The Haiku Foundation honors the work of contemporary masters of the dual art of haiga: visual image wedded to haiku. This month’s featured artist is Ion Codrescu.
Ion Codrescu lives in Constanţa, Romania. He teaches graphic arts in an art school and history of art at Ovidius University in Constanţa, as an associate professor. Art and poetry are two paths of his life. In 1992 he founded the Constanţa Haiku Society and the Albatross haiku journal, which he published as its editor for a decade. In 1992 and 1994 he organized the Constanţa International Haiku Festival. Between 2004 and 2007 he edited and published the international haiku journal Hermitage. In 2007 he received his Ph.D. in Visual Arts from the National University of Arts in Bucharest with a thesis on “Image and Text in Japanese and Western Haiga Painting.” He is the author of thirteen books of poetry, haiga and essays published in Romania, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Slovenia. His poems, poetic prose and essays have received many prizes in Great Britain, Japan, Serbia and Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria, France, and the USA, and have been published in 19 other countries. As an artist he has illustrated more than 100 books, magazines and journals. His paintings are housed in private and state collections (Setagaya Art Museum and Gunma Prefectural Museum, Japan) from many countries. All the works in this gallery were created for the book Something Out of Nothing: Original Haiku of North American Poets, Interpreted by Ion Codrescu (Winchester VA: Red Moon Press 2015, ISBN 978-1-936848-35-5).
Mary Frederick Ahearn — “roads lost”
Text:
roads lost
in drifting snow
re-reading my old journals
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Mimi Ahern — “December evening”
Text:
December evening
she erases two more names
from the address book
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Francine Banwarth — “the river freezes”
Text:
the river freezes . . .
silence is also
an answer
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Janelle Barrera — “mockingbirds hush”
Text:
mockingbirds hush
leaving me a day to pass until
evening song
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
David Boyer — “the sudden way”
Text:
the sudden way
spring peepers
it all works out
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Marjorie Buettner — “after rain”
Text:
after rain
morning light
liquid
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Allan Burns — “after the owl”
Text:
after the owl
an owl-shaped hole
in the clouds
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Pris Campbell — “dragonfly”
Text:
dragonfly —
bearing the sun
on its wings
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Matthew Caretti — “soup stirring”
Text:
soup stirring
the thought of
not thinking
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Terry Ann Carter — “ferry crossing”
Text:
ferry crossing
she plays her cello
for the gulls
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Margaret Chula — “not seeing it”
Text:
not seeing it
till darkness fills the pond —
the white carp
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Elsa Colligan — “sea grasses”
Text:
sea grasses
the way they lean
into the water
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Carlos Colón — “Zen concert”
Text:
Zen concert
my air guitar slightly
out of tune
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Wanda Cook — “a hushed rustling”
Text:
a hushed rustling
of winter sea grass
the secret she tells him
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Pamela Cooper — “hanging laundry”
Text:
hanging laundry —
my shadow
blows away
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Cherie Hunter Day — “looking up”
Text:
looking up
rules of punctuation —
the green hills
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Raffael de Gruttola — “frozen pond”
Text:
frozen pond
an oak leaf half
in, half out
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Elehna de Sousa — “island meditation”
Text:
island meditation —
again and again the shriek
of an eagle
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Kristen Deming — “dawn swim”
Text:
dawn swim —
making a butterfly of water
of light
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Diane Descôteaux — “wind and blowing snow”
Text:
wind and blowing snow
this swirling up of white fields —
the first of the year
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
George Dorsty — “winter twilight”
Text:
winter twilight
my veins turn
a deeper blue
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
John J. Dunphy — “my Zen garden”
Text:
my Zen garden
a new sand pattern left by
the neighbor’s cat
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
David Elliott — “winter solstice”
Text:
winter solstice —
letting the candle burn
all the way down
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Robert Epstein — “raku moon”
Text:
raku moon
the cracks in everything
let the light in
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Seren Fargo — “late thaw”
Text:
late thaw —
a hawk leans further
toward its target
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Ignatius Fay — “headlights”
Text:
headlights out
of snowy darkness
the last thing she said
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Bruce G. Feingold — “old enough”
Text:
old enough
just to listen
trout rising
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Sylvia Forges-Ryan — “learning at last”
Text:
learning at last
how to let go
dandelion puffs
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Terri L. French — “snow fall”
Text:
snow fall . . .
the click of knitting needles
into the night
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Garry Gay — “seal voices”
Text:
seal voices
carry from the rocks . . .
