Author Description

Composed by four writers, these haiku follow a seasonal progression from April through June, 2020 (Parts I-III). During April and most of May, our haiku observe the classical Japanese model of linking individual mood to the natural landscape and reflect our attempts to cope with the impact of the pandemic upon our lives. In late May and June, however, some of our poems reveal an urgent tone, as the political and social landscape in the United States deteriorated. These later haiku express our reaction to the failure of national leadership in addressing the pandemic's threat to both individuals and the body politic. In addition they express our despair over the Administration's suppression of largely peaceful protests over racial injustice. Many of the haiku in the Epilogue (Part IV) convey hope in individual and collective actions that can lead to a better future. The rural environments of southeastern New Hampshire and northeastern Massachusetts offer opportunities for contemplation while walking along secluded wooded trails. Likewise, the town forests of Dielsdorf, Switzerland, with ancient trees and proximity to a medieval castle, provide my daughter, Cassandra Petrakis Zwahlen, with material for reflection upon transience and stability. Unexpected encounters that the authors have experienced in their similar environments often lend themselves to insights and self-discoveries. The tight form of the classical haiku provides a fitting medium in which to express revelations that arise from confinement during the pandemic. This book pays homage to earlier writers who have responded to pandemics in their own times. In the midst of the Plague, or Black Death, that ravaged Europe in the mid-14th century, Giovanni Boccaccio composed The Decameron (ca. 1353), a frame story of 100 tales told by a group of young nobles who fled their native Florence to spend 10 days in the countryside. While we do not have the luxury like Boccaccio's characters to escape to rural villas, we