T W O S I D E S
Haiku and Other Words
80 pages
83 photographs
30 years of haiku
hardcover $19.95
ISBN: 978-0-9670235-7-1
paperback $11.95
ISBN: 978-0-9670235-9-5
available from Devenish Press
House spider
better for you to change your name
and live in the woodpile
So short our time
the vitality of summer —
autumn too passes quickly
A thin moon crescent
appears to cradle the shadow
of some magic yet unborn
Did it cry
till only sound did dwell?
Cicada shell
Tom Quinn Kumpf became interested in Japanese culture while serving in the Navy in the late 1960s. Time spent in Japan, Vietnam, and other parts of Southeast Asia left him with many questions about the nature of man and warriorship. In the decades that followed, he became deeply involved in the practice of Buzin-ryu, Aikido, Iaido and, above all, the writing of haiku and poems.
Two Sides is a melding of short verse and photographs designed to look like sumi-e paintings. The author leaves us with a chronicle of nearly three decades of a life spent embracing both sides of a man’s being—one that is assertive and forceful, and the other that is creative and gentle. Neither side is in conflict with the other.
Winner DIY Book Festival in Photography/Art Category
Winner 2008 CAL Award for Poetry
Finalist 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Photography
Finalist 2008 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Poetry
Winner New York Book Festival in Poetry Category