“How much climate wisdom, clarity, and emotional impact can you fit into 17 syllables? Plenty, as Maggie Dewane demonstrates in Haiku and Hope, her exploration of the 50 states in a time of great change and uncertainty, a collection as pointed and concise as a haiku itself.”
— Scott Weidensaul, author of A World on the Wing
“The poetry in Haiku and Hope took me back to beloved places and onward to new adventures. Maggie has creatively captured the essence of each state, making me feel I know America more intimately. Equally important is the care she has given to envisioning the country’s future if we do not act on climate nor ensure the way forward is inclusive of Indigenous voices, overburdened and underserved communities, and considerations of our non-human kin. This poetry, and moreover this book, is an accessible entry point to those wishing to learn more about their home, the climate, and their role in shaping our future.”
— Lucy Sherriff, climate journalist
“Maggie Dewane travels to all 50 states and casts her poetic eye on the environment. She offers us a traditional haiku that captures the beauty of nature alongside a ‘changed’ haiku that shows us how climate change is impacting every state. By the end of this collection, I did not feel despair; on the contrary, I felt a deeper connection to, and love for, all these places.”
— Craig Santos Perez, author of Habitat Threshold
“The essential elegance of the haiku form and the curation of its global tradition spans the ages, crosses cultures, and softly sings of our mountains, seas, deserts, and skies. In this very modern collection, the haiku's reverence of the closely-observed, familiar, natural world is reimagined and sharpened by the stark inelegance of human disruption. Dewane's haiku duets direct a glare at America, state-by-beloved-state, reminding us of the fragility of all form, the fragility of all terrestrial elegance, and do not hesitate to insist that we are all part of the great global body of consequence.”
— Becky Byrkit, author of Whoa