Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Haiku chapbook review: a little rain, by Andrew Shimield


When you take a chance on a small press book, sometimes you find a gem that you might have otherwise missed. For me, that was the case with a little rain by Andrew Shimield.

a little rain is a collection of 31 haiku and senryu, nicely presented by Alba Publishing. The 36-page
chapbook is professionally printed, perfect bound with a protective glossy cover. Inside, the poems are printed on good-quality paper, and each haiku gets its own page.

autumn rain
a graveside vase
overflows

I don't think I'd ever come across any of Shimield's haiku before, but he is clearly a skilled poet. He uses punctuation sparingly and employs space and line breaks effectively. His poems flow naturally. He seems to prefer three-line haiku but doesn't shy away from one- or two-liners, including the title poem.

in the stone Buddha's bowl
            a little rain

The chapbook includes senryu as well as haiku. The collection of poems fits nicely together.

watching a stranger
pose for a photo
we all stand still

a little rain can be purchased from Alba Publishing for £3 (roughly $4 US as of this posting). All proceeds from the chapbook benefit the British Haiku Society.

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Dwarf Stars Award 2015