My Goodreads review: Haiku 2020

[ankh_hpl]

Haiku 2020 by Lee Gurga, Scott Metz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


[Full disclosure: I have a haiku in this anthology. ]

This small-format paperback anthology of 100 haiku first published in 2019 is an attractive object -- in addition to being a snapshot of the more imaginative (some might say extreme) edge of haiku for that year. The anthology also includes an essay by Richard Gilbert, "Haiku Constellations."

Each haiku is given its own page in this anthology, which works well with the small format and allows the reader to fully focus on one poem at a time. The haiku are arranged in alphabetical order by author, limiting the effect of the editorial process -- or possibly allowing readers to find their own meanings in the flow of the haiku.

Although I found a few of the selections utterly opaque -- I am not a haiku scholar, only a practitioner --I decided on the full five-star rating for this anthology's sheer diversity. How far can 21st century haiku go & remain haiku? Editors Lee Gurga and Scott Metz have offered their answer here. Recommended for haiku fans looking to widen their horizons.



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