One Breath

One Breath seems to be a revealing of "the secrets we keep between paper sheets"; a series of empty spaces and restless nights where poetry and music provide the kind of hope that is hard to let go. You'll find a quietude and gentleness in this collection. And a reminder to take, along with the poet, "one breath, then another".

Julie Warther, author of What Was Here, Associate Editor of The Heron's Nest.

Ben Gaa has the amazing ability to find the poetry in every possible moment no matter how small or trivial. After reading his work it is impossible not to see the simple beauty in the world around us and poetic potential in all the things we tend to overlook every day. This collection of poems spans the depth and scope of his poetic ability and gives us everything we need to be inspired by the world around us.

Bryan Rickert, author of Fish Kite, Editor of The Living Senryu Anthology

Having delighted us with the award-winning Wishbones, Ben Gaa continues to deliver exquisitely crafted haiku and senryu in One Breath. Gaa is a modern Midwestern flâneur, who is as likely to find an epiphany while drinking coffee or beer as while observing a sunset or a snowflake. Like the Japanese masters, he values the suchness of each experience, and merges humour and karumi with deep reflections on love and life which are wise but never didactic. His alert engagement of all five senses, combined with his expert writing and editing skills, results in work which is evocative, moving and inspirational.

Maeve O'Sullivan, haijin and poet (New & Selected Haiku forthcoming from Alba Publishing).