A Look at the Haiku of Penny Harter
To many poets, a new spring day would call them to write poems with beautiful flowers, trickling streams, and towering trees full of leaves as the main subjects. Although the poems created are very nice, they take on a more simplistic view of nature; they appreciate the obvious. Penny Harter takes a different approach to capturing nature in poetry. Harter chooses subjects that are not the obvious focus of the scene. She also examines the subject further, and calls the reader’s attention to what may seem to be the most insignificant part. This unusual focus shares the quiet beauty of the subject with the reader. Many haiku have been selected from various published books of Harter’s to exemplify her unique take on nature. These haiku will be shared throughout this essay, along with my personal reflections to each. I also compare some of Harter’s haiku to those of American haiku poet, Peggy Lyles. The comparison illustrates the different focus each author takes of nature in their haikus.
Penny Harter, the author of many types of poetry, was born in New York City. Harter graduated from the Douglass College at Rutgers University with a degree in English. Although Harter’s longer poetry works began to be published in the 1960’s, she did not seriously work with haiku until about the 1970’s. During this time, Harter taught English and literature in New Jersey, while also writing and publishing her own works on the side. Harter and her husband, poet and translator, William Higginson, moved to New Mexico in 1991. This change of scenery is reflected in her haiku.
During her time in New Mexico, Harter worked at the Sante Fe Preparatory School as an English teacher. She also continued to be an editor for From Here publications and write her own poetry. Around 2001, Harter and her husband moved back to New Jersey. The two continue to write and publish their poetry as well as make public appearances at poetry readings and workshops. Harter has published 16 books of poems, 6 in the last decade. Harter was also the 2002 recipient of the William O. Douglass Nature Writing award. (PenHart Home)
I first was drawn to the work of Penny Harter while reading, The Haiku Anthology (3rd ed.), edited by Cor van den Heuval. My favorite haiku published in this anthology, is found on page 70.
broken bowl
the pieces
still rocking
I was drawn to this haiku because of the movement it inspires. While reading the haiku, I can picture the small, scattered pieces of the bowl rocking back and forth on a kitchen floor. I think that each line was well selected and placed. Line 3 emphasizes that the bowl just broke and the word rocking provides the sense of movement. There are only six words in this whole haiku but I felt like that was enough to paint a picture of the scene the author witnessed. I think I also liked this haiku because it was very easy to relate to it. I could see myself dropping a plate or bowl in my kitchen and just staring at the pieces on the floor, disappointed that my reflexes were not quick enough to save the dish. I can also hear the sound of the bowl as it hits the floor and breaks.
Another haiku by Harter that makes good use of movement can be found in her book, The Monkey’s Face, published in 1987 by From Here press. This haiku, which is found on page 9, also incorporates nature.
in the tidal pool the grasses
sway landward
sway seaward
This haiku is slightly different than the first haiku mentioned because the movement is created with the spacing of the lines, and the word choices. This haiku also uses the last two lines to show the movement, unlike the first haiku that just used the last line. The grass in the pool is not the most typical subject to choose out of everything that could be in the tide pool, but that is why Harter picks it as the main subject. I liked this haiku because I can picture the water trapped in the tidal pool, moving back and forth with the waves. I like the words, landward and seaward, because they are more creative then just saying back and forth or in and out. I think they also help the reader to picture the grass being pulled towards the sand and then being pulled back to the ocean. If the reader allows, they can also let their other senses take part in this haiku, like feeling the wind against their skin or smelling the salty ocean air. They can also hear the waves crashing and seagulls up in the sky.
As mentioned in the opening paragraph, Harter often finds an atypical object in nature to use as the subject of her haiku. Sometimes, the subject she uses may seem very odd and/or not appealing to the reader at first, but multiple readings may unveil the beauty that Harter had first seen while writing the haiku. An example of this is the following haiku:
dead squirrel
frost crystals
in the blood
Harter, TMF, 20
I must admit that upon my first reading, I found this haiku slightly morbid. I did not understand how the blood of a dead squirrel could be attractive to anyone. I continued reading more of Harter’s poems though and when I got back to this one, I was able to recognize the beauty in the crystals that had formed in the blood. This is a great example of Harter’s ability to focus in a scene to the part often overlooked by others. When reading this haiku, I envision myself going for a walk on a cool winter morning in a park. I picture the squirrel at the foot of a tall tree, surrounded by snow. I cannot exactly say why, but I do not see any of the squirrel’s blood on the snow. I think that to see the crystals in the blood, I would have to move closer to the squirrel, almost like I was inspecting the scene for a cause of death. This haiku also provides sensory images because the reader can feel the chill in the air and recognize that this scene takes place in the winter. I do not think there is much noise present in this haiku, I feel that it is a very quiet scene the author has stumbled upon.
Harter speaks of blood again in the following haiku. This haiku was published in 1984 by Burnt Lake press in the book, In the Broken Curve, on page 22.
gathering the sheets—
your dried blood
This haiku is slightly unusual for Harter because it does not involve nature, but instead people take the focus. This haiku has a dark undertone to it and the reader is fully aware of this darkness in the two short lines. There is much room for interpretation in this haiku because the reader does not know where the blood is really coming from or why it is there. The blood could be from something as simple as a shaving nick or from a gruesome murder; it is completely up to the reader to create the scene this haiku comes from. The subject gathering the sheets may be surprised by the dried blood, or they could be knowingly removing evidence from a crime scene. I like that Harter created such a intriguing scene in this haiku, but left it open for the reader to finish the scene.
