Lanana Creek Haiku: Poems & Photographs

By Judith Lauter

In LaNana Creek Haiku, poet and neuroscientist Judith Lauter offers a photographic and poetic account of life along a forest creek that flows through the Deep-East Texas Pineywoods in and around Nacogdoches TX.
The forest is a place of extreme quiet and intensely private moments of slow-moving water and towering pines, of filtered light and flowing, humid Gulf air. We might expect the poetry that grows from such a setting to evoke a sense of peace and serenity and the haiku paired with artful color photographs in this book do just that.
A set of informative end-notes complements the poems and photographs with factual details about the creek and the unique natural areas through which it runs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499081671

Judith Lauter

Judith Lauter (JudithLauter.com) was born in Austin, Texas. When she was nine, her family moved to Michigan where she later met her husband, the poet Ken Lauter, in a poetry-writing seminar at the University of Michigan taught by Donald Hall (US Poet Laureate, 2006-7). Th e couple has subsequently lived in the deserts of Arizona, the mountains of Colorado, the prairies of Missouri and Oklahoma, and now make their home in the pineywoods of Nacogdoches TX. Judith holds a BA in English literature, three master’s degrees (creative writing, library/information science, and linguistics), and a PhD in communication sciences (Washington University in St. Louis). She taught and directed human neuroscience laboratories at major universities for more than three decades, before retiring in 2012 and returning to her fi rst loves, photography and poetry. In addition to scientifi c articles, chapters, and books (including How is Your Brain Like a Zebra? Xlibris, 2008, ZebraBrain.net), she has published poems in journals, and won two Hopwood Awards for poetry (University of Michigan), an Academy of American Poets prize (University of Denver), and the Norma Lowry Memorial Prize (Washington University). Her prize-winning photography has been compared to Eliot Porter’s; reproductions (including selections from this book) are available at FineArtAmerica.com. She has published eight previous books of poetry-and-images with Xlibris, plus a book of photos and poems about Wallace Stevens with the Stephen F. Austin State University Press (see inside for titles).

Book preview

LaNana Creek

Haiku

poems & photographs

Judith Lauter

Copyright © 2014 by Judith Lauter. 618218

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-4990-8165-7

                EBook           978-1-4990-8167-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Photo credits

Cover and all interior photographs by the author; back-cover photo from the author’s collection; the image Trails of Nacogdoches is public domain.

Rev. date: 10/10/2014

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

Dedication

to Ken

who explored Bayou LaNana with me over years of

early-morning walks, until we surprised ourselves

by putting down roots in this particular Nac-o-the-woods

-- and --

to Dr. Francis E. Ab Abernethy and colleagues

for creating a miracle

of access to pineywoods and creeks

that would be remarkable in cities far larger

Song: This Beautiful Town Nacogdoches

[to be sung to the tune of Beautiful Texas,

words & music by W. Lee Pappy O’Daniel,

(c) Shapiro, Bernstein & Co., Inc., 1934]

This beautiful town Nacogdoches,

Where the beautiful pineywoods grow,

We’re proud of our azaleas

And their glorious springtime show.

You can come out and see Millard’s Crossing,

SFA, or LaNana Creek’s flow—

But you’ll still be in beautiful Doches,

The most beautiful town that I know.

—JLL, 2011

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Contents

Preface

Where the Creek Comes From - the spring near Coats Road

Wetlands - bridge at North Loop 224

The Oldest Trail - south of the Loop

Fluid Dynamics - bridge at Austin Street

Visitation on a Foggy Morning - Jimmie Hinds Park

Morning Shift Supervisor- Tucker Woods

Forest Sundial in February- Tucker Woods

Surprise Early Visitor - Mast Arboretum

Mornings in March - Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden

Puddles on Top of the Boardwalk - Gayla Mize Garden

Tonic for Midwinter Rainy-day Blues - SFA Recreational Trails & Gardens

Burrows Creek - SFA Recreational Trails & Gardens

Looking Up - SFA Recreational