Monthly Archives: April 2012

realms

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“Bashō’s haiku speak only of what was around him [emphasis in original]. That is, his subject was either an emotion he felt subjectively or else natural scenes and human affairs that he observed objectively. This is of course admirable, but the fact that he discarded scenes which arise from imagination and are outside observation, as well as human affairs he had not experienced, shows that Bashō’s realm was rather small.”

—Shiki

/ Masaoka Shiki: his life and works

by Janine Beichman (40)

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bones

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“The bones of haikai are plainness and oddness.”

—Bashō

/ The essential haiku: versions of Bashō, Buson, and Issa edited by Robert Hass (238)

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The Touchstone Awards for Individual Poems 2011

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On National Haiku Poetry Day (April 17th; 17 syllables, get it?), The Haiku Foundation announced the winners for their Touchstone Awards for Individual Poems in 2011, as well as for their Touchstone Distinguished Book Awards for 2011, and also the winners of their 2012 HaikuNow! contest.

Lots going down.

No winners from R’r were selected for the Touchstone Awards for Individual Poems this year, but two ku that appeared in R’r in 2011 made their Shortlist. One was the following by Chris Gordon, from R’r 11.1:

And one of my own, also from R’r 11.1:

These were two, from the 30, i submitted for the contest (having been invited by THF, as editor of R’r, to submit 10 from each issue we published in 2011). Hope to share all of those sometime soon.

Two ku that i’ve shared on this blog as favorites of mine from other journals in 2011 got top honors however (out of 6 total):

gunshot
every pine needle
pointing at something

Gregory Hopkins

/ The Heron’s Nest (Volume 13:2, June 2011)

&

back from the war   
all his doors
swollen shut

Bill Pauly

/ Modern Haiku (42.1)

Also, as an individual, i was able to submit two of my favorites from other journals for the contest.

One of the two i submitted was Bill Pauly’s ku above.

i like this one so much because it can be read in different ways, and those readings (from the hyper-literal to the symbolic/metaphorical), for me, can be held in the mind simultaneously, and have, i feel, great depth, and far-reaching implications about the human psyche, war, society/culture, Nature, and the world. The words chosen are perfect—nothing’s wasted—and the line breaks are steel-solid. All around, a great and highly memorable poem.

The other of the two i submitted was Lee Gurga’s

the scent of paradise a dead bird in my hand

from Modern Haiku 42.2.

Here the abstract and the concrete are oddly and jarringly grafted on to one another to create a world i never encountered before, yet somehow feel i should’ve (or, actually, that i have, but didn’t realize it until reading Lee’s poem). The balance of release and lifelessness, sadness/aloneness and magnificence, invisibility and concreteness (yet invitation: what kind of bird? what colors?, etc.), the implication of death equaling life/new life, and vice versa, and the intense intimacy and physicality of the bird in hand (flight ceased, flight caught, flight realized and felt)—it is all so mesmerizing. Here the taxonomical naming of the bird would only impede and ruin the entire poem, like it does so often in English-language haiku. The one line construction is perfect and heightens the reading experience.

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In the weeks ahead here, Paul Pfleuger, Jr. will be sharing his favorites that appeared in R’r in 2011 with some commentary and lingering questions; & i’ll continue to throw up more of my favs from other journals in 2011. And amongst all of that, the new issue of R’r (12.1) will be completed and unveiled.

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Contribute!: The Haiku Foundation Video Archive

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The Haiku Foundation (THF) has an interesting, exciting & important new project/campaign on IndieGoGo that could greatly use your help: The Haiku Foundation Video Archive. Be sure to check out the video that introduces the project.

Some words on the project from THF:

“[Help] contribute to the first collection of in-depth interviews documenting the development of 20th century English-language haiku. Poets, translators, and scholars, who have been largely ignored by the literary community, will share their work and discuss their ideas. The resulting video and audio recordings will be available FREE of charge on the The Haiku Foundation website, providing easy access to poets, teachers, critics, researchers, & readers.

Haiku poet Eve Luckring, an accomplished photographer and video artist, will collaborate with The Haiku Foundation’s founder and president, Jim Kacian, on a series of interviews. They will record in-person interviews using professional audio and video equipment. Within one year, with your help, The Video Archive will launch its website at The Haiku Foundation. THF is a not for profit organization staffed entirely by volunteers. A handful of generous people have funded our project so far; we need your help to realize The Video Archive.”

So, head over to the IndieGoGo site and throw some money their way. They’re looking to raise $6,000 by the end of June.

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Carving Darkness: The Red Moon Anthology 2011

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A copy of Carving Darkness: The Red Moon Anthology of English-language Haiku 2011 (Red Moon Press, 2012) was received the other day.

One ku that appeared in R’r in 2011 was voted in:

This year’s editorial board consisted of: Roberta Beary, Ernest J. Berry, Randy M. Brooks, Dee Evetts, Leroy Gorman, Maureen Gorman, Matthew Paul, Kohjin Sakamoto, John Stevenson & Max Verhart.

Jim Kacian is the editor-in-chief.

“So it goes.”

—Kurt Vonnegut

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