Penny Harter also writes haiku with a comical undertone. The haiku may not make the reader laugh out loud, but because the humor is more subtle, the reader may have a quiet chuckle to themselves. I definitely found myself laughing while reading this haiku in The Orange Balloon. This book was published in 1980 by From Here press.
by the highway
the deer
looks both ways
Harter, TOB, 14
I thought this haiku was kind of funny because I can picture this deer stopping at the street and looking both ways before crossing. It would be nice if deer did this because it seems that usually they just run across the street without looking and run right in front of traffic. Hitting a deer can be very deadly to both the passengers of the car and the deer. It also can do some major damage to the car. I think of this deer as very ‘street smart’ because he has seen one too many of his friends get hit by a car, so he has learned his lesson and now looks both ways before crossing. I think that Harter probably witnessed a deer looking both ways before crossing one night while she was driving on the highway, and it probably stunned her enough that she had to laugh.
Harter also has written some linked haiku about nature. One of my favorites was published by Burnt Lake press in 1984, in the book In the Broken Curve. These linked haiku have the same subject, a dead field mouse, but they each take place at a different point in the decomposition of this mouse.
On Strawberry Hill
1
dead field mouse
white belly curved
toward the ivy
2
two weeks later
the dead field mouse
still frozen
3
knowing he’s still there
under the snow
the dead field mouse
4
through the hole
in the snow, the face
of the dead field mouse
5
thawing
the dead field mouse
opens his mouth
6
she stares out her window
at me bent over
the dead field mouse
7
today
only the brown of
winter grass
ITBC, pgs 43-49
I really enjoyed this linked haiku for many reasons; I liked how each link was printed on a separate page, and that every link, except the 7th, had the words “dead field mouse.” I think that carrying those three words through each link brought continuity to the haiku. I also thought this was an interesting subject to use, because most people would overlook a dead field mouse. Harter, on the other hand, was almost fascinated by this subject. She returned to the dead mouse repeatedly over time as the mouse slowly decomposed and became part of the earth. Harter even recognizes her odd interest in the mouse in the 6th link when she speaks of the woman who observes her looking at the dead mouse. This linked haiku uses the sensory aspect of seasons, by the different word choices in each link, like snow, frozen, thawing, and grass. The reader can tell that the season changes as they turn the pages and read each next link.
I think that the 6th haiku link says a lot about Harter’s time observing nature. I would guess that she has looked up many times from studying something in the grass to find a passerby staring at her. I have to admit that I probably would look at her a little oddly too, especially if I came across her staring at a dead squirrel or mouse in the park. But if explained what her purpose was and the beauty that she found in that squirrel or mouse, I would end up right next to her, focused in the animal. Unfortunately, we all won’t stumble across Penny Harter on a walk in the park, but we are lucky enough to have her haiku that share these beautiful scenes with us.
Peggy Lyles is another American haiku poet that often uses nature as her main subjects. I felt that Lyles was appropriate to compare to Harter because of their shared use of nature, but there is also a strong contrast in their haiku. Lyles’ haiku often are upbeat and positive and when she incorporates nature she does not focus in as much as Harter. Lyles presents the overall scene, unlike Harter’s focused subject choices. I chose a haiku from Peggy Lyles’ book, To Hear the Rain, published in 2002 by Brooks Books. I am comparing Lyles’ haiku to one found in Harter’s children’s book, Shadow Play. Shadow Play was published in 1994 by Simon and Schuster.
midnight
the cat walks
up piano keys
Lyles, THTR, 66
the cat wakes me up
chasing his tail
in the dark
Harter, SP
I chose these two haiku to compare because they both use a cat as their main subject, and they take place at night. Lyles’ haiku does create a scene, and provide some sense imagery, like sound and movement. I did not feel very strongly about Lyles’ haiku though because I felt she could have used stronger words to describe the scene. I think that Harter is able to portray the scene in her haiku slightly better because of her word choices. It is very easy to picture a cat running around a bedroom at night, chasing its tail or getting into something, and waking up the people in the room. I also think that Harter focuses on the cat’s tail, swishing around in the dark, and not just the cat in the room.
There are many other haiku from both authors, as well as numerous other contemporary American authors, that could be compared and contrasted, but that is something that readers can do on their own as they become more immersed in haiku. The more authors a reader becomes familiar with, the easier it is to pick out the similarities and differences among authors.
I am very pleased to study Penny Harter as my contemporary haiku author, because I feel that it is very easy to read and relate to her haiku. I did not always understand and appreciate the darkness and beauty of her haiku on my first reading, but when I read through her books a second and third time, I was able to find new favorites and understand so many more of her haiku. I enjoyed Harter’s unconventional approach to nature, because through her ability to bring unique and unusual objects to the center of her haiku, I was able to enjoy these objects as well. I think that Harter is a multidimensional poet as well. She shares many different emotions in her haiku books. I also liked that she had published a children’s book of haiku, because I had never seen that before and I think it is a great way to introduce children to haiku.
Works Cited
Cor van den Huevel, Cor. The Haiku Anthology. 3. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999.
Harter, Penny. In the Broken Curve. Canada: Burnt Lake Press, 1984.
Harter, Penny. "Penny Harter." PenHart Home. 2006. 25 Apr 2007 <http://penhart.home.att.net/>.
Harter, Penny. Shadow Play. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994.
Harter, Penny. The Monkey's Face. New Jersey: From Here, 1987.
Harter, Penny. The Orange Balloon. New Jersey: From Here, 1980.
Lyles, Peggy. To Hear the Rain. Decatur, Il: Brooks Books, 2002.
"Person Detail: Penny Harter." New York State Literary Tree. 2007. 25 Apr 2007 <http://www.nyslittree.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/db.persondetail/PersonPK/843.cfm>.
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