Wordless Wednesday – March 23, 2016

Hiding Sun – Haiku – March 15, 2016

late afternoon sun
over-shadowed by the hills
hides among the boats

© G.s.k. ‘16

Carpe Diem #938 Iris leaves

“The “pseudo-science” technique is very close to the paradox but has a slight difference. This technique demonstrates a distorted view of science – one we think is not true, but has the possibility of being true, perhaps when we understand quantum physics or all become poets. When the “other reality” the author was using is explained, the poem becomes absolutely clear. Again, this is an old Japanese tool that was used to make the poet sound simple and childlike but also to confound the reader.”

kimono slipping
fingertips discover silk road
ecstatic sigh

© Chèvrefeuille

the day ends
buttercups share their golden light –
the moon rises

© Chèvrefeuille

Morning Haiku and Waka – Basho’s Writing Techniques – March 6, 2016

swinging bridge
first one thinks of
meeting horses

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

“This haiku was written in autumn 1688 and is about a bridge in Kiso. The Kiso area was known for high quality horses raised there on August 15th it was the customary for the emperor to inspect his horses. All the horses from this district had to cross this bridge to go to Tokyo.

Due to his renga-writing skills. Basho was a master at making wild, wide leaps in the linking of the images in his poems. Today the haiku writing technique used by Basho is Leap Linkage.  In this haiku the linkage leap is so wide that a footnote of explanation for readers four centuries and thousands of miles away to follow it is needed. This is one of the problems of making an innovative or wide leap – how to get the reader’s mind to track it over the abyss without getting lost. The important point in creating with this technique is that the writer is Always totally aware of his or her truth. This is rare in haiku, because in haiku the poet needs the reader. Usually, if the reader thinks about the words long enough and deeply enough, he can find the author’s truth, or better still, a new one.” (CDHK)

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This is my attempt for the leap linkage technique:

On New Year’s day I was invited by a friend to go on a walk.  We climbed up a steep hill-side to a metal cross that over-looks the lower Sarca valley.  Being completely out of shape the only thing that kept me walking was the spectacular photographs that I’d have been able to take.  Unfortunately my camera’s batteries died after the third or fourth photo.  I admit to being terribly disappointed.  Later returning to her car at sunset I took a few photographs with my telephone. The above is one of them.

fenced in
a teasing purple sunset
New Year’s day

© G.s.k. ‘16

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(In Western haiku we learn that rhyme has no part of the form … which like many other rules of Western haiku has little to do with the reality of Japanese haiku. Let’s read what Chèvrefeuille tells you in this episode of CDHK dedicated to haiku writing techniques of Master Basho.)

nebu no ki no hagoshi mo itoe hoshi no kage

a silk tree
even through the leaves waery
of starlight

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

In the way of Basho

“Rhyme is a major component of Western poetry. In Japan most of the sound units (onji) are built on only five vowels, and rhyming occurs naturally. Yet, haiku translated into rhymed lines often need so much padding to make the rhyme work that the simplicity of the poem gets lost. However, if the reader takes the time to read the romaji version of the above haiku by Basho. one can see how often the old master employed the linkage of sound in his work. The rhyme, in the above haiku, occurs here with hagoshi(“through leaves”), hoshi (“star”), and the seven “oh” sounds.” (CDHK)

(So we must conclude that the problem is not writing rhyming haiku, but translating Japanese haiku which is often rhymed but untranslatable as a rhyming poem in western languages if we wish to keep the haiku poetic/aesthetic form.)

My attempt at haiku rhyme:

inside city walls
without stalls metal horses
line Padua’s malls

© G.s.k. ‘16

(As Chèvrefeuille would say, not  very strong haiku today … perhaps I’ll try these techniques sometime again in the future 😉 )

 

Carpe Diem #931 Bridge and Carpe Diem #932 silk tree

Hello!

As many might have remarked, I’ve not been as assiduously writing as I usually do.  This is not due to any lack of enthusiasm, but shoddy Internet.  It takes forever for a single page to come up on my browser if there is a connection at all, which is becoming terribly frustrating.  So this post will be in fact a response to two prompted themes bridge and silk tree from Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.

Mirror – Basho’s Thoughts – March 4, 2016

Padua

at its centre
pulsates the heart of history
our modernity
reflections of the past
envisioned in daily life

reflection ..
history wherever one looks
in Italy

© G.s.k. ‘16

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“This month we are exploring Basho’s way of writing haiku … we walk his path with its many different haiku writing techniques. Some of those haiku writing techniques came along here in our special feature “Carpe Diem Haiku Writing Techniques” and some didn’t. As for today’s episode mirror … its one of the haiku writing techniques which came along in the first series of CD-HWT last year.

rabbit-ear iris
how much it looks like
its image in water

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

In this haiku Basho uses the technique of comparison. This technique is very close to the technique of association, which we had in our first regular episode of this month, that it may seem they are the same. There is, however, a slight / vital difference. All comparisons are associations, but not all associations are comparative. The above haiku by Basho is a great example of this technique and this idea.

