars
From Kirsty Karkow:
returning geese
dawn rises over the rim
of my coffee cup
For more information about the event, call the Camden Public Library at 236-3440.