Book-of-the-Week

Book of the Week: Dance of Light

stjacques_danceoflight

Elizabeth St Jacques was a familiar figure to those poets who first cultivated their interest in haiku on the internet. This volume, her longest and strongest collection, dates from 1995 (maplebud press, artwork by Ruby Spriggs).

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

The Haiku Foundation does not have a hard copy of this volume, and would welcome a donation if you are able.

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

All haiku in the Book of the Week Archive are selected by Tom Clausen, and are used with permission.




break of dawn . . .
sparrow at the small puddle

sipping pale pink light



wedge of sound

rests my broom

geese heading north



castanets

into the night
rain
drops on a pail



again and again

the white butterfly . . .

thoughts of an unwell friend



little finch

in my hand the slow slow weight

of its april death



crowding in

around the waterfall

wildflowers



dance of light

in the frog-filled pond
 . . .
blue heron



woodshaving curl

in winter light

grandfather's violin




high wooden fence

around the old convent

the knot-hole



carefully washing

around my mouth. . . .
first kiss



full moon . . .
after the school wrestling match

everyone in pairs



in deep new snow

beneath the apple tree

a perfect hole



through the late night camp

a gentle lullaby

horse hooves heading home



starbursts

the cold earth floor—

the knife-grinder's wheel




the circle
of the winging hawk

tightens to a dot



this autumn night

the small moth's touch—

shiver of the moon

This Post Has 3 Comments

  1. Alan Summers made some good choices, and I’ll add one more that fascinated me.

    woodshaving curl
    in winter light
    grandfather’s violin

  2. I miss Elizabeth and her wonderful poetry…she is also an exceptional sijo poet.
    She influenced me greatly in the beginnings of my haiku and sijo writing…

  3. Some wonderful work here, and a reminder that so many names like Elizabeth St Jacque, and Liz Fenn (see back cover blurb) are sorely missed.

    break of dawn . . .
    sparrow at the small puddle

    sipping pale pink light


    little finch

    in my hand the slow slow weight
    
of its april death


    This author broke the rules of what we now consider contemporary haiku, but gosh, breaking or bending them with such finesse. These haiku are meant to be out aloud, in private to yourself, or to an audience, but mainly to enjoy in greater depth, the sheer lyricism that can preside in a para-narratives.

    There are other styles including a minimalist approach, which adds to the reader’s delight of variety over formulaic practice.

    Amazing work, and the book itself, far from being disparate haiku pulled between book covers, creates an overall poem that’ll make you walk on air.

    warm regards,

    Alan

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