Caroline Adderson
July 30th, 2025
A Pond, A Poet, and Three Pests (Groundwood Books $21.99) is a retelling inspired by the renowned Bashō’s haiku. Before his splash echoes through literary history, a cast of self-important characters—a mosquito, a lily and a carp—compete for the poet’s attention. Their craving for recognition leads only to disappointment, while the frog, uninterested in fame, simply jumps. Adderson’s playful fable offers a meditation on art, ego and the accidental nature of inspiration. Illustrated by Lauren Tamaki, the book features expressive ink drawings that blend classical and contemporary tones. End notes provide background on Bashō and the haiku tradition. Caroline Adderson settled in Vancouver, where she trained as a teacher and taught ESL for a decade before publishing her first collection, Bad Imaginings (Biblioasis, 1993). Since then, her work has been translated into multiple languages and recognized by awards including the Marian Engel Award and a National Magazine Award for Fiction. 9781773068930
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