Haiku Society of America
Merit Book Awards for 1993
for books published in 1992
Francine Porad and Robert Major
judges
Thank you to all who sent books to be considered for the 1993 Merit Book Awards. We are pleased to have them as a part of the permanent Library Collection of the Haiku Society of America.
The judges had a most difficult time deciding on this year’s Awards, finding each entry worthy of recommendation. Originality, high quality writing and handsome presentation were found throughout. It seemed impossible to compare twenty entries of such diversity!
In addition to the awards listed above, we must mention David Priebe’s calendar, Timepieces Haiku Week-At-A-Glance 1993 (to paraphrase, a haiku a day keeps the doctor away); Pat Shelley’s excellent and penetrating The Rice Papers; Tom Lynch’s sensitive Rain Drips from the Trees; Sanford Goldstein’s remarkable At the Hut of the Small Mind; the unusual novel by D.S. Lliteras, In the Heart of Things; and the meaty San Francisco Anthology, edited by Gay, Kilbride and Tico.
First Place
Geraldine Clinton Little. More Light, Larger Vision. AHA Books, Gualala, California, 1992.
An outstanding collection of tanka. The pattern (established by the Japanese poet Jien in 1190) is sensitively adapted to our age and culture and is a mind-enriching delight to read.
Second Place
Randy Brooks and Lee Gurga, Editors. Midwest Haiku Anthology. Decatur, IL: High/Coo Press, 1992.
A quality haiku collection. The poets’ own words, providing insight into their thinking and the creative process, added another dimension to the work and to our enjoyment of it.
Third Place
Jane Reichhhold. A Dictionary of Haiku. AHA Books, Gualala, California, 1992.
A unique volume which not only presents a fine collection of haiku, but provides inspiration and generates ideas for poets everywhere.
Honorable Mention
David Samuel Block. The Essence of This. 1992.
A distinct voice blending haiku, humor, blockprints and calligraphy.
Honorable Mention
David Cobb. Mounting Shadows. Shalford, England: Equinox Press, 1992.
An original, fresh haiku mind.
Honorable Mention
Ion Codrescu. Drawings Among Haiku. Constanta, Romania, 1992.
The multi-lingual translations broaden the haiku audience that can be reached.
Honorable Mention
Marian Olson. Songs of the Chicken Yard. Rexburg, ID: Honeybrook Press, 1992.
A tour-de-force ringing many changes on the same theme, chickens; a unified whole.