Still Waters

In this book H. G. Moser presents 184 haiku written over several decades and derived from journeys in locales ranging from Montana and the West Coast to Alaska, Mexico, Japan, and New Zealand. A research trip to Japan in 1982 provided the opportunity to study the works of the great Japanese haiku poets--Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki. Conversation with the renowned fisheries oceanographer, Dr. Kouichi Kawaguchi, led to a deep appreciation of these revered poets and the process of writing haiku. Although Japanese haiku may not be fully perceived without a knowledge of the language, attempts to write haiku in English can be rewarding. The format of three lines of five-seven-five syllables, inspired by momentary experiences in nature, may provide insights of a kind no less profound than those expressed in Wordsworth's and Dickinson's nature poems. In these poems, as in haiku, nature resonates with the inner life of the poet.