List of Free Haiku Chapbooks -- Please Add More!

[siskny]

I was pleasantly surprised to find a few good quality chapbooks available electronically for free! With a little know how, it isn't difficult or terribly expensive to make a hard copy for your library.

My hope is that others will know of links to more chapbooks available for free. If you know of any, please add them!

I'll begin with a list of links to the ones I have found:


Haiku Year by Will Hindermarch

One Haiku a Page by Anthony Souls

Thinking in Haiku by Anthony Souls


To print a simple chapbook, open the PDF in Acrobat and print. In the print dialog box, select "Page Scaling: Booklet Printing" and then print back sides only and reverse order. Then print Front sides onto the backs, make sure to deselect "Reverse Order" so the pages print in the correct order. Then print the first page onto card stock, staple in the middle, fold and trim for an effective saddle stitched book.

On a side note, if anyone has haiku that they would like to release as a free chapbook and don't know how to get them into a printable format, please contact me. I can help you lay them out and make a PDF that can be uploaded and shared. If you offer your books for free, then (time permitting) my work will also be free.

[AlanSummers]

Dear Siskny, 

Have you checked out the resources at THF's Digitial Library?
http://www.thehaikufoundation.org/resources/digital_library/

I must admit I'm not familiar with the work of Antony Souls or Will Hindermarch. 

I did download the pdfs but I have to say that they do not qualify as haiku literature as such. 

Apologies if you know one or the other of these gentlemen.  They are noble attempts but I fear they have been written in isolation except there's a mention of a Billy Collins haiku.

If you check the Digital Library at the link above you will for free be able to see what would be recognised as respected examples of haiku.

Sorry to be blunt, but there are probably countless free pdfs, some will be good some will be good examples and some won't, but it would be good to list more free quality pdfs at the Digital Library.

Alan

[cat]

Hello, Alan and ?Steve?,

Alan, I wanted to say pretty much what you said about these chapbooks but was still looking for a kind way of saying it.  Glad you found one.

One of my rules of thumb is, If the plural "haikus" is used, there is likely to be a lack of basic understanding of the form.

S, while chapbooks are a good way to become acquainted with a particular poet's work, IMHO the online journals (also free) are ultimately of more use to those just starting their haiku journeys as they show a broad spectrum of possibilities and unlike self-published collections, where the quality can be very helter-skelter, they are good examples that can help one learn the craft.

cat

[siskny]

Hi and thanks for your replies. Yes, the digital library here is phenomenal. Endgrain is one of the best books in my collection, and easily the best chapbook.

I exhausted the library here and also re-read through my own modest collection at home and wanted new haiku and related material to read. Since I'm on a very fixed budget, I started looking online for more sources of haiku. I'm never really satisfied with online journals or blogs. Reading haiku is something that I prefer to do outdoors on a swing or in a chair by an open window--and with no computer in sight! So I began looking for free chapbooks that I could print and take with me wherever I please.

Having found a few (and only a very hard to find few) I wanted to begin a forum for others to add their own experiences and results. I'm not trying to push these particular authors or their work. I only want to begin a discussion in which people can share links to other free printable material. Others may have had more luck finding haiku that satisfies the purist than I did.

Alternatively, I wanted to encourage anyone who has haiku that they would like to make available to others in a chapbook format. I worked for years doing layout for a major legal publisher and have the experience and the tools to help people get their work into a downloadable and printable format. If they're willing to release their work for free, I'm willing to do the work for free. Since most people don't have the skills or facilities to produce anything other than a stapled booklet at home, the chapbook format is the obvious format.

I'm hoping that this could become more of a place to foster the sharing information on what is freely available or to help people make their work available and less of an individual critique of each piece available.

[AlanSummers]

Dear Siskny, or is it Steve?

I admire your wish to help create a chapbook, and it sounds like you are keen to produce a number of anthologies possibly in chapbook form?

Most of us are on a tight budget so I realise your concern, and the fact that an online journal can't be printed out the same way as a chapbook.

I feel that Cat and myself raised concerns because the quality of those free pdfs you quoted were questionable, especially in the light of you recognising endgrain etc... as such fine publications.

If you do come across top grade free pdf chapbooks please do by all means notify THF, but I just feel that those particular examples weren't up to the standard for both beginners and seasoned writers to read and study.

Have you checked Scribd, as often there are good free downloads re 3Lights Gallery, MET, and Dylan Tweney?

e.g.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35241474/3lights-Summer-2010
http://www.scribd.com/doc/27780395/Practical-Haiku-How-Haiku-Can-Change-Your-Life
http://www.scribd.com/doc/18248087/Haiku-Harvest-20002006-edited-by-Denis-M-Garrison
http://www.scribd.com/doc/46516329/Prune-Juice-Issue-5-Winter-2011
http://www.scribd.com/doc/49514131/Basho-Haiku


There is a cornucopia of respectable publications as you see, but there will also be a number of inferior ones too. 

Alan

[siskny]

Thank you for posting these links, very fun to read.

For more haiku (without the other genres), I would also suggest Denis Garrison's two books:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/16026163/Eight-Shades-of-Blue-Haiku-by-Denis-M-Garrison
http://www.scribd.com/doc/25349226/Hidden-River-Haiku-by-Denis-M-Garrison


I was also pleased to see the Ambrosia Journals available:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/18289558/Ambrosia-Journal-of-Fine-Haiku-1-Autumn-2008
http://www.scribd.com/doc/18289526/Ambrosia-Journal-of-Fine-Haiku-2-Winter-2009
http://www.scribd.com/doc/18289479/Ambrosia-Journal-of-Fine-Haiku-3-Spring-2009
http://www.scribd.com/doc/18289385/Ambrosia-Journal-of-Fine-Haiku-4-Summer-2009
http://www.scribd.com/doc/33674571/AmbrosiaJournalofFineHaiku-5-Summer2010


I was hoping to get more books that are shorter and can be printed and read offline, though theses are a very worthwhile read in any format. Maybe others can add some links to shorter format books available?

