4.5 Stars!

As the title suggests, the book is a collection of heart-touching Haiku and Senryu poems by poets from across India. 

Despite being a poet, I don’t read contemporary poetry books often. However, when I saw this one, I knew I had to try it. A Haiku is a three-line poem with a fixed syllable count (17). It is a traditional Japanese poetry form with a seasonal reference and a cutting word (usually in the second line). However, a simplified version involves only the syllable count – 5-7-5. Similarly, a Senryu is very much a Haiku except for the theme. It deals with human emotions, albeit using dark humor. 

This book is a compilation of both types of poems, offering us a good variety of themes. 

I remember the first time I wrote a Haiku. It was incorrect, lol. I counted words instead of syllables. Then, I figured it out (with help, of course). Luckily, I also found a free online Haiku syllable counter tool for verification. I still use the same tool for all syllable-related poems.  

Coming to the contents, the book has poems by 58 poets. As mentioned in the book, some poets have contributed five, while some have twenty pieces. We get the poet’s brief bio and their poems. This goes on until the end. 

It starts with a foreword, an introduction (by the curator), and a detailed note about Haiku poems. These are informative and useful, especially if you don’t know about Haiku and still want to read the book. 

In the introduction, the curator talks about the title and the story behind it. I love it when we get a sneak peek into the backend process. If you want a hint, google yae zakura. Furthermore, learning a bit about the use of the Haiku form in Indian poetry (English and vernacular) was exciting. I didn’t realize we had shows and books dedicated to it! Still, this poetry form hasn’t gotten much exposure. 

In the note, I learned about the concept of Zen Buddhism behind Haiku’s simplicity. Don’t skip the initial pages if you read this book. The poems are important; sure. But the background information is equally important. That’s how you can fully enjoy the poems that follow. Think about it. We are told Haiku is not about philosophy but about being in the present. If you miss reading this, it will impact how you perceive the poems. (Sometimes the curtains are blue because it’s the only color left in the store). 
 

How can it be that I review a Haiku book and not write at least one of my own? 

To summarize, Late-Blooming Cherries is a heart-touching and poignant collection of Haiku poems from diverse poets. Some simple, some pleasant, some poignant, and some heart-breaking; but all expressed in a handful of words! 

Thank you, Blogchatter and HarperCollins India, for a copy of the book.