Book-of-the-Week

Book of the Week: a wattle seedpod

wattle cover

Lorin Ford’s first book will make you feel as though you were visiting Australia, as her poems are laden with the evocative names of the local places and the native flora and fauna. From Post Pressed (2008), with cover art by Ron Moss and an introduction by Dhugal Lindsay.

You can read the entire book in the THF Digital Library.

Do you have a chapbook published 2009 or earlier you would like featured as a Book of the Week? Contact us for details.

Haiku featured in the Book of the Week Archive are selected by Jim Kacian, following a concept first explored by Tom Clausen, and are used with permission.





first light—
eye to dreaming eye
with a kookaburra


skylight
a possum's paw print
on the moon



rusted hinge
the butterfly's wings
close, open . . .


a dream time
before theirs and mine—
Wollemi Pine



low tide—
bits and pieces of her
wedding china


winter beach—
i throw a stick
for no dog

This Post Has 8 Comments

  1. Dear Bill, what a lovely surprise! 🙂 Thank you very much for reading my little book and leaving your generous comments here. I’m humbled that you like it and took the time. You know how I appreciate your own work and your always helpful viewpoint.

    – Lorin

  2. This wonderful collection only confirms my longheld belief that Lorin ranks among the finest of our contemporary haikuists. Many of these poems are old friends, but everything in this gathering feels new and fresh.

  3. Hi Lorin, Thank you. Along with feeling like I visited Australia, as Jim said in this post, there are many of your poems that could be from my yard and community too, in addition to the poem I included in my previous comment (trees and country roads a great comfort to me).

    As a general comment, I always enjoy seeing the books in THF Digital library, not only the poems, but also for more details about the book design. Seeing the cover art by Ron Moss in a larger size is an example here. The poems are easy to read.

    A few more of your poems that also reflect life in the area where I live in Wisconsin USA:

    clear night
    cows huddled
    behind their breath

    first lily light before sunrise

    calm afternoon . . .
    how easily the birch tree
    lets go its leaves

    by Lorin Ford

    There is a birch tree outside a window here that I’ve been watching for over 20 years – always another poem to write.

    I’m sure selecting and sequencing the poems for a book is an art in and of itself; wonderful the combination of new and familiar, from my perspective.

    Ellen

  4. Not sure where “… and an introduction by Dhugal Lindsay.” is coming from, though.

    There is a foreword, by John Bird, and Dhugal’s ‘picking up a jellyfish’ haiku (author’s translation) is cited.

    – Lorin

  5. Hi Kate … I’m far from being a master, but I appreciate your generosity. 😉 This is a book length collection, though there’s nothing in it that was published later than 2007. You just need to download the pdf. I do hope you find something in there you like.

    Hi Ellen … Thanks very much for reading and commenting here, and I’m happy you can relate to ‘country road’.

    Hi Patrick … Thank you very much for your kind words.

    – Lorin

  7. Lorin Ford’s book is beautiful – on every level.

    May I add:

    country road
    a new wreath
    on the scarred tree

    by Lorin Ford

    Thank you

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