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Author's
Books
Paul
has been working on haiku for about fifteen years. He has been published
in periodicals such as Acorn, Frogpond, The Heron’s Nest,
Mayfly, Modern Haiku, and Snapshots.
His
work has also been included in the 1998 and 2001 Red Moon
Anthology of English-Language Haiku, which is edited by Jim
Kacian, A New Resonance 2, which is edited by Jim Kacian
and Dee Evetts, and How to Haiku: A Writer’s Guide to Haiku
and Related Form by Bruce Ross.
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Reader
Response Essay
It
is very clear that Paul M.’s focus is directed toward the moment
that fuels the haiku. He discusses that haiku are a journey into
us. That moment present in haiku is a very important aspect of what
is written in the haiku. He also concentrates a great deal on that
moment of discovery we get when we write haiku. Paul M.’s haiku
do many things, but they are highly focused on the moment, as well
as self-discovery. These elements are present in Paul’s haiku.
Here
are a few examples of some of Paul M.’s haiku:
an
elusive butterfly
the warm wind
through meadow grass
mountain
shadow
river water runs
through my fingers
unpacking
the map—
a mountain spring
crosses the trail
milky
way
the thud of acorns
when they fall
uphill trail
the scarred trunk
of a giant sequoia
This
haiku by Paul M. won the Heron’s Nest Award. Self-discovery
is a major reason this haiku is so worthy of an award. There are
two elements present, the trail and the tree. Uphill implies hardship
or exertion in the journey. Also, this sequoia is giant, which means
it is worthy of admiration. There are scars on the tree, which also
imply hardship. There is some juxtaposition involved here; hardship
involved with both the tree, as well as the man. Paul M. separates
himself from the rest of the world, and when he admires the tree,
he almost becomes an integral part of it. He, too, is struggling
to survive in the many hardships of life.
Paul
M. does a great job of presenting various elements of haiku to the
reader. He obviously is a naturalist because of the presence of
nature in many of his haiku. In addition, he truly captures the
moment in his haiku. Often, simple language is used, but the meaning
is worthy of reflection in all of the haiku he has written. If Paul’s
haiku were only read once, it would be difficult to benefit from
the many wonderful things his haiku does for us. Perhaps the most
significant element of his haiku is the aspect of self-discovery.
He puts us into the moment, and then shows us what that moment did
for him, as a human. Readers can benefit from this too. Many different
perceptions may be taken from one haiku, but the haiku always allow
us to ask ourselves the question "What did that haiku allow
me to discover about myself?"
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