ABSTRACT
In the world of literature, the poem is the ultimate form of condensed meaning-making. During our stay in Japan, Gergen Mary had also come to love the way in which Japanese haiku poems could illuminate moments in time, at once freezing them and deepening our understanding and appreciation. Further, in the space of seventeen syllables, this momentary glimpse could also carry profundity. Gergen Mary also liked the way the haiku challenged the more Cartesian orientation to order and organization. Rather than trying to place all one's observations and insights into an overarching theory, the haiku invited a many-faceted multiplicity. First, Mary share a recounting of a fiftieth class reunion, filled with various moments of remembrance and contemplation. This is followed by a haiku account of a social constructionist conference in Cancun, Mexico.
