Thursday, May 15, 2008

Local Poet’s Haiku Is Quick & Simple

Mukilteo poet and publisher David Ash thinks that writing books of haiku (three-line, seventeen-syllable poems) is fairly fast and easy. He has already produced his first six books of humorous haiku through Basho Press in less than a year. But next week, one of the world’s largest media conglomerates will proclaim them quick and simple.

Quick & Simple magazine, a weekly magazine published by Hearst Magazines, will feature excerpts from Ash’s Haiku for Chocolate Lovers as the back page of the May 27 issue.

“I keep chuckling at the karma,” muses Ash. “Of all the national publications that could be the first to write about my haiku books, could you ask for a more appropriate magazine title? Now that is funny!”

The Smile page of the magazine will feature ten chocolate-related haiku by Ash, including:
because cacao grows
around the planet’s waistline,
it ends up on mine

“When editor Laura Manske first called me in January, I said I was surprised because it was past the deadlines for Valentine’s Day,” Ash recalled. “She replied, ‘Are you kidding? We’re always looking for chocolate around here!’”

Quick & Simple is available at newsstands everywhere, including many Barnes & Noble stores. The Haiku for Life® book series is available online through Barnes & Noble and Amazon, and can be ordered at local bookstores through wholesaler Partners/West in Renton, Washington. For more info, log on to www.BashoPress.com or call (206) 200-9525.