Book of Haikus compiles Jack Kerouac's haiku from various published works and journals (Regina Weinreich does an excellent job with the introduction and with the asides throughout).

Kerouac breaks away from the Japanese syllable counting tradition of 5-7-5 per line. Instead he developed his own standard of American Haikus, which often exists in direct relation to the Japanese haikuists. His haiku bends the traditions further, playing with seasonal references in new ways and infusing humor into his lines. Sometimes dark sometimes light-hearted, his haiku are always (or almost always) poignant. Kerouac's haiku and his love of Japanese haiku inspires me to want to read the traditional Japanese greats.

I quite enjoyed the poetry throughout this book, and I found it inspirational to my own writing. I'm enthralled by the haiku form, how so much can be said in such a small space. I'm going to have to buy my own personal copy, so that I can flip through it randomly as I'm out and about in the world. ( )

Book of Haikus (Poets, Penguin) by Jack Kerouac (2003)