American Sports . . . American Haiku –
– two dozen haiku & senryu by Ed Markowski –
Fourth of July
a refugee stands
in center field
The f/k/a Gang has a special treat today for haiku lovers who happen to be sports fans, and perhaps for sports fans who don’t know yet how much they will come to appreciate haiku. We’re unveiling a new (free) haiku collection by our Honored Guest Poet and friend Ed Markowski, titled “American Sports . . . American Haiku” (June 2008; cover). The two dozen sports haiku and senryu were compiled (and many specifically written) to celebrate the Chautauqua Institution’s “Sport in America” Week (June 21 – 28, 2008), and its June 26th Roundtable featuring last year’s much-praised book Baseball Haiku (Cor van den Heuvel and Nanae Tamura, eds., W.W. Norton, 2007).
You can click this link [or use this URL: http://tinyurl.com/49wybb] to see the 3- page web version of “American Sports . . . American Haiku.” At Chautauqua’s Sport in America Week, Ed will be handing out a tri-fold (two-sided) brochure version. Click tri-fold version to see the pre-folded brochure, or print one for yourself.
Ed contributed over twenty of the 200 “best haiku ever written about the sport” in Baseball Haiku. But, Ed plays — or once played — and fanatically watches quite a few other sports (especially Detroit’s pro teams), and often treats them with his poetic touch. We hope the American Sports haiku collection will demonstrate once and for all that Ed Markowski is not just a one-sport poet. Of course, frequent readers of this weblog (or the top haiku journals and anthologies) did not need convincing. [You can access hundreds of Ed’s haiku and senryu from his f/k/a Archive Page. He even inspired dagosan today.]
late summer
beyond the scarecrow
tackling dummiescity moon 
my basketball flattened
by a shard of glass
– Ed in NYC for a Baseball Haiku party (May 2007) – 
autumn gale
tacklers left in the wake
of the halfbackdeep winter
a young boy stickhandles
into a snow squallcross-town rivals
the point guards compare
tattoos
Ed is always quite pleased when his poetry gets some attention and accolades (as it did last week at “Basho’s Road“) — but he downplays the praise. This week, however, Ed has other priorities, and there was real excitement in his voice on the phone yesterday. You see, Papa Ed has been joyously awaiting the birth of his second grandchild, and Nicholas arrived yesterday morning, June 10, 2008, at 8:39 A.M., weighing in at almost 8 pounds, and stretching out to 25 inches. Congratulations to mother and father (Becky and Dan), and to the doting maternal grandparents, Laurice and Ed. (As soon as I have a photo of Ed and Nicholas, I’ll add it to this post.)
April rain
my grandson practices
his infield chatter…… by Ed Markowski – American Sports . . . American Haiku (June 2008); Haiku Harvest (Spring 2006)
– Ed and Matthew, Grandson #1, April 2008 [larger] 
update (June 12, 2008): Baby Nicholas on Day 2:
. . . this will have to do, until he gets a Tigers’ cap (larger)
Grampa’s Pride: Matthew & Nicholas in Becky’s Arms: 