A Few Good Words: Poetry and Photographs

James Deahl, of Mekler & Deahl Publishers, is the author of Poetry
Markets for Canadians, Under the Watchful Eye: Poetry and Discourse,
Even This Land Was Born of Light, and Mix Six.

Marty Gervais and Black Moss Press are to be commended for publishing
this wonderful book. It features 28 haiku (one is printed twice) and 24
photographs. The photos (all of which depict rural scenes, both natural
and man-made) range from the merely very good to the brilliant. These
black-and-white images brim with the quiet grief of abandonment. Some of
them also testify to the subtle beauty of those silent moments that we
all too often hurry past in the mad rush of daily life.

Hill’s haiku are less successful. Although some are excellent
(“Winter afternoon / A dying light spends itself / on common
foxtail”), others are weighed down by philosophical observations that
are not in keeping with the grounded quality of the photographs. Most
successful are those haiku that mesh with the visual images. Haiku that
show loneliness, for example, work better than haiku that contain
statements like “No one here but me.” Still, all two dozen photos
and more than half the haiku are deserving of praise.