Dear
Haijin, visitors and travelers,
It's a
while ago that I published an episode of my column "Suikazura No
Retsu", but finally I have found some time to write a new column.
As I look
back to the first quarter of this year than we have had wonderful posts with a
lot of gorgeous haiku and tanka. And of course haiga. Haiga, giving your haiku
an image, was the main theme in March 2015 and I have seen wonderful haiga. I
think haiga has to become more known, because it's making our haiku better and
more open for the reader, because of the image that fits the haiku, but haiga
also has a "negative" taste ... why?
Haiku is
the impression of a very short moment, as short as the sound of a pebble thrown
into water. To catch that moment is the goal of every haiku poet/ess. You want
to share your experience with your reader, but your reader has to feel how
he/she (the reader) experienced the moment caught in the haiku.
Haiku isn't
just written by a haiku poet/ess, but to share an individual experience of the
reader too. The reader must have the idea that he/she experiences what he/she
reads, sees, feels, smells and so on in the written haiku. It makes the reader
part of the haiku and in a way part of the haiku poet/ess.
As the
haiku poet/ess shares his/her experience in a haiga than the reader is pointed
to an image, a scene which he/she maybe don't want to experience.
Then there
was the daring series of Haiku Writing Techniques in which I tried to give you
all more 'handles' to write/compose your haiku. I even had the guts to create
an all new haiku writing technique based on balance through association,
baransu, not an easy technique, but it can make your haiku better and stronger.
In a baransu
haiku the association on images is very important and that makes it (maybe)
difficult. I enjoyed the baransu technique a lot and I think it has brought me
a wonderful tool to write/compose haiku. I will give an example:
"cry of a seagull" is the first line for this baransu
haiku example. Let me look on which images I can associate on: 'cry' will do
and 'seagull'. I think I will use 'seagull' ... what associations I got on
seagull? Hm ... beach, shore, ocean, sea, garbage, fishing, white, grey ... a
lot of associations. Which will I am gonna use? I think I will go for 'garbage'
and turn that into "dumping ground". Than this will become the second
line: "above the dumping ground
next door".
Than up to
the third line. Which images I can use from that new line to associate on:
'above', 'dumping', 'ground', 'next' and 'door'. Mostly every image I can use
from this 2nd line, this will not be easy. The third line has to fit the other
two lines or maybe not. I think I will use 'next door' to give this haiku a
twist ... Let me think? Hm ... I think this line will do "the neighbors quarrel” ... yes a nice line. How will this
haiku, made with the baransu technique, look as I bring the three lines
together.
cry of a seagull
above the dumping ground next door
the neighbors quarrel
©
Chèvrefeuilleabove the dumping ground next door
the neighbors quarrel
And then we
had our first CDHK Kukai "wisteria" which is now in its judging phase
... I am looking forward to the results of our first Kukai and I have planned
already a new Kukai which I will announce after the announcement of our winner
of the first Kukai. So you have to be patient.
For closure
... April is half way and is running to its end. This month it's all about
'peace of mind' and we had a new co-host, Hamish Managua Gunn. Next month we
will go 'on the trail with Basho' and through his haiku (and haibun) we will
discover the beauty of ancient Japan and maybe we will learn from the master
himself ... you never know ...
Namaste,
Chèvrefeuille, your host
