An American photographer and a Japanese poet met in a New York City café. The culmination of that meeting is the book Cafe Haiku, a collection of photographs and haiku poetry with a café/coffee theme. The photographs are vivid black and white scenes of the elements of a café; from the laptop taping techs to the cigarette waving philosophers to the jars of stirring sticks and display cases of pastries. The poetry ranges from whimsical to romantic, with some contemplation in between.
I read this brief collection while sipping an Americano (with half-n-half) at the café around the corner from my house. Unfortunately, the noise of conversations around me in the crowded space did not allow for much contemplation. My attention was drawn to the more whimsical poems and pictures. Particularly one photograph of a tin labeled Cinnamon resting on a marbled table top. The haiku that accompanied the picture expressed the complexity of modern café accoutrements:
How did the bark of
trees end up in can we
sprinkle on milk foam?
This book will be comfortable on both a coffee table or a bookshelf in a café.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
oh man, i've gotta have this.
2 - Eric Berlin
Anna - Very nice, thanks for this post. I'm drawn to anything having to do with coffee and coffee books.
Here's a thought: perhaps the haiku will become the predominant form of poetry in the Internet age?
Discuss...
3 - Anna
I forgot to add a link to the website: http://caffeinesociety.com/cafehaiku/index.html
4 - Nick Jones
Blogcritics: love the
site-even Al Barger has
truth to speak sometimes.
Eric Olsen, ne plus
ultra of moderators-
guides our perspective.
5 - Eric Olsen
thanks Nick! I am taken aback by your kindness
6 - Nick Jones
Haiku is my most chosen form: it's short and simple yet flexible, (most of my poetic output is small to medium sized free verse) the syllabic restraints are a challange, and I enjoy fitting a succinct message into the form.