Product Description

This is Spence's first book of poetry since "Glasgow Zen". He evokes the essence of the seasons with this cycle of haiku.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #489908 in Books
• Published on: 2000-08-16
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 150 pages

Customer Reviews

much more than the sum of its eastern and western parts
Clear your head and fortify your soul with Scots writer Alan Spence's radiant little collection of technically daring and impeccable haiku poems, simultaneously charting the year's changes and the shifts in emotional weather that we are all subject to. Time will tell, but it looks set to join the very small club of artistic creations (see also "Memoirs of a Geisha," "Madame Butterfly") that triumphantly bridge east and west. Spence has a deep appreciation of the Zen aesthetic, which is blended with the lightest touches of wit and sometimes-mordant irony that is peculiarly Scottish.

the Zen garden/a crack in the wall/in exactly the right place

He has unerring judgement about concrete detail, sometimes just letting the wonderful thingness of things bleed into the reader's consciousness, other times squeezing whole histories into three lines. A deep well of delights that repays visit after visit.

A book to cherish
Having been introduced to Spence's work through his superlative short story collections, it was a joy to discover his poetry. Spence is a practicising buddhist, and spirituality runs like a rich vein through his writing. His poetry draws on eastern traditions, but often phrased in Glaswegian vernacular which not only adds to the often humorous content but also lends his work an accesibility to Scottish readers.

This little collection is an absolute gem of a book as Spence charts the course of the year through a series of haiku, his words throughout poised and elegant, chosen with scalpel precision.

I wouldn't say Spence is striving to reveal some great inner truth through his work; rather he's looking at the ordinary in a extraordinary way, like Blake finding Heaven in a wild flower. It's a short book, and you'll read it in quarter of an hour, but you'll return to it again and again.

Perfect Christmas stocking gift - a bitter-sweet collection
A delightful pocket-sized gem with a poignant and significant message for all situations.

One I will return to over and over again.