This profile of haiku writer, xxxxx, was researched, written and created by xxxxx.

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• biographical background
• reader response essay
• sample haiku
• additional web links & resource

Biographical Background

H.F. Noyes is from Oregon originally and practiced psychotherapy for 25 years. He has had seven books published worldwide. Some of his favorite writers include Frost, Basho, and Issa.

He has won the Heron’s Nest award for some of his haiku. Heron’s Nest is a popular haiku magazine. Noyes currently is retired and living in Greece.

Sample Haiku

rusty toy truck
stuck on the mudbank—
a cargo of blossoms

the geese fly off . . .
and now it comes to me
that I am still here

full moon rising—
nowhere on the empty beach
to hide our love

raking aside leaves
on the backyard pond
I release the moon

these death poems—
grandson hearing Basho's
asks for mine

Reader Response Essay

H.F. Noyes Simplicity and selflessness are two words that H.F. Noyes uses to describe what is vital to Haiku (Kacian 135). One of Noyes’ favorite sayings is from Rumi. Rumi says, "wash ourselves of ourselves (Startag)" which enables a person to write haiku. He also feels that a sense of season should be placed within the haiku. ". . . A clear indication of season suggests a shared background of color, scent and sound. The big world of season simply overwhelms our ordinary small-minded preoccupations. But remember that what matters above all is that we achieve an expansive focus -- that in the moment we're living in a wide-open, inclusive world of awareness in which everything is viewed with a fresh impartial eye" (Russo).

Some of the haiku written by H.F. Noyes is written from the heart. Here are two of my favorites:

beyond all tallied time
to find this virgin space
and here encounter now!

as if nothing happened
—the crow there
the willow here

These are both fresh and innocent. They are not forced, they just are. Nature speaks for itself and there is a simple, yet meaningful voice to these haiku.

Each of these haiku (on the left) is simple, and includes a seasonal tone. Noyes references from the five senses and always seems to set a new beginning with each haiku when he uses words like "blossoms," "release," "morning," etc. You can feel the water, hear the animals, see the colors of sunrise or sunset, feel the coolness of the autumn or the warmth of love, the comfort of the ‘fisherman’s song’, and each bring a different feeling to different individuals. Each has a flow of life whether dealing with birth or death.

References

Kacian, Jim; The red Moon Editorial Staff. The Loose Thread. 2001, Pg. 135-7. (and web sites below)

Additional Web Links and Resources

http://www.theheronsnest.com

http://nc-haiku.org/haiku-seasons.htm

http://www.epiphanous.org/wha/eng/us/r.h.poulin.shtml

http://members.tripod.com/~Startag/Sabi.html