If you followed my adventures in writing EIGHTY DAYS TO ELSEWHERE, you'll know how much I love a good train ride. In her race around the world, Romy hopped trains that took her under the English Channel, across India and through the chill of a Canadian prairie springtime, among many others. Like Romy, I have taken-- and loved-- trains all around the world.
I am not alone.
Today, my friend, the wonderful poet and children's author Jacquie Pearce, is releasing LAST TRAIN HOME, a passion project she's been working on for many years. Unlike most of her other published work, this one is not aimed solely at children. It is, in fact, an anthology of train haiku, containing nearly SIX hundred poems from 193 of the best contemporary writers of English-language haiku and tanka, and reflecting the railroad realities of twenty-two countries. Amazing!
To celebrate the launch of LAST TRAIN HOME, Jacquie is doing a virtual train tour. You can follow along on her blog, HERE, as she posts links to train-centric blog posts across the internet and around the world.
Isn't this a GORGEOUS cover?
For those of you who read my newsletter, in April we're going to fire three questions at Jacquie, and give away copies of her book. But for now, here's a couple of shots taken from Romy's Instagram pages, as she travelled across India in EIGHTY DAYS TO ELSEWHERE. The accompanying haiku are just a sample of what you'll find inside the pages of LAST TRAIN HOME.
coastal railways
I carry my mother’s kiss
back to my university
Pravat Kumar Padhy
local train . . .
a woman breastfeeds her child
covered by the sari
Kala Ramesh
evening star
a child echoes every call
of the train vendors
Ramesh Anand
Do you have a train lover in your life? This book would make the perfect gift!
Interested in reading my interview with Jacquie Pearce? Scroll down and sign up for my newsletter, below.
More soon...
~kc