What is a haiku poem?

From haikai no ku, meaning “light verse”

Haiku is a traditional form of poetry commonly from Japan, featuring an assortment of “rules” that can almost all be ignored.

• (Almost always) in present tense
• About something concrete (no direct philosophizing)
• Usually 5, 7, 5
• Probably less than 17 syllables
• Most often 3 lines, but can be 1, 2, 4, or even 5
• Use as few words as possible

Working on this book has been an adventure all the way through. Isabella sent me her initial ideas, and the conversation took off from there. We discussed the theme of the book, how she wanted to have heavy contrast between the sombre tone of her poems and the beauty of the plants and flowers she found while walking the trails and parks near and far from her home.

Once we finalized the design, I built it digitally, then began printing. From there, I trimmed each of the pages down to size, punched the 12 holes, and stitched and glued the covers. I wrote Isabella’s name on the front for one final touch of uniqueness.

I carefully handstitched each book in the Japanese stab binding method, of which there are endless patterns. For this book, I chose the tortoiseshell pattern because of its beauty and minimalistic appearance.

In the pictures below, you can see my progress with the prototype, which I created using construction paper and regular printer paper; then I moved on to the quality ivory Strathmore woven paper and black cardstock. I used white waxed embroidery floss on the black cover, and once the books were all stitched, I glued on the cover image (taken from page 8) and the title, then wrote the byline underneath.

Poetry Event at Historic Joy Kogawa House

At the event at the Historic Joy Kogawa House in Vancouver, BC, at which poet Isabella Mori presented her inspiration for the book and shared some of her work, accompanied by Glen Mori on saxophone.

This event was organized by Anne Marie-Metten and recorded by Peter Faure.