As an English major and a devoted fan of all things feline, I clearly had to check out this week’s book. I hate to let April go by without saying something about it being National Poetry Month, but as the days ticked by, I thought, well, this year I’ll just have to let it go. After all, poetry is not for everyone, and my personal preoccupation with prosody doesn’t have to be called out every year. Ah, but then I happened upon “The Maine Coon’s Haiku,” and now you, dear reader, must put up with another “Check It Out” tribute to poetry.
If you aren’t familiar with the term “haiku,” let me help you out. A haiku is a Japanese poetic form “written in 17 syllables divided into 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, and employing highly evocative allusions and comparisons, often on the subject of nature or one of the seasons” (as defined by the online dictionary at dictionary.com). When I was in junior high (known as “middle school” nowadays), composing a haiku was a common assignment in English classes. Why? Well, it’s short, it doesn’t have to rhyme, and other than the 5-7-5 pattern, it’s pretty forgiving. By “forgiving,” I mean that even the most unpoetical seventh-grader can cobble together a haiku.
This is not to say, however, that writing a well-composed haiku is easy. Anyone can follow a 5-7-5 syllabic pattern and say, “Hey, I wrote a haiku!” For instance, I can write: I am a reader / I really enjoy reading / Books are delightful. But these three lines — while very true — are boring and about as evocative as a tax form.
To experience the charm of a well-crafted haiku, go to the library and check out “The Maine Coon’s Haiku.” You don’t have to be a cat lover to appreciate the playful imagery found in Michael J. Rosen’s feline-centric verse. From the Turkish Angora — “Whooshing down the hall: / Angora, then her all-white / dust devil of hair” — to the Burmese — “Only the blazing / forsythia blooms rival / the Burmese cat’s gaze” — you’ll get to know 20 cat breeds through the art of haiku. But the book’s charm doesn’t stop there. Lovely illustrations accompany each 17-syllable verse; so, if a picture is worth a thousand words, and you add 17 syllables to that — well, you have a very rich product. To fully appreciate this richness, turn to the Japanese bobtail — “Captured behind glass, / one half asleep, one half price, / antique-store bobtails” — and pay extra attention to this haiku’s artistic backdrop.
