Language Notes Text: English, Japanese (translation) Review Major contemporary poets such as A.R. Ammons, Wendell Berry, and Lucien Stryk not only transform the phenomena of nature but also give us new insights. Lee Richmond's Fireflies, Selected Haiku also reveals such insights. A beautifully printed collection that spans a decade, this poetry's strength lies in its precision and simplistic truths. The haiku are presented three to a page and there are seven black-and-white Japanese woodblock prints included in the book. Along with Richmond's original haiku, there are translations of the Japanese haiku masters Basho, Issa, and Buson. There is much evidence of Richmond's superb craftsmanship throughout the book: "Sickroom its voice larger than mine: autumn fly." This is a haiku that's highly condensed; and it is more than a mere image or picture. The first line is clearly the setting; the second line implies the possibility of greatness, but there is irony in it when you read the third line as it caps the haiku with surprise. Also at work in Richmond's Firej7ies is a delicacy rendered in the impermanence of things. It is the conjoining of these sensibilities that gives haiku its understated feeling and depth. Wisely, Richmond includes a preface that gives a detailed interpretation of the subtlety or sabi in haiku. The two-page "Van Gogh Sequence" shows definite artistry. It evokes the sharp images of Van Gogh's crows: Someone is there; pretty soon the black crows will make a black sky. The novelty of this haiku is its contrast of the black crows and the sky, though it seems a futuristic haiku by its last line. This particular haiku would be strengthened if "pretty soon," and..will" were deleted. Also, a change from "make" to "making" would create a more haunting image. Despite this criticism, Lee Richmond deserves praise for the purity of his vision and the richness of content in Fireflies. -- From