Haikus Une Mémoire

Jeffrey Tao was born in Shanghai, grew up in Hong Kong, and took a degree in Russian Studies at Sussex University, England. He subse-quently had a career as conference interpreter at the United Nations in New York and has written travelogues chronicling his impressions of international destinations. In his literary work he has written many haikus on a wide variety of subjects: nature, travel, the seasons, and animals. He favors the tradi-tional Japanese haiku format of three lines and seventeen syllables because it imposes a structure and a discipline, fostering brevity and precision. The economy of words also lends itself to striking and viv-id imagery. Another focus of his work is translating classical Chinese poetry from the Tang and Song dynasties, enabling this rich cultural heritage to reach a wider audience. Jeffrey’s work has been published in magazines such as Adelaide, Belle Ombre, and Washington Square Review.