Comments on: Periplum #4 http://www.thehaikufoundation.org/2009/08/26/periplum-4/ Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:47:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Jack Galmitz http://www.thehaikufoundation.org/2009/08/26/periplum-4/comment-page-1/#comment-2324 Jack Galmitz Sun, 18 Apr 2010 00:47:02 +0000 http://thehaikufoundation.org/?p=4118#comment-2324 Adam: I myself am partial to haiku that move from the outside to the inside, or vice versa, and that point to the poet's internal world. For me, the "external" world that everyone experiences is actually their internal world and so haiku that serves the function of elucidating this are of the very best quality. There is a longstanding tradition-and you will find it in almost every how-to essay on the subject of haiku and as the coda of many of our most prestigious haiku publications-that the use of the "I" or the "subjective" is against the rules, regardless of the fact that even Basho used self-reference frequently. One way of writing haiku, which is reminiscent of the American Transcendentalists, is writing about the outside and then transforming that outside object into a representation of an internal state or symbol. I recommend you have a look at some translations done by Fay Aoyagi of modern Japanese masters of the art. You will be surprised at the significant number of poets that write of subjective states/responses and move deliberately from the outside to the inside. You can find the site by typing in Haiku by Japanese Masters (Translations) in your search area on your computer. Of course, when I speak of subjectivity in haiku, I do not mean a completely personal, idiosyncratic use of it; the I, the internal, the subjective are used not so much as universals, but as means to awaken the reader's internal life(though always personal) There is a tradition, as you well know, of insisting that haiku write solely of external objects/images and by means of skillful execution, elicit an emotion in the reader. But, this is not the only tradition and certainly is not the mainstream tradition of gendai no haiku (modern haiku). If you consider it, the haiku that rely solely on images of externals objects are not randomly chosen, but represent what is important to the writer, and how those images are represented in any given haiku, then the "objectivity" of haiku comes severly into question. I remember distinctly when I began writing haiku some 11 years ago, reading a Japanese writer who said that it was the presence of the writer's personality, found in the unique turns of phrase and in other ways, choice of subject, subtle suggestions as to their personal view of the subject, that was of supreme importance in haiku. Adam:
I myself am partial to haiku that move from the outside to the inside, or vice versa, and that point to the poet’s internal world.
For me, the “external” world that everyone experiences is actually their internal world and so haiku that serves the function of elucidating this are of the very best quality.
There is a longstanding tradition-and you will find it in almost every how-to essay on the subject of haiku and as the coda of many of our most prestigious haiku publications-that the use of the “I” or the “subjective” is against the rules, regardless of the fact that even Basho used self-reference frequently.
One way of writing haiku, which is reminiscent of the American Transcendentalists, is writing about the outside and then transforming that outside object into a representation of an internal state or symbol.
I recommend you have a look at some translations done by Fay Aoyagi of modern Japanese masters of the art. You will be surprised at the significant number of poets that write of subjective states/responses and move deliberately from the outside to the inside. You can find the site by typing in Haiku by Japanese Masters (Translations) in your search area on your
computer.
Of course, when I speak of subjectivity in haiku, I do not mean a completely personal, idiosyncratic use of it; the I, the internal, the subjective are used not so much as universals, but as means to awaken the reader’s internal life(though always personal)
There is a tradition, as you well know, of insisting that haiku write solely of external objects/images and by means of skillful execution, elicit an emotion in the reader.
But, this is not the only tradition and certainly is not the mainstream tradition of gendai no haiku (modern haiku).
If you consider it, the haiku that rely solely on images of externals objects are not randomly chosen, but represent what is important to the writer, and how those images are represented in any given haiku, then the “objectivity” of haiku comes severly into question.
I remember distinctly when I began writing haiku some 11 years ago, reading a Japanese writer who said that it was the presence of the writer’s personality, found in the unique turns of phrase and in other ways, choice of subject, subtle suggestions as to their personal view of the subject, that was of supreme importance in haiku.

]]> By: Nicole Hyde http://www.thehaikufoundation.org/2009/08/26/periplum-4/comment-page-1/#comment-2323 Nicole Hyde Sun, 18 Apr 2010 00:45:07 +0000 http://thehaikufoundation.org/?p=4118#comment-2323 I think she points to an exciting future. Her work is fresh, genuine, art. Her work strikes an emotional chord within me and that's the most important element for me in a piece of art. I think she points to an exciting future. Her work is fresh, genuine, art. Her work strikes an emotional chord within me and that’s the most important element for me in a piece of art.

]]> By: Adam Traynor http://www.thehaikufoundation.org/2009/08/26/periplum-4/comment-page-1/#comment-2318 Adam Traynor Sat, 17 Apr 2010 21:09:26 +0000 http://thehaikufoundation.org/?p=4118#comment-2318 In the spirit of participation, I would like to ask Nicole to say something more. What is there about Fay's haiku that makes you feel that you have found north, as you say. I like her work, probably for reasons others have written about in reviews, and so on. They are both youthful and mature, I think, and often quite honest. There has been some discussion about haiku not pointing back to the author, but out to what the author sees. Her poem above "ants out of a hole", points out and then comes back in. I wonder how you or anyone here feels about that? Thank you, Adam In the spirit of participation, I would like to ask Nicole to say something more. What is there about Fay’s haiku that makes you feel that you have found north, as you say.

I like her work, probably for reasons others have written about in reviews, and so on. They are both youthful and mature, I think, and often quite honest. There has been some discussion about haiku not pointing back to the author, but out to what the author sees. Her poem above “ants out of a hole”, points out and then comes back in. I wonder how you or anyone here feels about that?

Thank you,

Adam

]]> By: Nicole Hyde http://www.thehaikufoundation.org/2009/08/26/periplum-4/comment-page-1/#comment-2315 Nicole Hyde Sat, 17 Apr 2010 19:23:08 +0000 http://thehaikufoundation.org/?p=4118#comment-2315 Finding Fay's haiku was like finding north. Thank you for this article. Finding Fay’s haiku was like finding north. Thank you for this article.

]]> By: Merrill Ann Gonzales http://www.thehaikufoundation.org/2009/08/26/periplum-4/comment-page-1/#comment-832 Merrill Ann Gonzales Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:38:24 +0000 http://thehaikufoundation.org/?p=4118#comment-832 What a wonderful article. "how to deal with space, ma, the unsaid" so vital to approaching another's haiku in creation of haiga. It's so important not to disturb that quality of the haiku. What a wonderful article. “how to deal with space, ma, the unsaid” so vital to approaching another’s haiku in creation of haiga. It’s so important not to disturb that quality of the haiku.

]]>