Book of the Week: Stilled Wind

Geraldine Clinton Little (1923-1997) was widely known as a lyric poet before she came to haiku, and this background is evident in her work. She taught creative writing, fiction and poetry, and published in all these genres, as well as literary criticism. Of her many haiku chapbooks, this one (Bonsai Press, 1977) is perhaps typical: full of sharp observation, mordant wit, and heartfelt homage.

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.

The robin carries
a single strand of hair—
its slim shadow.

slithering
          out of itself—
                    snake

Slabbed on ice
the salmon’s glazed eye reflects
the Country Club set.

the brimming stillness
before the wave
breaks . . .

Iced field—
          only the shadow
          of an owl’s screech

Hole . . . body . . .
The silence of water
moving under ice