The Long and Short of It: Essays and Poems is a new book by psychologist and Presidential Teaching Professor Robert H. Deluty. Published by Gateway Press in July 2003, the book consists of six essays and over 200 poems; many of the latter are senryu, unrhymed three-lined poems that address interpersonal and intrapersonal events.

Arthur Bounds, editor of The Pegasus Review, writes that "The Long and Short of It is a testimony for, and a celebration of, the written word," and Tim Scannell, editor emeritus of Muse of Fire, states that it is "The definitive book on senryu . . . It contains so many perfect examples of this beautiful art form."

The book (as well as Deluty's first collection of poems, Within and Between) is available at the UMBC Bookstore.

Here are some examples of the book's senryu:

wallet-sized photo . . .
his depressed adult daughter
as a smiling child

premier pumpkin pie . . .
each grandmother claiming
it's her recipe

birthday party ends . . .
children, balloon animals
begin unwinding

kindergarten band . . .
tone-deaf child is made
second triangle

face-to-face contest:
grandpa and grandson counting
freckles and wrinkles

doctor's waiting room . . .
three pregnant adolescents
doing their homework

And one of the book's longer poems:

For Elise

In her twenties,
One of the best diamond cutters
In New York City.
A decade later,
Effortlessly able to spot a dime
On a child's bedroom floor
Littered with toys and clothes.
Now, legally blind,
Unable to open a dictionary
And find the meaning of "irony."

Copyright, 2003, by Robert H. Deluty