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

 
 

Reviews

 

“One of the most original collections of haibun ever writ.”

— Alan Pizzarelli


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.”

 

About the Author

Cor van den Heuvel is perhaps best known as the editor of the three editions of The Haiku Anthology. For over 40 years, he has been a leader in the haiku movement and a tireless promoter of haiku and its related forms. He is a translator, a highly regarded critic, and one of the haiku movement’s foremost poets. Past president of the Haiku Society of America, his awards include three HSA Merit Book Awards, a World Haiku Achievement Award presented to him at the World Haiku Festival (2000) in London, and The Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Prize for 2002. Anyone interested in haiku ought to know who he is and should be familiar with his work.” — Nick Avis