AMONG HAIKU CLOUDS – A PEBBLE - WORLD HAIKU ANTHOLOGY

AMONG HAIKU CLOUDS – A PEBBLE   -   WORLD HAIKU ANTHOLOGY

The three best haiku in my opinion are:

1.     Ivo Prodanović Hrvatska

Autumn again

leaf after lef

repeating eternity

2.     Giles Fabre - Ireland

Sing, little bird, sing –

help us find

a name for the baby

3.     Andre Surridge –New Zealand

Evning mist –

hides the river

but not her loneliness

AMONG HAIKU CLOUDS – A PEBBLE   -   WORLD HAIKU ANTHOLOGY

I want to begin with an Indian haiku by Mohammed Fakhruddin

“Haiku  is a rose

that grows certainly not in

everyone’s garden”

The world haiku anthology, Among Haiku Clouds – a Pebble”,in which poems were selected by Dejan Bogojević from Serbjia and comprises approximately 250 authors from 47 countries of all continents. Each of them is represented by 1 or 4 haiku selected. They are known, more or less by their haiku books, haiku magazine, or some international haiku dialogue. It was an honour for me to read these nice haiku.

The tittle  is  very inspired because it suggests even the essence of haiku – little things which  we ignore, but those have an important place in our life. Because in English the term “pebble” suggests two objects “grit” a little object and “rock” a stone which resists in time like haiku, this international lyrical jewel of Japanese origin.

Poem of the while, haiku doesn’t analyse, doesn’t explain, only suggested by the support of the aestethic principles, typical of Japanese lyrics, based on “Zen buddism spirituality, Shintoism and of Nature, whereby the humanity gets configuration and colour” (Mihaela Hasu, Haiku-Silence Esthetic, Limes Publish House , Cluj-Napoca, 2005, 27 page).

We find in these haiku poems life of all their quotidian aspects: the joy of life, regret of that “fugit irreparabile tempus” (the  Romantic note of haiku), human relationships,  the human among earth and sky, human nature vulnerable, sensitive, tender, able to live  whole her complexity.

In these haiku the economic esthetics principles are present like: sabi/wabi -  loneliness (Andre Surridge – New Zealand – “evening mist/ hides the river/ but not her loneliness”:  Vladislav Bajac – “high mountains/ only when I approach them/ I understand loneliness”), the contrast/ paradox (Banya Natsushi, Japan – “fog, rain, lighting/ and all night long/ weding songs”); fueky-ryūkõ (Ivko Prodanović - Hrvatska– “ autumn again/ leaf after leaf/ repeating eternity”: an old woman and I/ set together, in teams, admiring/ the last Millenium moon!” by A.Rashid Ghauri Pakistan; “broken mirror-/ in each piece/ the same eyes” by Grzegorz Sionkowski – Poland), the matter (concret world) of different forms: water, trees (New Year’s morning/ even now the birch scatters seeds/ over my garden” by Erika Shwalm - Germany), fruts, cliff, mountain, plaine, flowers, birds (“hot sun-/shadows of sparrows hide in/ a crack of the wall” by Clelia Ifrim – Romania); stars, house, garden; intelectual note (“lighting candle/ after Mozart’s Requiem/ it’s raining outside by  Horst Ludwig - USA; “Antigone/ rehearsals – noonday recess/ chorus of cicadas” by Francis Attard – Malta): family image (mother, grandpa, grandma,  childhood, baby,  child: silence (“deep silence-/ the pond replaced/ by a mirror” by Max Verhart – Netherlands): beauty of mystery ( suggested by shadow: “a shadow- /the meeting after/ many years by Dejan Bogojević - Srbija); kigo -  phenomenal world – “winter winds/ howling in the night/ chimney smoking” by David Simmonds Trinidad): void/ full (“leaving the old house-/ the echo of footsteps/ through the empty rooms” by Robert Major – USA).

The authors of these haiku  write classical and modern haiku in structure, without reticence. I can say that through their creations they show knowledge  of masters’s creation as guideline (Matsuo Bashô – 1664-1694; Yosa Buson 1716-1783; Kobayashi Issa 1763-1827 and Masaoka Shiki - 1866-1902). That  was possible indirectly by translations.

If it was contested the presence of metaphors, comparisons, personifications, we  find in classical Japanese haiku too at the greatest haijins. This offers haiku a multiplay lyrical value by beauty of elegancy and simplicity of expression and the poetic message for each of them.

Texts of anthology illustrated that the authors  try to offer the eternity of their space of biological and creative aspects belonging in terms which suggest that.  I have many others things to express about these poets, but  I appreciate their wonderful poems, talent and inspiration.

Laura Vaceanu, Constantza, Romania

16.09.2009