Alive in the Skin of a River’s Flow – Susan Murphy Roshi

In this week’s story, Australian writer and Zen roshi Susan Murphy explores how haiku’s reflections of the seasons are being disrupted by the climate crisis. How will this poetic form bear witness to the ferocity of change reshaping the seasons? Woven with verses from Bashō, Buson, Issa, and fellow Volume 6 contributor Ron C. Moss, this story contemplates whether haiku may, in fact, be a vessel for holding the paradox of the seasons in this moment: allowing us to both mourn and love a rapidly evolving Earth. 

Read the essay. 

Discover our latest print edition, Volume 6: Seasons.

Image: Asako Narahashi, Kawaguchiko #5, 2003

© Asako Narahashi / Courtesy of Ibasho

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