Opalization

Opalization by John Sandbach is a book of 350 lush and provocative haiku.

Opalization is my third book of haiku. During the writing of it, I read a number of theories of modernist Japanese haiku poets, such as Tohta Kaneko’s idea of empowering haiku through taking what he calls a “raw” approach, meaning writing in a highly direct way that can sometimes be shocking. Another haiku poet has suggested writing as if you were a child, and not being afraid of awkwardness in the language, which can bring to haiku a fresh and striking feel.