{"id":75864,"date":"2026-02-02T00:01:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T05:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/?p=75864"},"modified":"2026-01-11T12:34:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T17:34:21","slug":"book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/","title":{"rendered":"Book of the Week – Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975-1998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″]
\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/figure>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975-1998,<\/em> Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes is not a haiku anthology in the usual sense. It is a record of reading, thinking, and responding to haiku. It is a collection of haiku accompanied by brief critical notes written over more than two decades. Each pair of poem and commentary reveals not just what the haiku presents, but what it can open. Noyes writes from a position shaped by Zen, psychology, literature, and long attention to the form. Before turning to the poems, he offers an introduction to selflessness, detachment, and interbeing, noting that both haiku and senryu, at their best, “emerge from a state of relative detachment” in which self-centeredness falls away and the poet sees inwardly or outwardly with clarity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The book begins with a haiku by Anna Holley:<\/span><\/p>\n

the black swan alights:<\/span>
\nstars of the Milky Way<\/span>
\nlap against the reeds<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Noyes calls this “one of the most beautiful examples of nature interpenetration,” emphasizing how stillness and motion coexist, and how “the palpable silence of the lapping stars leads us toward eternity.” His commentary here is typical of the book: close, admiring, and sensitive to how haiku works through suggestion rather than assertion.<\/span>
\nFrom Geraldine C. Little’s haiku:<\/span><\/p>\n

how silently<\/span>
\nthe wave-tossed log is beached<\/span>
\nand snow-flaked<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Noyes draws out the tension between violence and gentleness, reading the contrast as a kind of war and peace. The commentary moves from the physical scene to deeper associations without forcing allegory. What shines through is his belief that simple perceptions can contain complex meanings.<\/span>
\nHumor also appears. Jane Reichhold’s poem:<\/span><\/p>\n

wind<\/span>
\nrubbing the lake<\/span>
\nthe wrong way<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

leads him to note how colloquial language can animate expression and produce not just recognition but “chuckling release.” For Noyes, the pleasure of haiku is not confined to solemnity; it includes amusement, surprise, and delight.<\/span>
\nThe collection includes haiku from Basho to contemporaries, and Noyes treats both with the same seriousness. About Basho’s<\/span><\/p>\n

the winter tempest<\/span><\/span>
\nhid itself in the bamboos,<\/span>
\nand grew still<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

he connects Blyth’s idea of “perpetual sinking of oneself into things” with the wind’s sudden disappearance into the bamboos. The commentary listens for sound (“the ‘oos’ sound”) and reads the moment as embodiment rather than symbol.<\/span><\/p>\n

What makes the book distinctive is not only what Noyes says, but how he says it. He quotes Spinoza, Blyth, Job, Whitman, Watts, Pope, and Thoreau, yet these references never overwhelm the haiku. They serve instead as paths into the poems, part of what he calls “reader intuition.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Favorite Haiku, Volume 3 is<\/em> best read slowly. It models a way of reading that is receptive rather than analytical, open to mystery, humour, and the unadorned moment. For readers interested in how haiku is received, not just written, this book offers a long, generous apprenticeship in attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can read the entire book in the THF Digital Library<\/a>. Feel free to share a favourite poem-commentary pairing from the book.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Do you have a full or chapbook-length book published in 2021 or earlier that you would like featured as a Book of the Week? Contact us for details. Haiku featured in the Book of the Week Archive are selected by the THF Digital Librarian, Vidya Premkumar and are used with permission.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

