In recent years, many cookie-cutter haiku books have cropped up, exploiting the haiku form as something merely commercial. Searching almost any online bookseller turns up books of haiku about dogs, cats, religion, rednecks, the elderly -- the list goes on and on. Homeowner Haiku, by Jerry Ratch and Sherry Karver, is yet another book from this mold.
As an idea itself, there's nothing wrong with writing a book of haiku about one specific subject. But the poems in Homeowner Haiku can only be called "haiku" by a very loose definition of the form.
The authors seem to be more concerned with filling an outdated syllable and line count (17 syllables broken into three lines of 5-7-5) than with the purpose of haiku itself, which is to capture a moment of nature or the natural world for the reader's close inspection and enjoyment. The poems in this book serve mainly as vehicles for puns and other forms of humor, and do not stand on their own as good poems. Take, for example, this haiku from page 52:
Location, location,location -- location, location,location
Many of the poems are banal and forgettable, and could easily have been trimmed from the book. Like this one:
The spider livingon my computer has turnedinto a web hog
However, some of the haiku are actually funny, like this one from the "Euphoric Euphemisms" section:
"Tranquil Park-like Setting" --two hoboes and their three dogscamping in the yard
Another humorous poem is found on page 40:
Proudly I eat beansand franks as I'm writing outthe mortgage payment
While most of the poems in this book fall short of the true essence of haiku, this one manages to come quite close:
The leaves turn brilliantyellow, before they clog upour rain gutters
Homeowner Haiku contains 98 poems, presented one to a page in a neatly-typed format. The poems are broken into different sections, each based on an aspect of home ownership. The book is paperback, perfect-bound, and professionally designed.
If you are looking for a book of light or silly poems about home ownership, Homeowner Haiku may be for you. The poems in this book range from amusing to sentimental, reflecting various aspects of buying or owning a home, both good and bad. New and long-term homeowners will certainly find something to relate to in this book. As long as you don't buy it expecting a collection of award-winning haiku, you might enjoy Homeowner Haiku.
Homeowner Haiku, written by Jerry Ratch and Sherry Karver, published in 2005 by Frog, Ltd. Retail price is $9.95, available from major booksellers including Books-A-Million and Amazon.
(Disclaimer: I earn a commission on Amazon sales made from links in this post.)
(Originally posted on Helium.com, 2009)
