Writing on Water
Posted: July 18th, 2011, 8:05 am
"Haiku imagery is always first and foremost a real observation. It never merely illustrates an idea. It is not simile. The poems that have the most resonance and power, however, are those that are observations which have a symbolic after-taste. The symbolic dimension is an echo of the primary meaning, uniting the particular detail which is being noticed - often natural - with a human significance." ~ George Marsh
"Learn the rules, then throw away the rule book!" ~ Japanese dictum
"enter into the object, perceiving its delicate life and feeling its feelings, whereupon a poem forms itself" ~ Basho to haiku students
When I write my perceptions, I am always talking to myself and if others find something they can relate to within that is only peripheral to my journey. We each must find our own path, our own way and be our own master. Haiku has been essential to me in my journey for I found it expressed a way of "seeing" that I could immediately relate to. It was immediate, not just figuratively but literally. Also, because I have such an affinity to nature and observation of the goings on in the natural world, haiku appealed to me in a way that no other writing form did or has since my first read of Basho. Basho, the old traveling monk (who wasn't really a monk, at least in his reflections) led me to Issa and then eventually, I found Paul Reps and Jane Reinhold who taught me to throw away the rules and write.
"If one does not grasp something - something which does not merely touch us through our senses but contacts the life within and has the dynamic form of nature - no matter how cunningly we form our words, they will give only a hollow sound. Those who compose haiku without grasping anything are merely exercising their ingenuity. The ingenious become only selectors of words and cannot create new experiences from themselves." ~ Seki Osuga
The "life within" that Osuga is talking about is something one must be in touch with in order to be successful at haiku. Again, for me, the immediacy of haiku, the observation and the "not thinking" or fretting or worrying about the lines, the form, the rhyme of poetry or the beginnings, the middle and the endings of a story give a great sense of freedom along with just the clarity of a moment in time that I feel or experience. Being clever is not enough to write good haiku verse although I am sure that the wit and wisdom of many haiku masters is readily apparent to the reader. But unless I am able to impress that moment, and get in touch with the life within me, I fail miserably at my haiku.
And I write a lot of poor, badly composed haiku as all that attempt to write good haiku do. The simplicity of form, the ability to convey a picture for the reader with clarity, all are not easy. Simplicity is not easy, being simple and concise and leaving the reader with a "Aha!" moment is, in my opinion, one of the most complex and difficult of all forms of poetry. And yet, haiku is and should be fun to write and I always encourage everyone to attempt it, to enjoy it. It appears so simple but to say something that enlightens without a lot of words, where you leave a impression on the minds' eye, where the silence left between the words speaks louder than the words is a mark of a true haiku-ist.
The form is one of the most evolving and evolved forms of poetry. From it's early beginnings in the East to its transformation in the West it has and continues to change. It is like water, it flows, it pools, it rages, it changes the landscape of one's mind, like water changes rock. I attempt haiku and I am not a haiku-ist (or a monk either) but for me, the beauty, the stark simplicity of form, the capturing of a moment in time, is a life long quest. (And good meditative practice!)
The grackle scolds
my feeble attempts
haiku critic!
"What we most wish to say is usually what escapes us..." ~ Unknown
"Learn the rules, then throw away the rule book!" ~ Japanese dictum
"enter into the object, perceiving its delicate life and feeling its feelings, whereupon a poem forms itself" ~ Basho to haiku students
When I write my perceptions, I am always talking to myself and if others find something they can relate to within that is only peripheral to my journey. We each must find our own path, our own way and be our own master. Haiku has been essential to me in my journey for I found it expressed a way of "seeing" that I could immediately relate to. It was immediate, not just figuratively but literally. Also, because I have such an affinity to nature and observation of the goings on in the natural world, haiku appealed to me in a way that no other writing form did or has since my first read of Basho. Basho, the old traveling monk (who wasn't really a monk, at least in his reflections) led me to Issa and then eventually, I found Paul Reps and Jane Reinhold who taught me to throw away the rules and write.
"If one does not grasp something - something which does not merely touch us through our senses but contacts the life within and has the dynamic form of nature - no matter how cunningly we form our words, they will give only a hollow sound. Those who compose haiku without grasping anything are merely exercising their ingenuity. The ingenious become only selectors of words and cannot create new experiences from themselves." ~ Seki Osuga
The "life within" that Osuga is talking about is something one must be in touch with in order to be successful at haiku. Again, for me, the immediacy of haiku, the observation and the "not thinking" or fretting or worrying about the lines, the form, the rhyme of poetry or the beginnings, the middle and the endings of a story give a great sense of freedom along with just the clarity of a moment in time that I feel or experience. Being clever is not enough to write good haiku verse although I am sure that the wit and wisdom of many haiku masters is readily apparent to the reader. But unless I am able to impress that moment, and get in touch with the life within me, I fail miserably at my haiku.
And I write a lot of poor, badly composed haiku as all that attempt to write good haiku do. The simplicity of form, the ability to convey a picture for the reader with clarity, all are not easy. Simplicity is not easy, being simple and concise and leaving the reader with a "Aha!" moment is, in my opinion, one of the most complex and difficult of all forms of poetry. And yet, haiku is and should be fun to write and I always encourage everyone to attempt it, to enjoy it. It appears so simple but to say something that enlightens without a lot of words, where you leave a impression on the minds' eye, where the silence left between the words speaks louder than the words is a mark of a true haiku-ist.
The form is one of the most evolving and evolved forms of poetry. From it's early beginnings in the East to its transformation in the West it has and continues to change. It is like water, it flows, it pools, it rages, it changes the landscape of one's mind, like water changes rock. I attempt haiku and I am not a haiku-ist (or a monk either) but for me, the beauty, the stark simplicity of form, the capturing of a moment in time, is a life long quest. (And good meditative practice!)
The grackle scolds
my feeble attempts
haiku critic!
"What we most wish to say is usually what escapes us..." ~ Unknown