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HAIKU SKETCHES

300
one-line
zen-inspired
poems
by
Marie Bortolotto

Artist Marie Bortolotto takes us on a mindful stroll through her portfolio of haiku sketches as she follows in the footsteps of renowned Japanese poet, Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902). Shiki is best known for his efforts to modernize haiku poetry, especially his idea of shasei or “sketching from life” where he encouraged poets to look at the world, as an artist does with a sketchbook, observing and expressing what they see in everyday life with fresh eyes. Each haiku sketch in this collection offers a window into meditation, inspiring us to open the eyes of the heart and find poetry in the ordinary.
 

 

A few excerpts from Haiku Sketches:

resting on a vintage garden chair dead leaves

autumn’s decline even the bindweed sheds its glory

atop melted snow a red scarf and a carrot

slowly a beetle crawls across the sidewalk

Paperback, 110 pages

Haiku Utterances 
by Marie Bortolotto

300 Zen-Inspired One Line Poems to Liberate the Imaginal Heart

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A few excerpts from Haiku Utterances:

pinned to the sidewalk white paper butterfly

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   have you stopped to say hello little sparrow

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   fragrance of emptiness in her hand a tiny flower

  all frogs on the tree stump gone! except one
 


Paperback, 110 pages

In Haiku Utterances, Marie Bortolotto invites us to slow down and attune to the poetic utterances that speak to us and through us from the heart of existence. Dropping the rules of traditional Japanese haiku, she writes in a free verse style that reflects ordinary day-to-day experiences. Most of the poems in this collection were gathered during daily walks while she was recovering from a lengthy illness. At first one may consider them too simplistic or insignificant, but once they seep into our hearts our eyes can see a depth of beauty found in the present moment. This book encourages us to cultivate an imaginal way of seeing by listening to the haiku utterances in our own lives.

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