HCshohyôran

A Pond, A Poet, and Three Pests  by Caroline Adderson with illustration by Lauren Tamaki. Toronto: Groundwood, 2025. ISBN 9781773068930. $22 hardcover, $9.99 kindle. Review by Ruth Kennedy   What grabs the mind of a poet?  Explore this theme in a delightful picture book for the young and for those who enjoy reading with them. This story features the poet Basho in contemplation by a pond, as in his famous poem: Furuike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto — Basho   The translation used in the story is:   Old pond — Frog jumps in Splash!   This translation, while not referenced, is a perfect fit for this story. We see Basho, seated by the pond, unperturbed by the “pests” who try to get his attention, in part because of his fame, but to whom he is oblivious. It’s the frog jumping in that is unexpected and which awakens the poet’s mind.  The illustrations are part black line drawings, which also create some of the words, and are coloured using a water-based medi...

  Pascal Pozzo di Borgo, Le tulipier me salue . Collection Solstice, Association Francophone de Haïku, 2026. 56 pages. 979-10-93318-27-1. 12 $. association-francophone-de-haiku.com/boutique/ recension par Maxianne Berger Au cours des dernières années, Pascal Pozzo di Borgo, poète français, s’est mérité deux fois une mention honorable à notre Prix Jocelyne-Villeneuve. La collection Solstice de l’Association francophone de haïku est aussi un honneur de concours car deux manuscrits sont choisis par an, comme le dit le nom de la collection, un à chaque solstice. Dans sa préface, Diane Desôteaux nous dit   : «   Or, au-delà de la justesse du propos, on trouve chez Pascal cette finesse d’esprit, ce trait d’humour au détour d’un vers qui nous surprend et nous fait sourire.   » Moi aussi, j’étais séduite par ces mêmes qualités. Ce merveilleux recueil m’ouvre les yeux à chaque page, avec les touches si légères dans chaque poème. fin de l’été / il est grand temps de le dire / ...

The Cat Understands: haiku, senryū, small poems by sekiro (stanford m. forrester; Windsor, CT: nut wagon press, 2026). 5$US 12 pp. Info: bottlerockets_99@yahoo.com ; www.bottlerocketspress.com Review by Maxianne Berger  This wee chapbook is a little gem for cat lovers. Dedicated to the ten cats who presumably have called Sekiro’s home their home, it features twelve poems that perfectly encapsulate what a feline is and does (and doesn’t do.) Here is one example that speaks quite loudly to me:      sitting on      whatever I’m looking for      the orange cat Yes, our cat, too, is orange, and yes, he was sprawled over the mouse on my husband’s desk. Any more examples would be giving away too much. You’ll have to trust me: Sekiro aka Stanford M. Forrester has put together a little delight, and it’s the perfect gift or stocking stuffer for all the ailurophiles we know.  ***

Title: Weather Author: Rob Taylor Publisher: Gaspereau Press Publication Date: 2024 ISBN: 9781554472635  Price $29.95 review by Pearl Pirie Weather  by Rob Taylor (Gaspereau Press, 2024) is barely backlist. I read it when it came out then put it on my best of year list. I’ve since reread it a few times and enjoy on each pass. It seems I favour Rob Taylor books having read, The Other Side of Ourselves (Cormorant Books, 2011) which is lyric poetry. I missed The News (Gaspereau, 2016) but caught Strangers (Biblioasis, 2021) which has a few haiku such as this,  p. 50 late summer walk slanting my father's Issa to catch streetlight   Weather by Rob Taylor (Gaspereau Press, 2024) doubles down on haiku and haiku-adjacent poems. it was a finalist for the 2025 Raymond Souster Award , Longlisted for the 2025 Fred Cogswell Award , was a Miramichi Reader Best Book of 2024 and a Tyee Summer Reads Pick for 2024  It was in my top list of books for 2024 so I gelt...