Ce Rosenow on No Longer Strangers

A message from Ce Rosenow, former president of the Haiku Society of America, written on May 31, 2014 to the staff of the Haiku Northwest 25th anniversary anthology:

No Longer Strangers is an absolutely wonderful anthology! What an accomplishment! Every aspect is impressive! Thank you so much for coming up with, and tackling, this project. I have some idea of how much work this was, but I’m certain not a completely accurate idea of how much work this was. It’s a huge accomplishment.

I was struck by how emotional the experience of reading the anthology was for me. I realized that Haiku Northwest in a variety of capacities has been part of my life since I moved back to Washington in 1990. Reading the history, the many friends who have left us, and all of the appendices reminded me that so many important relationships, events, and experiences in my life have been connected not only to haiku but to the haiku community in the Pacific Northwest.

Then the poems . . . many I recognized and many I didn’t . . . poets I’ve never met and so many I’ve known for years . . . it’s a fantastic collection!

Thank you all for this book. It is an important part of Northwest literary history, American poetry, and the tradition of English-language haikai. It also has tremendous personal value to me as I know it does for you and for the others represented in the book. Deep bows of gratitude.


Ce Rosenow