by Kelly

My mom is a “clipper.” She clips articles she thinks I will find interesting and gives them to me. Her most recent “clip” found its way into my hands this morning. It’s from the Wall Street Journal.

While reading an except of George W. Bush’s new memoir, she discovered a reference to haiku. Having been a follower of my haiku journey for the past two years, she — of course — clipped the article, highlighted the pertinent section, and gave it to me.

Turns out our former president is an admirer of haiku. He’s not the first politician we’ve encountered who likes the art form. Last year, Alison discovered Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the E. U., keeps a haiku blog. Her post about Van Rompuy was even quoted in a BBC article about his haiku-writing tendencies.

But back to Mr. Bush. We are pleased to know he likes to read the occasional haiku. Now we just have to figure out how to turn him into a regular reader of Haiku By Two!

If you’d like to read the full except that was in the Wall Street Journal, you can find it here: Lessons Learned by a Prodigal Son

Alison Kehler, co-creator of Haiku By Two, was quoted in an article posted on the BBC News web site.

The article, “EU president Herman Van Rompuy and his love of haiku,” was written by Stephen Mulvey and posted on Saturday, March 20, 2010.

In it, Mulvey interviews Herman Van Rompuy, who became president of the European Union in 2009, about his love of haiku.

Alison Kehler learned about Van Rompuy and his haiku blog back last fall. She blogged about the world leader and his haiku-ing ways on her web site, Haiku By Two, in a post titled Euro Union Prez and Haikuer Van Rompuy.

BBC writer Mulvey picked up on her post and pulled from it to complete his recent article. Kehler’s quote appears toward the end. It reads …

“OMG! I love this guy!” writes Alison Kehler at haikubytwo.com.

“I think I have a new criterion for future politicians… the wisdom of haiku… and correct me if that’s not a great quality for leadership!”