Haiku
[the Interior and Exterior of Being]
revealing the Tao of nature and humankind as one
Don Baird
hokku ~ haiku ~ modern haiku ~ poetry
Haiku [the Interior and Exterior of Being] is a book that explores the interpersonal relationship between humans, nature, and a poet — the interplay — mutual experience — and poetic grace amongst them.
Dr. Richard Gilbert graces the book with his comment on the back cover:
"In his Preface Don writes, “what I have seen felt dreamed breathed into spaces . . . birdsongs disappearing into the night . . .” Soul is indefinable. More than mere images, these quiet singing rivers of poems as a collection become stories of a remarkable life, spoken firmly from the Earth, with a delicacy of rhythm -- and grit. You can feel the truth living here. At the center of each poem is an inviting absence, leading this reader back to deeper questions: “Who am I, here in this flowering, roiling experience of seasons in orbit?” Utilizing a plethora of haiku techniques and literary styles, these poems also deepen my life, for my life too is drawn here, as these poems hint at answers as well as explorations. Here, poet, mind and nature “power across the pines across . . . with the sound of wind and shooting stars” to “continue yet begin again” circulating between language, nature, poem and reader. I warmly recommend this book. It is a remarkable achievement revealing above all the heart and mind of a deeply compassionate human being." (Dr. Richard Gilbert Associate Professor British and American Literature Kumamoto University, Japan)
This performance includes numerous poems from Don's latest book, Haiku, as well as from his recently released book early last year, As the Crow Flies. The piano music is from his CD, ThoughtScape; the chant is a Himalayan chant hummed by Don.
Haiku [the Interior and Exterior of Being] will be released by May 2014. The live reading and release party is being scheduled for Vroman's Book Store in Pasadena, Ca.
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