(Natalie Goldberg | Photos courtesy of Sarah Cyr)
Natalie Goldberg will read from her latest book Three Simple Lines: A Writer’s Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku in a virtual event on Tuesday, February 2, 2021. The reading will be hosted by Dudley’s Bookshop Cafe and local writer Sarah Cyr.
“This is a book about haiku as a practice, as a Way in the world,” Goldberg writes, “encouraging waking up to the most ordinary moments of human life — an insect on your chair, the hands of a clock, the splash of a frog. Haiku is the poetry of poetry, before you form ideas and hopes and dreams.”
In repeated trips to Japan from her home in the American Southwest, Goldberg takes us to the beginnings of this great endeavor — highlighting the history of the form that dates back to the 17th century. She shows why masters such as Basho and Issa are so revered, discovers Chiyo-ni (an important woman haiku master), provides insight into writing and reading haiku and beautifully describes her travels to the homes of the haiku masters.
Filled with the best haiku translations, Three Simple Lines is also sprinkled with stories of Goldberg’s travels and dedication to Zen teachers she has encountered, always with a nod to her original Zen master, Katagiri Roshi.
As a fellow seeker, Goldberg revels in everything she encounters, including food and family, painting and fashion, frogs and ponds. She also experiences and allows readers to share in the small, spontaneous moments of awakening that haiku promises.
Haiku is a secret love of many. Three Simple Lines is a soothing balm and a surprise for people you’d never think had the inclination. Reading and writing haiku in this hard time is both a solace and redemption from our pain and suffering.
Natalie Goldberg is the author of 15 books, including classic bestseller Writing Down the Bones, which has changed the way writing is taught in the United States. She has also written the beloved memoir Long Quiet Highway; the novel Banana Rose; Living Color, about her painting; and her legacy book, The True Secret of Writing. She has taught writing as a practice for the past 45 years nationally and internationally. She lives in northern New Mexico. For more information, please visit NatalieGoldberg.com.
The virtual reading is free and will take place at 6pm on Tuesday, February 2, 2021. Goldberg will read passages from Three Simple Lines and answer questions from the audience. RSVP at sarahcyr.com/workshops to receive the Zoom link for the event.
Order the book online from Dudley’s here.
Three Simple Lines: A Writer’s Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku
By Natalie Goldberg ** Category: Poetry / Writing ** Pub Date: January 5, 2021
Price: $22.95 ** Format: Hardcover ** Pages: 176 ** ISBN: 978-1-60868-697-1
Published by New World Library ** Distributed by Publishers Group West
NatalieGoldberg.com • sarahcyr.com • bookshop.org