Terri L. French — Touchstone Distinguished Books Honorable Mention 2025

Terri L. French  is the recipient of a Touchstone Distinguished Books Honorable Mention for 2025 for the volume

kaleidoscope dream. (Winchester, VA: Red Moon Press,  2025).

Commentary from the Panel:

Terri  L. French’s name and work are familiar to enthusiasts of haiku and haibun. Her widely published and frequently award-winning poetry has graced our literary niche for well over a decade now, and her latest offering reaches—or perhaps raises—the already sky-high bar she’s set for herself.

The 55 haibun and 2 tanka prose which comprise kaleidoscope dream (Red Moon Press) are immaculately crafted. As expected, each piece ends with a haiku or tanka. But, unique to this collection, French creates an additional pivot. A haiku stands alone on a page following each haibun or tanka prose.

For example, we have this piece:

bail

I tell him this is absolutely the last time. He gets into the car without speaking. One shoe is gone. I don’t ask why.

diddle diddle dumplin’

my son’s name

has no rhyme

And, on the following page, this haiku stands alone:

another birthday

trying to remember

his little boy voice

A true craftswoman, each title, prose piece, haiku, and tanka in French’s collection earns its place. Her natural storytelling abilities beautifully complement her technical skill in Japaniform poetry.

kaleidoscope dream spans from childhood to motherhood and beyond, conveying intimate details of a life beautifully lived and immaculately conveyed. Reading this was our pleasure, and giving it a Touchstone Award is our honor!

Bruce H. Feingold

Distinguished Books Award Coordinator

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See the complete list of winners of both Individual Poem Awards and Distinguished Books Awards in the Touchstone Archives.