"A well-respected visual artist, Juliana knows how to evoke images within the limits of the poems' structural constraints and aims for gentle observations, spinning a beautifully consistent collection brimming with pithy gems." Gilbert Bouchard, Edmonton Journal.
"...a rare and commendable little poetry collection...by the Curacao poet Elis Juliana, translated by Helene Garrett." -- George Fetherling, The New Brunswick Reader.
"...a welcome and successful contribution to the perpetually growing 'world carpet of literature'". -- Eva Martha Eckkrammer (University ofSalzburg, Austria), The Eclectic Muse: A Poetry Journal, Vol. 10, Christmas 2004.
"...University of Alberta Press should be commended for its bilingual edition of Haiku in Papiamentu by Curacao-born Elis Juliana, well known for his ethnographic work on local folklore. As doctoral candidate Helene Garrett explains in her translator's introduction, Papiamentu is a Dutch-based creole spoken in the Netherlands Antilles that has been largely depreciated by its speakers. Juliana has published over a dozen collections of poems and short stories in Papiamentu, thus contributing to the recent revival of the islands' vernacular and cultural identity. As he states in his introduction to the volume, by choosing haiku, he hoped at once to acquaint his readers with this Japanese form of poetry and to demonstrate the vitality, richness, and rigour of Papiamentu." - University of Toronto Quarterly, Vol. 74, No. 1, Winter 2004/5
"In this rare translation of Elis Juliana and of the Papiamentu language, Hélène Garrett invites the reader to eavesdrop on 'Antilleanness and Caribbeanness' and to hear the collective voice of a people deeply rooted in the colonization, enslavement and emancipation of its speakers." Betty Ratzlaff-Henriquez, author of the English/Papiamentu Dictionary-Papiamentu/Ingles Dikshonario
"Hélène Garrett's translation of Curaço poet Elis Juliana's Un Mushi di Haiku introduces North American readers to the evocative Creole of the Netherlands Antilles.... It is to be hoped that the interest sparked by Haiku will bring other work by Juliana and fellow Papiamentu writers to greater international prominence alongside their English and French Creole counterparts in Caribbean literature." Robin Visel, Furman University
"Perhaps once obscure in English, Elis Juilana is less so now - thanks to the appearance of Haiku in Papiamentu, translated by Hélène Garrett. This slim book gives us the living Curaço poet's work in his native Creole, plus translation." George Elliot Clarke, The Nova Scotian
"Although I mentioned Elis Juliana's poetry in my last column, I need to return to his Haiku in Papiamentu.... This fine little book demonstrates the force of simple language." George Elliott Clarke, The Nova Scotian
"The poetry of Elis Juliana. blends the instrinsic rhythmic and toal aspects of the Papiamentu language as he depicts the Afro-Caribbean lifestyles of his people." Prairie books NOW, Summer 2004