the fog
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Barry George — “gull’s cry”
Text:
gull’s cry —
my thoughts
far inland, too
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Merrill Ann Gonzales — “sweeping snow”
Text:
sweeping snow
the path welcomes
once again
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
William Hart — “cloud glutton”
Text:
cloud glutton
you swallow a mountain
then fall asleep
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Gary Hotham — “the pond’s bottom”
Text:
the pond’s bottom
everything that sinks
in water
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Louise Howerow — “wind gusting”
Text:
wind gusting
across the lake
a loon’s tremolo
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Jeanne Jorgensen — “how gracefully”
Text:
how gracefully
the aged dancer skates
alone this winter
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Jim Kacian — “time”
Text:
time in the dark the longer
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Larry Kimmel — “in snow”
Text:
in snow
and stony silence, her name
graven in granite
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
David Lanoue — “two glasses”
Text:
two glasses of wine closer to softness
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Catherine J. S. Lee — “on crow calls”
Text:
one crow calls
and then another . . .
morning fog
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Rebecca Lilly — “silence”
Text:
silence behind
the sound of wind over grasses —
some gap in myself
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Greg Longenecker — “hazy moon”
Text:
hazy moon
she drifts in and out
of my dreams
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Patricia J. Machmiller — “at the waterfall”
Text:
at the waterfall
sometimes I find an answer
sometimes . . . the wind
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Carole MacRury — “mountain cabin”
Text:
mountain cabin
the moon and a mouse
to welcome me
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Annette Makino — “solo hike”
Text:
solo hike
slowly catching up
to myself
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Scott Mason — “backyard reverie”
Text:
backyard reverie
the expanding cosmos
of watermelon seeds
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Ben Moeller-Gaa — “koi pond”
Text:
koi pond
removing the weight
of my backpack
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Beverly Acuff Momoi — “always making”
Text:
always making
something out of nothing
the brilliance of crows
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
k j munro — “two years past”
Text:
two years past
the earthquake
tremors in her voice
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Elliot Nicely — “the silence”
Text:
the silence
that follows each
of the first raindrops
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Nancy Nitrio — “approaching storm”
Text:
approaching storm —
the silver flash
of turning pigeons
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Ellen Olinger — “after the stores”
Text:
after the stores
ornamental grasses
in snow
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Marian Olson — “even clouds”
Text:
even clouds
touch and part
I remind myself
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Renée Owen — “night cicadas”
Text:
night cicadas
all through the hours
if only, if only
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
James Paulson — “leaves turning”
Text:
leaves turning
my heart tries out
a new rhythm
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Bill Pauly — “a moth”
Text:
a moth flies through my breath in moonlight
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Carol Purington — “winter solstice”
Text:
winter solstice —
the road narrows
into one-way
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Edward J. Rielly — “empty bird’s nest”
Text:
empty bird’s nest
on the window sill
of the old nursery
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Chad Lee Robinson — “darkening sky”
Text:
darkening sky . . .
horses gather the sound
of thunder
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Michele Root-Bernstein — “sandpipers”
Text:
sandpipers
an answer short
of the sea
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Ce Rosenow — “dipping swallow”
Text:
dipping swallow
in the curve of the foothill
evening fog
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Dave Russo — “autumn rain”
Text:
autumn rain
so many ghosts
dead and alive
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
John Russo — “old calendar”
Text:
old calendar
last year
she was here
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Dan Schwerin — “dark matter”
Text:
dark matter
but consider
the lilies
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Guy Simser — “choosing”
Text:
choosing
the artist’s ink colour
crocus nib
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
John Stevenson — “November dusk”
Text:
November dusk
invitations
from the crows
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Richard Stevenson — “driveway clear”
Text:
driveway clear —
a great horned owl
calls my name
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
George Swede — “town dump”
Text:
town dump
I find a still-
beating heart
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Angela Terry — “autumn morning”
Text:
autumn morning
the blackbird’s song lost
in the tide
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Julie Warther — “sun-soaked chrysalis”
Text:
sun-soaked chrysalis
the effort
no one sees
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Neal Whitman — “crescent moon”
Text:
crescent moon
from an open window
a flute arabesque
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Billie Wilson — “an open book”
Text:
an open book
on the old porch swing —
first fireflies
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Jeff Winke — “dark wind”
Text:
dark wind
obscures
a full moon
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)
Alison Woolpert — “winter sky”
Text:
winter sky
the released doves circle once
then are gone
Media: ink on paper
Size: 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches)