
dead center
in the center of her flowers
Georgia O’Keeffe
Ann Atwood
I was cleaning out a portfolio of old drawings the other day when I stumbled upon the ink lettering I did for a past post on Ann Atwood’s haiku “dead center.” Back then, I wound up using the lettering for an overlay in a digital collage (reposted at the end), but with the perspective of time, I’ve decided I really like the simplicity of the original. So I rescued it from potential recycling and was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a “B-side” drawing as well!

At the time of my original post, there was almost no information on Ann Atwood online. Her haiku were listed in numerous anthologies and the poems could be found on the internet, but the poet herself was a mystery. This seems to still be the case, as I found a post (click here) from the Haiku Foundation (featuring my collage – which was another pleasant surprise!) talking about the limited information we do know and calling for anyone with more to get in touch. The post also features many more of Ms. Atwood’s beautiful haiku.

The original digital collage for “dead center.”
I am a fan of mystery, as well. And as an O’Keefe fan, I love the haiku.
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It’s still one of my favorite ekphrastic poems!
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A great save! Love that your curiosity continues to lead people to her poetry, in a way we might imagine would please a woman of mystery…
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Thank you, Sunshine! I do hope so…
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This is interesting. We are used to being able to find out everything about everything these days. I enjoy the thought that the poet is a mystery and revealed only in her works.
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I agree – and perhaps that is the way she wanted it to be – her work absolutely does stand on its own.
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