A Book Note by Beverley George
Eleven Australians have haiku included in a remarkable international anthology from India, entitled:
naad anunaad: An Anthology of Contemporary World Haiku
Editor-in-Chief: Kala Ramesh
Editors: Sanjuktaa Asopa & Shloka Shankar
ISBN- 978-93-85665-33-2 Pune, Vishwakarma Publications, 2016
The project began with Kala Ramesh sending emails to poets around the world whose work she enjoyed, asking them to submit some of their best haiku, with details of where they were first published. Kala’s aim was to publish in India an anthology of international contemporary haiku, at an affordable price for anyone in her own country who wanted to know more about this genre. She also hoped it might be possible to include work from her students.
As the project escalated, Kala Ramesh invited Sanjuktaa Asopa and Shloka Shankar to join the editing process.
The result is a remarkable collection of 746 haiku from 231 authors from 26 countries. The title is apt, meaning sound and resonance, and the cover illustration of water lilies in ink and watercolour by Alaka Yeravadekar delights.
In addition to work by contemporary international haiku poets, the editors sought permission from the families of several deceased poets, including Laryalee Fraser, Martin Lucas and William Higginson, to re-publish samples of their work. Several poems by the Japanese masters Bashō and Issa are included with permission of translators Makoto Ueda and David G. Lanoue.
Another delightful section is an appealing group of ‘youth’ haiku by some of Kala’s students.
I was fortunate that Madhuri Pillai, an Australian delegate to the conference at which the book was launched, was willing to purchase two copies of the anthology on my behalf and bring them back to Australia. The anthology affords many hours of enjoyable reading.
The eleven Australians whose work is represented – in the order the names appear in the index – are: Barbara Taylor, Beverley George, Cynthia Rowe, Dawn Bruce, Jayashri Maniyil, Jo McInerney, Lorin Ford, Madhuri Pillai, Owen Bullock, Ron C. Moss and Samar Ghose.
You can read more about the anthology here, http://vpindia.co.in/Naad_Anunaad
Please note that you cannot purchase the book at this website, as the payment options only work if you are in India.
The book is now available for purchase from Amazon.com at this link.
Australian Haiku Society 