O:JA&L Mixed Forms: Haibun
Roberta Beary
Threading Cobwebs on the Upper West Side
Click HERE to explore or download Roberta Beary’s new title THE HEART OF HAIBUN
in the O:JA&L Masters Series from Buttonhook Press.
I lift my arms and float over rooftops. Gerry Keating pulls me down into his camp tent. I know he’ll marry Carol from Catholic school and die before 50 from lung cancer. But I don’t care. Sparks from his Marlboro seep into me. He wants to do it right there and I let him. Our smoky afterglow drips sex. The doctor says look you can either put up with the hallucinations. Or take care of those cataracts. When the bandages come off my eyes climb the rooftops. Up down and sideways. Gerry Keating has folded up his tent. Gone back to his grave at Queens Calvary. The doctor says look it went as well as can be expected. At your age.
crushed spider
in my open palm
the future tense
About the writer:
Roberta Beary is an award-winning American poet, editor, and retired finance attorney. Beary began intensive haiku studies while residing in Tokyo during the 1990s. Since 2012, Beary has served as the haibun editor for the literary journal Modern Haiku. Beary’s acclaimed poetry collections include The Unworn Necklace, a finalist for the Poetry Society of America’s William Carlos Williams Book Award, and Deflection. Additional published works encompass the 2024 collection Carousel and the 2025 book Crazy Bitches. Beary also co-authored Haibun: A Writer’s Guide. Annually dividing time between the United States and Ireland, Beary frequently serves as an international poetry contest judge.
Image: Seated Couple by Egon Schiele (1890-1918). Pencil and tempera on paper. 20.4 x 16.1 inches. 1915. Public domain.
OJAL Art Incorporated, publishing since 2017 as OPEN: Journal of Arts & Letters (O:JA&L) and its imprints Buttonhook Press, HOT BUTTON PRESS Contemporary Issues, and HIGH BUTTON PRESS Contemporary Art, supports writers and artists worldwide.
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series (from OPEN: Journal of Arts & Letters and its Buttonhook Press imprint) gathers acclaimed writers for concise, downloadable chapbooks that pair fresh work with candid reflections on craft. Each installment—often framed by an interview with an associate editor—opens a window onto how masters of poetry, prose poetry, flash fiction, and related hybrid forms build voice, compression, and surprise. Designed as a reader’s invitation and a writer’s toolbox, the series celebrates literary art that moves fast, cuts deep, and lingers long after the last line.
Click on the titles below to explore or download the free PDF chapbooks.
Prose Poetry and Flash Discourse
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Brian Clements on Prose Poetry
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Mark Budman on Flash Discourse
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Ray Gonzalez on Prose Poetry
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Master Series: Michael Martone on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Master Series: Roberta Allen on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Master Series: Peter Conners on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Maxine Chernoff on Prose Poetry
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Pedro Ponce on Flash Fiction
With an Interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Kent Dixon on Flash Fiction & Nonfiction
With an interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
MIixed Forms: Haibun, Haiga, & Tanka Prose
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Roberta Beary on Haibun
With an interview by Associate Editor Pamelyn Casto
Experimental Discourse
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Jim Meirose on Experimental Discourse (XP)
With an interview by Associate Editor Warwick Newnham
Poetry: All forms & styles
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Poetry from Bruce McRae
With an Interview by Associate Editor Jeff Streeby
The Buttonhook Press Masters Series: Poetry from Richard Widerkehr
With an Interview by Associate Editor Jeff Streeby
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