Splashes
by Cor van den Heuvel

Splashes presents unique and original haiku prose (haibun) poems by one of the early pioneers of English language haiku, Cor van den Heuvel. This collection includes works written from 1972 to 2013, published here in a book for the first time. The book also includes a selection of Cor’s haiga, combining art with haiku.

“From his “Blobs!” on the page to the flight of birds and bugs within “Wings,”. . . the film noir of neon lights and melancholy glow of lamps within “The Last Streetlight.” All the “Joyful Things” Cor shares through his insightful autobiographical narratives exploring urban and rural settings witnessed through the keyhole of his keen eye, unlocking the wonders of our world with a sensitivity that will enchant and inspire any reader of this book..

Paperback: 118 pages
Dimensions: 5 x 7-3/4 inches
Published 2023

from poetry journal, Contemporary Haibun Online (issue: 20.1 - April 2024)
Reviewed by Rich Youmans

city street
the darkness inside
the snow-covered cars

(from “Snowstorm)

The “city street” haiku is an example of van den Heuvel’s skill at capturing moments that contain layers of meaning and mystery. Throughout the books of his haiku, his almost Hopperesque eye for simple moments that resonate always impresses. That talent is on display here as well. The haiku range from the ethereal

starlight in an empty milkweed pod

(from “The Sign”)

to the slightly noir:

— READ FULL REVIEW

from Haiku Society of America’s poetry journal, Frogpond
(issue: 47.1 - Winter 2024)
Reviewed by Mykel Board

Splashes brings together Cor’s haibun, and some haiga—a few in color with his own minimalist illustrations—from 1972 to some undated time in the recent past. It’s the haibun, though, that make this book. It’s Cor’s eye for the chip in the fancy plate. …

… In one of Cor’s haibun, he explains his writing philosophy:

(In painting,) One has to move back and let the paint create its magic. In the same way, a few “blobs” of words, if expertly chosen and placed, can also work a similar magic if the mind’s ear steps back and lets the words work their wonder.

(from “Blobs?”)

— READ FULL REVIEW (PDF)

from poet Alan Pizzarelli
“One of the most original collections
of haibun ever writ.”

from Hiroaki Sato, writer and translator

“This collection of haibun reminds me of the time Cor asked me to reproduce an Issa haiku on the computer. It was 1990: the doyen of haiku in America was to represent this country at the international conference in Shiki’s city, Matsuyama. He wanted to show the Issa piece as embodying the essence of haiku, a simple and deep observation of nature. So I translated all the haibun that made up ‘Puddles’ that began with Issa and Thoreau—for the Japanese magazine Haiku Kūkan (Haiku Space). I am happy to see it concludes Splashes.”