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Readers’
Choice – Poet of the Year
John
Stevenson
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your verdict and your service.
John Stevenson is a habitual writer of fine haiku. Evidence is abundant:
John sends poems to his Heron’s Nest editor every
month (hasn’t missed for years); he habitually carries small
dime-store notebooks; he is seen to sketch or write haiku daily;
and he will probably admit to even thinking in haiku. After a ginko
with John, in the form of a mountain climb, Yu Chang wrote this
haiku for a group of friends [quoted with permission]:
lichened pine
my poet friend asks
for a pencil
However, mere frequency or volume of composition is no guarantee
of haiku success. Stevenson possesses both a wordsmith’s skill
and a poet’s eye for the natural world. He knows the alga
and fungus of lichen as indeed he knows the pine. Even if some of
John’s poems might look irregular, reading them aloud reveals
purposeful emphasis of a word or a line break. His chosen words
are the right ones and they appear in the right places.
John is able to see himself in the larger world and appears in
the first person without pointing an egoistic finger at himself.
There’s an awareness of the poet’s place; it is not
a central place.
autumn wind
the leaves are going
where I’m going
moths on the door
I close
and lock
snowy night
sometimes you can’t be
quiet enough
Much of his work shows awareness of season and utilizes an intuitive
juxtaposition.
a few leaves
left on the tree
we have our talk
hope
without knowing what for
autumn colors
trial separation
ice distends
the rain gutters
walking home from church
sun on the other side
of my face
Mother’s Day
that first breath of air
outside the door
Not to forget another hallmark of John’s poetic voice, here
are examples of a certain bemused twinkle of irony:
signs of spring
the expiration date
on fat-free milk
May sun
I’m the one
the puppy comes to
For the second year in a row, John Stevenson was judged “Poet
of the Year” by his peers, the readers and poets of The
Heron’s Nest. There is obvious agreement among the Editors
and with these Nesters. This past year, we published 17 of his haiku,
and 15 were supported by the voters. Bravo to John! He is successful
by both measures. It is my special pleasure to congratulate such
an excellent haiku poet as John Stevenson.
— Paul MacNeil
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