Re: SHIKI Can't Wait 'ku
Jane Reichhold (jreichol@mcn.org)
Mon, 27 May 1996 10:37:30 -0700 (PDT)
>
>>>
>>>circus is coming
>>>excuse for mature adults
>>>to "ooooh" and "aaaah"
>>>
>>>
>>>Hazel
>>>
>>juggler
>>the children's eyes
>>in his hands jane
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
>Jane--
>
>I'm fascinated by your original. It is in one sense strange--imagine the
>juggler literally juggling their eyes! And yet fascinating.
>
>But this, to me, is quite appropriate. After all, isn't this the general
>ambiance of the circus itself?
>
>
>juggler
>the crowd admiring
>his balls
>
>A variation, although not necessarily an improvement. What do you think?
>Too risque, perhaps? Perhaps the word admiring could be changed to
>something more descriptive, less telling.
>
>In any case, enjoyed your haiku very much,
>
>Susan
>
>Dear Susan,
Can you hear me laughing? Yet? Hours later? Golly what a great ku!
You know, this is where haiku was when Basho came along. It was funny, full
of word puns and some of them very risque (if one wanted to read it that
way). I congratulate you on reviving the tradition beautifully.
I can be that some persons will not approve of letting haiku be in
this form and that is alright. We each have our own idea of what the form
should be just as each of us has our own idea of what religion should be for
us.
One of the dangers with haiku is, as Shiki pointed out in his time
(turn of the century) that by its short form, the many haiku written, and
the limited allowed vocabulary, that no one will be able to write a truly
"new" haiku. Fortunately, Shiki's prediction never came true. Part of the
reason for this is the permission given to allow a wide latitude in subject,
tone, and atmosphere. When reading contemporary Japanese haiku, I note that
these authors allow themselves certain liberties that we English writers,
when criticing each other's work will not allow.
My current focus is to let in all kinds of haiku (funny, serious,
profound, sad) on any subject and to use grammatical combinations that are
unusual in "good" haiku. Reading the many haiku posted on Shiki has opened
me up to new thoughts and haiku. Three years ago I thought I had "written
all my haiku for this life" and found nothing I thought worth writing down
or keeping. The exchange here has loosened me up. Some may say "too much",
but I am greatly enjoying this outpouring of haiku which is coming to me.
It was not my desire to get this serious. I hope someone deletes
this message and adds another ring to our circus which Hazel started!
Thanks, Susan, for your comments! \o/ Jane
>