Rather than debate the issues of haiku or senryu, seasonal references and syllable counts, I will follow Cyril Childs's lead (if not his treatment of the apostrophe) and use haiku as a generic term during the course of this review. His definition - 'keenly perceived moments in time' - is as effective as any. No one could illustrate the idea better than William Lucas with:

                   A moth?
                   a leaf . . .
                   a moth!

Like its predecessor, the anthology exhibits two things very clearly: a strong body of work by New Zealanders and their impressive participation in an international culture of haiku in English.

It is the second point that raises some intriguing challenges. Now that the hash of 5-7-5,purists seems thoroughly settled (with benefits serenely demonstrated here by Ruth Dallas's new crop of haiku), the dominant voice of Haiku Society of America orthodoxy, with its over-elaborate scene setting, has to be resisted. The influence of weird distortions of English that often occur in translations from the Japanese is an equivalent danger.

Instead of just avoiding pitfalls, though, the most accomplished New Zealand practitioners invent ways of their own to respond to the indpiration of Japanese models while writing vibrant and original English-language poems. Observe, for instance, the multiple resonances of the first word (first line) of p n w donnelly's

gravity
pulling down the corners
of my mouth

This is not mere word-play for its own sake, a practice discouraged by classical haiku masters.

Several contributors appear to have found themselves truly as poets through haiku. Alan Wells - a dedicated experimenter elsewhere with language, visual forms and sound - communicates a clear authority and energy in his haiku. Jeanette Stace has established a firm. consistent body of work with a characteristic urban viewpoint. Although not represented at his best by these examples, Barry Morrall is another writer in this category.

John O'Connor is one New Zealander who has devoted years of thought and practice to the field of haiku, parallel with and feeding into a wider poetic career. He is outstanding for his economy and constructive ambition. His exceptional poem

                   garage sale –
                   in the dressing-table mirror
                   a stranger's face

combines the traditional sabi of Basho with a compressed narrative reminiscent of American "dirty realists" like Raymond Carver.

However. it is unfair to single out names in an anthology that focuses readers' attention far more on the poems themselves than on reputations. From known and unknown hands there are a host of powerful and piquant moments throughout this attract-ively produced compilation. Here is democratic and accessible poetry that makes no attempt to condescend to or belittle the wide audience it deserves.

How social the activity of haiku may be in New Zealand's inveterate man-alone literary culture is open to question. The current method of fostering its development through competitions is one I have always regarded with suspicion, though it has long-standing Japanese precedents. The Second New Zealand Haiku Anthology celebrates an achievement of genuine literary distinction and whets an appetite for a third.