In the words of Betty Drevniok:

“In haiku the SOMETHING and the SOMETHING ELSE are set down together in clearly stated images. Together they complete and fulfill each other as ONE PARTICULAR EVENT.”

She rather leaves the reader to understand that the idea of comparison is showing how two different things are similar or share similar aspects.”

Carpe Diem #930 mirror

Just a Note – February 10, 2016

Hello everyone!

Some people have expressed their worry because I’ve not been posting as much as usual and wonder if I’m alright.  I’ve also been grumpy and have said I might just close the blogs down.  But there’s nothing to worry about, I’m alright – it just seems that February is determined to be a rather hectic month and I’m feeling a bit flapped.  I’ve been going to bed later than usual because of social affairs and have had early morning appointments .. which means that some mornings I have just the time necessary to fulfill my self-set obligations of writing a haiku for “No Five-Seven-Five”‘s NaHaiWriMo and my personal One Month of Haiga.  I’m a morning person, and if I don’t write the first couple of hours in the morning I risk not writing at all.

I’m overcoming my nicotine drug habit, but one of the side-effects (which is thankfully wearing off) is a certain lack of concentration.  So as I count one-month and one week cigarette free today, a few of the symptoms of underneath craving still make themselves felt.  But by giving up caffeine and keeping a close watch on my diet, I’ve at least avoided other problems like insomnia and gaining weight. Usually people take one step at a time … they stop smoking then worry about losing weight.  That didn’t seem like a wise solution for me – I prefer to workout the symptoms all at once.

Anyway … not to worry.  I’m fine and all I need to do is find a way of focusing while relaxing.  I hope to do some recouping this weekend  and I certainly hope that March will have be calmer in the mornings, che sarà sarà!

Hope you’re all doing fine too!

Ciao for now,  Bastet

NaHaiWriMo – February 3, 2016

 

Wild-life on a lake can be interesting … especially when you begin to recognize a certain duck, coot or gull.  Lake Garda has several colonies of all three of these birds.  There’s one gull who passes his mornings dive-bombing any other gull that tries to land on any of the pylons near where he happens to be roosting making a nuisance of himself, the odd male mallard who’s obviously from a mixed coupling who’s set up housekeeping with a certain lady mallard.  And then there’s an old coot.  He appears to be a loner swimming around honking and squawking and generally making a lot of racket.  However when a female swims nearby he looses his hermit qualities rather quickly and tries to mount her.  Eventually the females become irritated and peck him … poor guy, he has to return to zealously exalting his qualities to every living creature on the lake, but the tourists love him and are always ready with a treat when the see him.

morning sun
reflects on the lake
noisy old coot

© G.s.k. ‘16

NaHaiWriMo – 2016 Facebook Page
NaHaiWriMo Blog

NaHaiWriMo

Ten Styles of Tanka – Post 3 – January 22, 2016

 

November Afternoon

in the distance
as the sun melts in the mist
a solemn ray
disperses light on the lake
and his soul in the wind

© G.s.k. ‘16

3. Elegant beauty – urawashiki tei, characterised by harmony, balance, and beauty of cadence

Examples of this style is this one from the great poet of the late 7th century – Kakinomoto no Hitomaro from the Kokinshū, #9:409:

honobono to / akashi no ura no / asagiri ni / shimagakureyuku / fune o shi zo omou

dimly dimly
on the shores of Akashi Bay
morning mist
vanishing by distant islands
longing follows the ship

Carpe Diem Tokubetsudesu #66 Teika’s Ten Tanka Techniques by Jane Reichhold

 

 

 

Wordless Wednesday – December 30, 2015

This gallery contains 3 photos.

Wordless Wednesday – December 9, 2015

Morning Haiku and Waka – double entendre avec musique – December 9, 2015

Humoresque
fowl improvisations
on an evening walk

playing Chopin
adagio through crescendo
entr’acte duet
this warm summer afternoon
our fugue into fantaisie

© G.s.k. ‘15

 

 

Carpe Diem Haiku Writing Techniques #22 double entendre (double meaning)

In today’s post on writing techniques we explored double meanings which is one of the techniques I love the most … above I play with musical terms … and not only.