One note about Scribd, it isn't working currently through Safari, at least it wouldn't load for me, but seems to work fine in Firefox.

[AlanSummers]

Is it Steve?

I think you may be advocating, indirectly, the use of an iPad, Kindle, or some other electronic book reading device.  It would mean you could download over ten thousand collections, where permission is given, and not have to worry about printing issues.

Most short collections (quality ones and jokey ones) are often Kindle editions (see Amazon etc...).  I can't imagine a quality writer of haiku being able to afford the time and money to produce a free online collection, although there are exceptions.

Hortensia Anderson's haibun collection is available free on her blog, but due to demand, she was published by DarlingtonRichards.

Blogs are often done by quality writers such as Alison Williams; Matt Morden; Paul Smith and Frank Williams just to mention a few from a hundred. 

But to create an online collection that is easy and cheap to print out would demand time and money on behalf of the writer. 

What could be an exciting project is if you visited all the good blogs etc..., left some comments, and also asked permission to create your own private collection/anthology.

It could be that you could produce an online anthology that suits your own needs and may prove popular with other readers.

These virtual visits or tours have been done before on occasion, and I think that they are a great idea by the way!

all my best,

Alan

[siskny]

Yes, it's Steve.

True, the format that I'm most interested in is easily usable in any e-book reader for those who don't want to produce a hard copy.

I like your idea to convert blogs into an e-book ready format that could be uploaded to any number of sites. I have actually already done this with Tom Clausen's blog (and forwarded him the two PDF files of his collected works).

I look forward to delving into the blogs you mentioned to see what I can find. I have been honing my skills for quite a while on anthology style sites. It's too bad that permissions for such varied compilations would be a logistical headache (unless a site retains rights to compile and make available work contained on their site).

I'm excited about the possibilities of bringing such works into a more easily ported format. Online blogs of reputable poets is about the best place to start looking. Thanks for the suggestion!

-Steve

[AlanSummers]

Hi Steve!

Cool! ;-)

I hope that people really do help re permissions, it sounds like a great companion to those people who genuinely cannot afford books on a vast scale compared to many haiku writers' budgets.

Also, the more people's work is available, the better it is in many ways.  True we all want physical book collections as well, but eReaders like iPad etc... are here to stay. ;-)

Alan

[siskny]

Emails have been sent asking for permission to use the work of the poets you mentioned. Here's hoping they are agreeable!

Can anyone recommend any other poets/blog for inclusion in this project?

[John McManus]

Hi, Steve,
instead of trawling through personal blogs of which there are many! Perhaps it would be a time saver and somewhat easier for you to source from the online journals, it would give you a wider sweep of poets to choose from, although perhaps a bit trickier to hunt down contacts for people. If you do go down this route the haiku registry could prove to be useful to you.

All the best with your project.

Warm regards,
John   

[Lorin]

Having found a few (and only a very hard to find few) I wanted to begin a forum for others to add their own experiences and results. I'm not trying to push these particular authors or their work. I only want to begin a discussion in which people can share links to other free printable material. Others may have had more luck finding haiku that satisfies the purist than I did.

Alternatively, I wanted to encourage anyone who has haiku that they would like to make available to others in a chapbook format. I worked for years doing layout for a major legal publisher and have the experience and the tools to help people get their work into a downloadable and printable format. If they're willing to release their work for free, I'm willing to do the work for free. Since most people don't have the skills or facilities to produce anything other than a stapled booklet at home, the chapbook format is the obvious format.

I'm hoping that this could become more of a place to foster the sharing information on what is freely available or to help people make their work available and less of an individual critique of each piece available.

Hi Steve,
             I've just caught up and read your posts here. That's a generous offer you make, and I'm sure that people will be willing to contribute some of their work for such a project. It is good to have haiku resources that can be taken away from the computer.

A friend and excellent haiku poet from Canada, Laryalee Fraser, put together a very good haiku anthology a few years ago which she very generously made printable and free of charge: 'a procession of ripples' . You can find it here:

http://laryalee.users.sunwave.net/ripples.htm

Enjoy!

cheers,

Lorin

[siskny]

A friend and excellent haiku poet from Canada, Laryalee Fraser, put together a very good haiku anthology a few years ago which she very generously made printable and free of charge: 'a procession of ripples' . You can find it here:

http://laryalee.users.sunwave.net/ripples.htm

Thank you for the kind words and for sharing this link. I have enjoyed reading a few of her selections and look forward to reading the rest!

-Steve

[siskny]

instead of trawling through personal blogs of which there are many! Perhaps it would be a time saver and somewhat easier for you to source from the online journals, it would give you a wider sweep of poets to choose from, although perhaps a bit trickier to hunt down contacts for people. If you do go down this route the haiku registry could prove to be useful to you.

Good thought! The sheer size of the registry here should yield at least a few positive results.

-Steve

[greg schwartz]

A friend and excellent haiku poet from Canada, Laryalee Fraser, put together a very good haiku anthology a few years ago which she very generously made printable and free of charge: 'a procession of ripples' . You can find it here:

http://laryalee.users.sunwave.net/ripples.htm

I know this thread is long dead, but if anyone is looking for "a procession of ripples" -- which is a great collection, by the way -- the above link doesn't work anymore. The anthology can now be found here:

http://laryalee.webs.com/ripples/