H. F. Noyes\u2019s Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975\u20131998, Volume 3 pairs selected haiku with brief critical commentary, offering a reflective look at how haiku communicates meaning and experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,1830,1768,47],"tags":[291,3695,1325,412],"post_series":[],"class_list":["post-75864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapbook-archive","category-featured-content","category-features","category-news","tag-book-of-the-week","tag-favourite-haiku","tag-h-f-noyes","tag-thf-digital-library","entry","no-media"],"yoast_head":"\nBook of the Week - Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975-1998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes - The Haiku Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975\u20131998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes is a haiku criticism book that attends closely to reading, interpretation, and the experience of poetic insight.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Book of the Week - Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975-1998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes - The Haiku Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975\u20131998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes is a haiku criticism book that attends closely to reading, interpretation, and the experience of poetic insight.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Haiku Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theHaikuFoundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-02T05:01:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Vidya Premkumar\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@haikufound\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@haikufound\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Vidya Premkumar\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#\/schema\/person\/3feb76107e57de7b1c69806defc3416e\"},\"headline\":\"Book of the Week – Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975-1998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-02T05:01:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/\"},\"wordCount\":595,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Book of the Week\",\"Favourite Haiku\",\"H.F. Noyes\",\"THF Digital Library\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Book-of-the-Week\",\"Featured Content\",\"Features\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/\",\"name\":\"Book of the Week - Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975-1998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes - The Haiku Foundation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-02T05:01:14+00:00\",\"description\":\"Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975\u20131998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes is a haiku criticism book that attends closely to reading, interpretation, and the experience of poetic insight.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Book of the Week – Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975-1998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/\",\"name\":\"The Haiku Foundation\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Haiku Foundation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/THF-Logo.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/THF-Logo.gif\",\"width\":700,\"height\":154,\"caption\":\"The Haiku Foundation\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theHaikuFoundation\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/haikufound\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/haikufound\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/thehaikufoundation\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#\/schema\/person\/3feb76107e57de7b1c69806defc3416e\",\"name\":\"Vidya Premkumar\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a59d282477b80a43047587799371bf26ca1e4d47103201908cd0c44074eeb2d1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a59d282477b80a43047587799371bf26ca1e4d47103201908cd0c44074eeb2d1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Vidya Premkumar\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/author\/vprem\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Book of the Week - Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975-1998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes - The Haiku Foundation","description":"Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975\u20131998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes is a haiku criticism book that attends closely to reading, interpretation, and the experience of poetic insight.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Book of the Week - Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975-1998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes - The Haiku Foundation","og_description":"Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975\u20131998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes is a haiku criticism book that attends closely to reading, interpretation, and the experience of poetic insight.","og_url":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/","og_site_name":"The Haiku Foundation","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theHaikuFoundation","article_published_time":"2026-02-02T05:01:14+00:00","author":"Vidya Premkumar","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@haikufound","twitter_site":"@haikufound","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/"},"author":{"name":"Vidya Premkumar","@id":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#\/schema\/person\/3feb76107e57de7b1c69806defc3416e"},"headline":"Book of the Week – Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975-1998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes","datePublished":"2026-02-02T05:01:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/"},"wordCount":595,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#organization"},"keywords":["Book of the Week","Favourite Haiku","H.F. Noyes","THF Digital Library"],"articleSection":["Book-of-the-Week","Featured Content","Features","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/","url":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/","name":"Book of the Week - Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975-1998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes - The Haiku Foundation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-02-02T05:01:14+00:00","description":"Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975\u20131998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes is a haiku criticism book that attends closely to reading, interpretation, and the experience of poetic insight.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/book-of-the-week-favorite-haiku-h-f-noyes\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Book of the Week – Favorite Haiku: Brief Essays 1975-1998, Volume 3 by H. F. Noyes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/","name":"The Haiku Foundation","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#organization","name":"The Haiku Foundation","url":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/THF-Logo.gif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/THF-Logo.gif","width":700,"height":154,"caption":"The Haiku Foundation"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theHaikuFoundation","https:\/\/x.com\/haikufound","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/haikufound\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/thehaikufoundation"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#\/schema\/person\/3feb76107e57de7b1c69806defc3416e","name":"Vidya Premkumar","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a59d282477b80a43047587799371bf26ca1e4d47103201908cd0c44074eeb2d1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a59d282477b80a43047587799371bf26ca1e4d47103201908cd0c44074eeb2d1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Vidya Premkumar"},"url":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/author\/vprem\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75864"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75868,"href":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75864\/revisions\/75868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75864"},{"taxonomy":"post_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thehaikufoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_series?post=75864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}