On an Oscar night that features a few taboos of its own, I now
have a copy of Taboo Haiku: An International Selection (Richard
Krawiec, ed., Avisson Press, Greensboro, 2005) in my hot, achy,
little hands — thanks to haijin-lawyer and f/k/a-friend roberta beary.
The anthology features haiku, senryu and haibun from over seventy
poets.
submissions two years ago:
Haiku masters have written poems on every aspect of
life. But often publishers have been reluctant to print
haiku dealing with controversial themes such as sexu-
ality, violence, bodily funtions, etc.
Taboo Haiku is a mass-market anthology that will
feature the finest international Haiku dealing with the
themes that often go unexplored in mainstream haiku
publications.
We are looking for poems that will move readers emo-
tionally as well as stimulate them intellectually. Poems
that will make readers pull back their heads and say,
“Whoa!” Poems that are good, but don’t quite fit any-
where. Poems that challenge.
me in one hand
a belt in the other
dads sings a lullaby
In his introduction to Taboo Haiku, Kracwiez notes that “In many
of the poems in this anthology, the writers have willingly exposed
their own moral and ethical flaws. They’ve been willing to risk re-
vealing themselves in public.” He continues:
“Editing this anthology has brought its own, ad-
mittedly minor, risks for me, too. I teach a lot
of writing residencies in the public schools, often
working with children in the elementary grades.
On two occasions I lost jobs because a teacher
googled me and found my name associated with
this book. The fact that I was involved in an adult-
oriented project apprarently made it “taboo” to hire
me to teach children.”
The 104-page book contains many intriguing haiku and senryu,
plus a handful of haibun. I think Krawiec has achieved his hope —
an anthology that “stands apart” by reaching out:
“to an audience beyond people who already
study and admire this particular poetic form;
[that] will reach out to everyone who enjoys
poetry for what it has to say about the human
condition.”
and you can find a brief review of Taboo Haiku on the NCHS
website. ” The book sells for $15, plus $2 postage and hand-
ling for single copies, add p&h $1 for each additional copy.
They can be ordered directly from the publisher
at:
Avisson Press
3007 Taliaferro Road
Greensboro, NC 27408
Here are a few selections from Taboo Haiku by some of
f/k/a’s Honored Guest poets:
the most popular
swin teacher at the Y
– his tight speedo
after dark
the shape her hands make
of me
figure drawing class —
in the model’s deepest shadow
a thin white string
staring
back up the open eyes
of the suicide
lost love —
I turn back from the tracks
going up her arm
by candlelight
an entire generation
drips down her thigh
Dealing with matters of taste and taboo is complicated. For me,
the forum involved is relevant. There are many poems in Taboo
Haiku that I enjoy and appreciate, but would not (at least not to-
night) post here at f/k/a. It’s not that I’m personally offended by
them, but that I do not want to offend readers who come here
expecting materials that are perhaps intellectually challenging (and,
at times, annoying) but not profane or unduly vulgar. I hope you
don’t find my cautiousness offensive.
afterthought: It’s been a taboo around here to
complain about a haiku book we feature. But, I’m feeling liberated
tonight and have to get two things off my chest:
To Richard Krawiec: An anthology with over 70 contributors
needs an Index, so that readers (and weblog editors) can
readily find the work of particular poets. That’s especially
true when only part of the volume has an alphabetical format.
To Avisson Press: Get a website! It takes about — oh — 15
minutes to set up a free weblog from lots of sources. Then,
tell people about your publications at the website, and about
how to order them.
If I smoked, I’d have a cigarette about now.
update (March 7, 2006): A little taboo law: Yesterday, Howard Bashman
law requiring an adult who has oral copulation with a minor to register with
police as a sex offender is unconstitutional because no such requirement
exists for adults who have sexual intercourse with minors: Today’s ruling,
p.s. On an apparently unrelated topic: The f/k/a/ Gang apologizes to
readers who have subscribed to us through Bloglines.com. For some
reason, none of our posts have turned up on Bloglines since Feb. 8th.
Neither their service reps, nor I, nor even Hal Roberts, the ever-helpful
weblog Webmaster at Harvard, can figure out what went wrong. Hap-
pily, our RSS feed seems to be coming in loud and clear at other
RSS filters. If anybody can help fix this, please contact your humble
f/k/a editor.
