The Plenitude of Emptiness

hortensia anderson: collected haibun 115 haibun from this master of the poetic form which combines distilled, essentialized prose with haiku. First brought to prominence more than three hundred years ago by the Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō, haibun is a form of poetic expression still in its infancy in the west. Hortensia Anderson captures the spirit of Japanese haibun with formidable accuracy, and her work effortlessly incorporates the Japanese aesthetics of wabi and sabi, as she delves frankly into her own personal experience. "Some of the best haibun Ive ever read. The prose flows in magical rhythms and emotionally moving tonalities as it condenses into haiku of exquisite, and startlingly vivid, imagery. Unfolding before your eyes, and all your other senses, are worlds radiant with freshness and washed with wonder." -Cor van den Heuvel, editor of The Haiku Anthology (1974, 1986, 1999)