Old Pond comics about famous haiku writers.
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Monthly Archives: December 2009
Did you know?… Shiki
On how to sing
the frog school and the skylark school
are arguing.
Shiki
This is a beautiful haiku in itself, although it does gain added point from the fact that its author Shiki had founded what was sometimes called the “Cuckoo school”.
Therefore this poem also refers to the differences between Basho’s school and Shiki’s school.
Reference: An introduction to haiku: an anthology of poems and poets from Basho to Shiki, by Harold G. Henderson
13th Mainichi Haiku Contests – International Section
Results from the 13th Mainichi Haiku Contests – International Section
First prize:
Alfresco
The sommelier decants
A red sunset
Scott Mason
Among the Honorable mentions, my favorites are:
tornado—
only a table left
still set for tea
William Cullen Jr. (U. S. A.)
first snow—
the mailman’s bike
with new tires
Damien Gabriels (France)
Did you know…?
Fallen petals rise
back to the branch – I watch:
oh… butterflies!
— Moritake
The famous haiku by Moritake (who was a Shinto priest of high rank) was inspired by a line of scripture: “Can a fallen blossom return to its branch?”.
Source: An introduction to haiku: an anthology of poems and poets from Basho to Shiki, by Harold G. Henderson
Everyday haiku
rush hour
her flip flops
fall off
— Anne Dunnett
I discovered Anne’s beautiful haiku cards at the Vancouver Public Library bookstore. As soon as I entered the store, her cards with attractive colors, simple design and three lines of text immediately caught my eye: haiku cards!
watermelon seeds
the last day of smmer
left behind
– Anne Dunnett
These are some of the best haiku I’ve read in a long time. Disarmingly simple and effective.
Read more and see Anne’s cards on her site Everyday Haiku. She lives in North Vancouver.
Old Pond – Kaeru gets a job (Part 2)
Old Pond – Kaeru gets a job (Part 1)
Sparrow
Haiku wars, novel by David G. Lanoue
Haiku Guy, by David G. Lanoue.
During a haiku conference in New Orleans, a manuscript disappears. As the author Mr. Kusuban threatens to leave the conference, the organizer known as “Poet” and his pet ferret set on to discover the culprit and recover the manuscript during the conference. The ferret has the ability to slip in the Old Japan in his dreams and there, he gets help from famous haiku masters Buck-Teeth (Issa) and buddha himself.
As the plot evolves, we dive into an existing feud between rejected writers and a dictatorial publisher, and a war between haiku clans in Japan, the traditionalists vs the modern haiku writers, who attend the conference but don’t speak to each other.
* * *
For writers not used to reading modern haiku, the haiku recited by Mr. Kusuban at the conference in the novel can cause quite a shock (or a chuckle) as “tower of cellos…” is used as a modern kigo.
The novel features haiku of the highest quality recited by the narrator Poet and other conference attendees. (The true names of the attendees were changed but members of the tightly-knit haiku community will easily identify the real haiku writers behind each characters despite the pseudonym given to them by the author).
This haiku novel does a great job in capturing the atmosphere and activities of a haiku conference (haiku readings, haiku walk, dinner parties). If you’ve never been to a haiku conference, this will give you a good idea of what they are like, and if you’ve attended one before, you’ll feel nostalgic. I especially enjoyed the chapter taking place during a Haiku Death Match (a kind of haiku slam), as I have never attended one of these before and always wondered about how it works. The novel explains it quite well.
Haiku Wars is a fabulous haiku novel by David G. Lanoue. Also recommended: Haiku Guy, by David G. Lanoue.
Old Pond – Look
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