About A Tree Frog’s Eyes: Haiku:
A definitive collection of 194 haiku that brings together a plethora of diverse natural, cultural, and geographical influences from Navarro’s life as a wandering poet-philosopher.
Navarro draws on a lifetime of learning haiku (40 years), beginning at 19 years old when he discovered its origins in the heart of ancient Chinese poetry (Sensai and Hõ Un); through the quintessential influences of the four great Japanese hokku/haiku masters, Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki — with emphasis on the personal pure-land nature haiku of Issa; to the classic core functional elements of kire (the cut or shift) and kigo (seasonal indication), which infuse haiku with the essential elements of zoka, ma, tathata, and toriawase, which are simply explained in an engaging Foreword. These are the core of Navarro’s haiku, seasoned occasionally with modern offshoots and adaptations. The reader will find everything from traditional English 5-7-5 haiku, to more modern renditions with fewer syllables, some gendai haiku, semantic disjunctions, and even some senryu.
While the underlying essence of his haiku is influenced and inspired by Chinese and Japanese poetry, Navarro’s haiku are thoroughly steeped in modern American nature, culture, geography, and tradition. He brings haiku to life in a way that is relatable and accessible to the modern reader while faithfully maintaining the sharp visual nature of the form.
This is as great a book for haiku poets wanting to learn more about writing haiku as it is for haiku lovers.
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Author Bio:
David E. Navarro is an author, poet, essayist, scholar, and minister who lives in Tucson, Arizona with his wife and family—or as he says, “…a wandering minister who loves Zen, poetry, and helping people reconnect with God, nature, and a greater sense of self and purpose.” Navarro grew up on the Southside of Chicago to age ten when his family moved to rural Crown Point, IN. There he learned to enjoy nature, free to roam in fields of swaying grass and wooded copses rich with ponds and swamps. He went off to college at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN to study literature and the arts. His first collection of poetry was published in 1980 in the Purdue Exponent Literary Edition, Winter Issue.
He left college to enlist in the United States Air Force where he served for ten years and in three conflicts. He lived in the United Kingdom for his second tour where he traveled Europe and earned a degree in Communications. He separated with an honorable discharge and entered a Biblical Studies program where he completed a degree in Theology and served 35 years in roles as a biblical research teacher and minister in various assignments all over the U.S.
He writes about and teaches life and time management, quality of life, work-life balance, writing and communication, Zen, mindfulness, and Biblical keys to living prosperously, peacefully, and powerfully. He returned to Purdue University Global and completed a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in the arts and humanities. His final thesis chronicled the far-reaching ramifications and impact of haiku on the Western world. Over the years, his poems, essays, and articles have been published in various magazines, literary journals, books, anthologies, and online. He plans to write, publish, and educate for the rest of his life.