NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW ON-LINE

Raw NerVZ, edited by Dorothy Howard gives, in its 52 pages, a good cross-section of the contemporary US/Canadian haiku and related genre scene, with a leavening of overseas poets as well. Many of the contributors are from the top echelon of haijin: Fay Aoyagi, John Barlow, Randy M. Brooks, Carlos Colon, Michael Dylan Welch and Ernest J. Berry, and dozens of others of similar repute. What makes a journal like this different from and more interesting than your average attempt to pick the best of the crop is the inclusion of lesser-known names. This introduces to a wider readership the work of emerging poets and gives it a wider circulation.

It is pleasing then to discover poems by poets I for one haven't read before that displays the kind of vigour and freshness with which haiku needs to be injected from time to time. Among the pleasures to be found in these pages are visual haiku, haiku, senryu, tanka, haibun, verse sequences, collaborative poems, graphics, letters and short reviews. In fact there is something for everyone, no matter what his or her taste.

The issue under review opens with a tribute to the memory of Ruby Spriggs:

	snowflakes I see the wind.

Liked so much your back cover. I've been there at that hour!

An often engaging assemblage of poetry and prose runs the gamut of subject matter. William M. Ramsay has eggs hatching, Ed Bennett sea change, Liz fenn flowers and birds, and a nor'easter from Brynne McAdoo. Imagery and talent abound.

To end with what perhaps should have begun — a brief disclaimer. As a relative newcomer to reviewing, I might have been tempted to flatter for fear of offending my friends, peers, or other editors. Fortunately, in the case of RAW NerVZ, my temptations and subjectivity coincide. Qualitatively and quantatively, this publication fares well in comparison with others of its genre and offers some new names without being short of established poets. Nice to read this from cover to cover as the structure gives a good mix of forms rather than delivering them in clumps. Worthwhile taking out a subscription (if you don't already have one), if only for the haiku — some pretty enticing stuff here. Marlene Mountain's haiku sums it up for me:

Raw NerVZ is still out there and it is still the most daring of any of the journals or magazines that publish haiku and related material. The former refers to so-called traditional as well as free-form haiku in whatever number of syllables that works, and in whatever number of lines that work. The related material includes tanka, sedoka, renga, etc. as well as concrete and/or visual minimalist poetry.

This particular issue, like those before, is highlighted with graphics. There are mini-reviews, announcements, real letters to the editor, and you get a free bookmark too. However, what is important is the writing, do here are a few examples:

The alphabetical index to this 52 page Canadian magazine lists over 160 contributors (many having made multiple submissions). As well as illustrating great value for money, this also reflects the attention to detail of a labour of love. Thank you, Dorothy Howard & Co. RAW NERVZ is not simply a vehicle for endless haiku, renga, haibun, or related forms. The editorial values are very open-minded, welcoming some distinctive graphical and prose contributions, alongside word art and concrete poetry. There is a convincing blend of the organized and the unpredictable: while one never knows what is coming next, each page is carefully considered and set out with a keen sense of equilibrium. Few conventional haiku are allowed. The form transmutes, from page to page, allowing the reassurance of, for example, Hans Jongman:

	Indian summer
	calling out into the mist
	ducks swim into view.

	three crosses
	overlook the highway
	three crows.

	variegated
	strands of colored yarn
	autumn hills.

	insectarium of haiku writers
	incestuous world of haiku writers
	ephemera?

	THAT NIGHT
	I FELT ABOUT
	THIS (big).

	a rabbit's scut disappears into the gorse
	gullies on the bare hillsides sprinkled with seedling pines.
	elevated against smoke-grey clouds the fire-siren
	early summer — green polythene fades on the hay bales.

Not surprisingly, RAW NERVZ succeeds in setting the quality bar appropriately high.

This is an altogether attractive, intelligent and pleasing little literary magazine, published in Canada, which focuses on, but is not limited to, English-language poetry in Japanese verse-forms. Its fifty-two pages feature the work of over 100 authors and a dozen artists, and each copy of the magazine is individually numbered by hand. Throughout, it is a thought-provoking and very deliberate read, demanding attention and reflection. The dominant style is certainly avant-garde and experimental, and the emphasis is on showcasing the strengths of the individual voices featured. The brief prose works included, while less accomplished than the poetry, are nevertheless bold and inventive. Likewise the books advertised and reviewed look appealing.

But clearly the magazine's key strength is in the character and charm of the often tiny poems it includes. For example, this piece by Tom Clausen:

	the light finally gone
	from the window
	and with it the thoughts
	of you and me
	and too much foolishness

	All Souls Day
	afraid to mourn
	her unborn child

	smell of pine
	among pruned boughs
	the wind drops

	Waking up —
	the dream goes on
	Without me.