Simply Haiku, Simply Tanka, Simply Svetlana

When I first heard the news that Svetlana Marisova was to be the new tanka editor at Simply Haiku it gave me courage; I knew I should try sending some of my work there for the first time.

Unfortunately, our dear Svetlana passed away before she could fully embrace this role. In honour of her, I sent in my submission anyway, knowing that she wouldn't be there to receive it.

I'm grateful that two of my tanka were chosen in the end to be part of this latest issue of Simply Haiku, which is in loving memory of Svetlana. You can read an in depth piece on her and her poetry by Robert D. Wilson here.

          on the morning 

          of her death, I sit

          searching

          for the small differences

          between these wild finches

          why couldn't I

          have let myself love her?

          the sun's warmth

          as I sit in the graveyard

          this spring morning




A posthumous book, Be Still and Know: a journey through love in Japanese short form poetry, by Svetlana Marisova, and her dear friend Ted van Zutphen, is out on-line now. You can read it free here. Print copies with be available for purchase soon.

Having been given the honour of reading a preview of the book, I can say that I've never read or seen anything like it before. It's a beautiful conversation between two haiku poets across the page, across time zones, across seasons, genders, age groups... It works extremely well as their voices balance and blend throughout the book.

I look forward to holding a copy in my hands very soon and savouring the unique voices of these two haijin.

Tanka and photograph © Kirsten Cliff

Tanka appeared in Simply Haiku (Autumn/Winter 2011) here

Book cover © Ted van Zutphen