Winner of our 2019 International Women’s Haiku Contest
Honorable Mention in the Haiku Society of America’s Merit Book Awards for 2021
ISBN 978-1-7333671-2-7
Paperback, $12
Kindle eBook, $4.99
Available in paperback and ebook format.
The Language of Loss contains tanka and haiku of exceptional quality. But it is the remarkable way in which the poet links tanka and haiku that elevated The Language of Loss into the winner’s circle. The poems on each page come together in a conversation of many layers. That these conversations will deepen and change for each reader is due to the author’s expertise. I am delighted to congratulate Debbie Strange on her winning collection.
These exquisite poems illuminate the skill of the author in pairing haiku and tanka in conversation, one page at a time. On one page, the long ago past talks to the recent past. On another, the sorrow of the natural world is juxtaposed with that of the human world.
Roberta Beary, final judge
“This is a linguistically very impressive collection. Every single one of the thirty-two pages prompts a keen meditation.”
Colin Blundell, reviewed in Blithe Spirit 31.2 (journal of the British Haiku Society), May 2021
“The poems in The Language of Loss were previously published and several have received awards. Remarkably, the conversations flow effortlessly and seamlessly, as if they were written just for this collection. Here’s an achievement that both haiku and tanka lovers will doubtless appreciate.”
Joanne Morcom, reviewed in GUSTS 33 (journal of Tanka Canada), Spring/Summer 2021
“When it won the 2019 International Women’s Haiku Contest, a great deal was made of the conversational presentation of the haiku and tanka in Strange’s collection. A modified renku of the writer with herself. Arranging it as she has bespeaks a solidity and a flow which give the works authority.”
Sandra Stephenson, reviewed in the Haiku Canada Review 15.1 (journal of Haiku Canada), February 2021