Five Seven Five by Barton Johnson

A “Western-born author with Eastern sensibilities,” Barton Johnson delivers a one-a-day collection of intimate haikus with Five Seven Five. Drawing less on natural imagery and more on deep, personal introspection, these 17-syllable offerings are stark and powerful, each one polished and tightly edited for maximum effect.

Just as months and seasons have their own personalities, Johnson has grouped these haikus under loose themes – “January” questions independence and personal disappointment, “February” focuses on the trials and triumphs of family, “March” is a series of prayers and reflections on divinity, and so on throughout the year. Whether readers consume this collection en masse, or slowly savor it over the course of a year, there will be some continuity in the experience, despite the bite-sized nature of this poetic form.

While most of the haikus boast dextrous turns and perfectly chosen words, there are some that feel awkwardly rhymed, or plucked from the middle of another longer thought. Writing 365 haikus is no easy task, so some are stronger than others, but the weak ones are few and far between. Johnson has clearly mastered this ancient form, diverging from traditional haiku themes for a much more intimate and exploratory work of short-form poetry. From musings on mortality to brief elegies for his own heartbreak, Five Seven Five is a unique and meticulously crafted collection.

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