Bob Lucky

Random Praise: Bill Gottlieb's "Win-Loss"

In the last issue of CHO, Featured Writer Jim Kacian wrote of the kind of writing he feels is worth reading. "Everyone has a life," he tells us, "but few can create one in words. That's what I want to read."

I suspect not many of us are that kind of writer. We want to write such haibun, but often we merely recount and reflect. In our defense, the haibun form is relatively short and there's not a lot of room to develop lives, which is why every word counts. Moreover, the often autobiographical nature of haibun means we're re-creating our own lives. Perspective can be tough to manage.

With that thought in mind, I'm singling out Bill Gottlieb's "Win-Loss" for random praise. It's a poignant haibun, and if you read Lynne Rees's essay in this issue, you'll learn how Gottlieb accomplished this.