Author Description

We-Susan Chapman (Nasus) and Judi Hays (Iduji)-unknowingly started working on Reflections of Friendship: Gentle Words in Haiku in June of 2002, when Susan introduced Judi to The Tale of Murasaki, by Liza Dalby. We read the book at the same time, so that we could discuss it with one another in our emails. The story of Murasaki, a Japanese poet and author living in 11th-century Japan, inspired us to write our own haiku, since woven throughout the book were haiku poems written and sent by Murasaki and her friends. Reflections of Friendship: Gentle Words in Haiku is a collection of the ordinary moments of our lives (from July of 2002 to July of 2003) transformed into the poetry of haiku. We hope you enjoy our "contemporary" haiku, written with respect to and in the spirit of the ancient poets. Most Respectfully, Nasus and Iduji