Here is the link to read all Yanty's Butterfly reviews on Amazon

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Commentary on one of Lovette Carter's haiku in Yanty's Butterfly is now published on The Haiku Foundation re:Virals website. Here is commentary by Lucy Whitehead and Nicholas Klacsanzky with a direct link to re:Virals:

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river mouth

the kingfisher opens

its own

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— Lovette Carter, Yanty’s Butterfly: A Haiku Nook Anthology (2016)

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https://www.thehaikufoundation.org/2018/07/27/revirals-150/

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"This haiku on first reading seemed to be quite simple, but as I reread it several layers emerged. First of all, there is the obvious connection that is being made between the mouth of the river and the kingfisher’s mouth, evoking a deep interconnectedness between different aspects of nature, one alive and one not, and implying the inseparability of life from its environment. But then whilst looking up “kingfisher song” on YouTube I noticed, behind the exquisite voice of the kingfisher, the noise of a river. So for me the river’s mouth suggests two different readings–both the mouth of the river where the kingfisher is located in the haiku and the voice of the river itself. The haiku thus forces us to compare the kingfisher opening its mouth with the river’s mouth in two ways: the song flows from the kingfisher’s mouth as the water of the river flows into the ocean; but also the river opens its ‘mouth’ in song as well.

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Of course, the kingfisher could also be fishing. If the kingfisher is fishing, then the river too takes on a predatory quality. Alternatively, it could be read as highlighting a contrast between the kingfisher taking in fish and the river spewing out water into the sea. There is a lot of tension in this ambiguity as well as in the ambiguity of what the kingfisher is actually about to do with its mouth.

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Another reading that occurred to me was what if the kingfisher was silent: what would that mean? Is the river mouth polluted? It calls to mind the ‘voice of nature,’ the fact that the kingfisher can’t tell us how it feels about the growing pollution of our rivers and oceans. It can open its mouth but it has no voice in that regard. The ‘mouth’ of the river itself has no voice either.

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The haiku is poised both at the place where the river flows into the sea and at the moment before the kingfisher sings or catches its prey: both liminal states. There is tremendous energy and potential in that liminal place, both in space and time, adding to the tension in the haiku.

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I love the simplicity and economy of the language. The assonance of the ‘i’ sounds makes this haiku rather lyrical and songlike, potentially reflecting its subject matter (although a song is only ever implied), especially as they are beautifully balanced with one at the start of the first line, two in the middle of the second, and one at the start of the third. The alliteration of the ‘o’ sounds also adds to this, with one in the second line and one in the third line; the ‘ou’ in the first line is close enough to partially echo it. The v-shape of the ‘i’ sound pattern is echoed by the v-shape of the ‘o’ sounds. The symmetry of the vowel sounds both vertically within themselves and horizontally with each other makes this a very balanced poem. The repetition of ‘er’ sounds contributes to the lyrical quality and also heightens the comparison between the kingfisher and the river. There’s also a repetition of ‘th’ sounds and ‘n’ sounds. There are many sounds that echo each other as the kingfisher echoes the river.

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It seems a deceptively simple but finely crafted and very tight haiku with great depth and expressiveness. It has a beautiful and evocative interplay of meanings. However we read one part affects the way we read the other—the parts are interrelated. It can be read in many ways and it seems to elicit this multiplicity of readings almost effortlessly." 

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- Commentary by Lucy Whitehead

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"I think this is a fine example of the aesthetic blurring of two things. Though the river is large and the kingfisher is small, the kingfisher takes on epic imagery. Through the association with the river, we might believe that the kingfisher is a river in itself.

The many “o” sounds in the haiku lend to the idea and image of an open mouth. In addition, I like the indentation of the last two lines to show the separate, yet grand nature of the kingfisher. A striking haiku with direct depth."

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- Commentary by Nicholas Klacsanzky 

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re:Virals 150: https://www.thehaikufoundation.org/2018/07/27/revirals-150/

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*****

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A Book Review of Yanty's Butterfly by Iliyana Stoyanova is now published on Under the Basho. To read this exceptional book review, please click here.

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*****

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5 out of 5 stars An enchanting and inspiring collection of haiku - a must read!

By roma on September 11, 2016

Format: Paperback

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I loved it! A very inspiring and enjoyable read. I strongly recommend Yanty's Butterfly to anyone learning to write haiku. It inspires ideas with each turn of the page.

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5 out of 5 stars

By Jade Leone Blackwater

Jun 25, 2016

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An advance reader's copy of Yanty's Butterfly for my review was kindly provided by Jacob Salzer. A great pick for anyone who enjoys thoughtful reading, but needs something easy to digest on a lunchbreak. Yanty's Butterfly was created by a global writer's community to honor fellow poet Yanty Tjiam after her death. I appreciate the thoughtfulness and breadth of the poems and essays selected for this book. It's filled with moments from life – mundane, tremendous, carefully attended. You can flit through this book like a butterfly or take your time. You have your pick of haiku in a rainbow of forms, including some accompanied by short artists' notes and essays. Yanty's words are in here too of course, and tributes to her voice and spirit. vib-bra-ations 10 minutes to go I read on.

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5 out of 5 stars

An astounding collection of haiku poetry

By Alan Summers on March 27, 2016

Format: Paperback

An incredible haiku anthology.

Yanty's Butterfly is an international haiku anthology dedicated to Yanty Tjiam (1981-2015), a haiku poet who suddenly passed away in 2015. A group of writers banded together and we decided to honour her memory by working together, making haiku that would stand alongside the best written to a literary standard today.

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Alan Summers
Japan Times award-winning writer; Pushcart Prize nominated poet, and founder of With Words.

All proceeds from this book will be donated to Yanty’s family, and to 2 charity organizations: The Hunger Project, and ActionAid.

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5 out of 5 stars

Exceptional examples of haiku; haibun, and tanka, to name but three intriguing poetry genres.

By Alan Summers on March 1, 2016

Format: Kindle Edition

An exceptional anthology of haiku from both well-known and not so well known voices in haiku literature.

I am honoured to have been involved in the group who created this book after the sudden and devastating death of one of our family of poets.

There are incredibly strong samples of how the brief poetic genres of haiku and tanka, and the combination of prose with haiku (haibun) can really stand out alongside longer poetic forms and genres.

Highly recommended.

Alan Summers
Japan Times award-winning writer; Pushcart nominated poet; founder of With Words; and author of forthcoming book Writing Poetry: the haiku way

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