Book Review: “Sticks & Bones” offers meditative haiku and senryu

By Shelley A. Leedahl

Victoria poet Allison Douglas-Tourner captures the natural world and human experience in her new collection, Sticks & Bones: Haiku and Senryu (Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing).

Haiku and senryu are traditional Japanese three-line poems, usually 17 syllables in a five-seven-five pattern. Haiku often focus on nature and sudden moments of insight, while senryu reflect on human nature with irony or satire. Douglas-Tourner’s collection showcases both forms with clarity and precision.

Set against the landscapes of Vancouver Island, her poems often draw inspiration from beaches, woods, and meadows. Ravens—“busy gatherers of sticks and bones”—feature on the cover, hinting at the contemplative tone inside. Each untitled poem is presented on its own page, surrounded by white space that invites readers to linger and reflect.

Highlights include delicate imagery and inventive metaphor:

the gentle touch
of sunlight on stone
a tiny pair of shoes

and

last leaf to fall …
a threadbare
handkerchief

Douglas-Tourner’s skill in personification and sensory detail is evident throughout, whether it’s a moth “[holding] the storm at bay,” a tree “scratches/at the shutters,” or the “mildew scent/of mice.” Her poems balance simplicity with emotional depth, offering readers small but memorable moments of insight.

Many of the poems have appeared in international journals and blogs, yet together they form a cohesive collection that “gives the imagination room to breathe.” Sticks & Bones is a quiet, thoughtful book that rewards repeated reading.

Available at local bookstores or online at www.skbooks.com.