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1939: A Special Montage

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Allan Burns’ Montage series appears each Sunday on The Haiku Foundation website. This week, however, Allan has created a special edition for readers highlighting some work by five female haiku poets all, interestingly enough, born in the same year. In this mid-week special, Allan highlights work by Caroline Gourlay, Peggy Willis Lyles, Marlene Mountain, Marian Olson and Ruth Yarrow.

And so, The Haiku Foundation invites you to view a special edition of Montage, devoted to five poets born in 1939.

This Post Has 6 Comments

  1. Another outstanding poet born in 1939 is Kristen Deming whose haiku are featured in New Res 6 (Red Moon Press, 2009) along with that of Montage editor Allan Burns. Recommended reading for all.

    casualty lists—
    smaller and smaller
    print

    breaking the silence
    of the drought
    acorn rain

    blossoms…
    the baby’s bare feet
    pedal the air

    by Kristen Deming

  2. Seconding Merrill Ann’s comment above–I think especially of Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, places where Empire is on a killing binge.

    But even in the midst of that, and much else that’s a mixture of the beautiful and good and horrible: a Happy Birthday today to Peggy, from one born in the Year of the Fire Dog, 1946.

  3. Paul, Were you describing 1939 or today? 🙂 I know an awful lot of people who feel like we’re in a depression today…and wars? Will we ever know the end of them?

    Forgive me for getting off topic. It just seemed to me that Paul’s comment gave me the feeling that nothing ever changes. And yet we live with such dramatic changes in our lives…the paradox….. Thanks, Paul.

  4. I like the topical indications at the top of the page too. It was hard to read Marlene’s last haiku…but I think it reads:
    autumn catches up the colors of rust behind the shed

    Today, in my path home, was a perfect ash tree leaf and it’s color was something that’s still giving me fits to describe. It surely appeared to be green/yellow rusted!

    Notice how deeply each of these poets felt in the Transformation column. They were all born in the year of the Rabbit. Each of these haiku is so keenly observed. Thank you for this collection.

  5. A big YES to Adelaide’s Comment. The parents of these 1939 children must have been optimistic of enduring what with the crucible of world-wide depression and World War in the offing. I am very glad it all worked out! – Paul

  6. I would say that 1939 was a very good year to produce such wonderful poets as these five.

    Adelaide

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