don raye

This collection of Japanese haiku by American singer and composer, Don Raye is a delightful contribution to the world of haiku written in the English language.

Like Haiku sings as haiku should—of life and joy, and sorrow and the seasons. Nor is this surprising for Mr. Raye is a successful song writer. For him no subject is too trivial, and none is too deep to put into poetry. He writes for Hope and History; Women and Wanderlust; Soul Brothers and a Seeing Eye Friend; Ego and Fado; Fallen Angels and Innate Frailty; Conscience and Caprice.

n the author's introduction, he tells us that "Form is, in itself, subordinate to the expression within it. These sketches of mine are not haiku in the true sense. The are 'like' haiku. Some, perhaps, may be platitudinous, some abstruse to a reader who has not shared with me an exquisite flick of emotion at a sight or a sound. But no matter. Life is not a minted coin, heads and tails for anyone. It is a personal pastiche—nuances between sunrise and sunset, stormy or serene, comic or sad. it's all to be viewed in one's own kaleidoscope."