TANKA NEWS & HAIKU HEADLINES
What's new in the world of tanka and haiku in English
TANKA NEWS & HAIKU HEADLINES
Haibun Today (June 2012) is now online
ANNOUNCEMENT: Haibun Today (June 2012) is now online.
The summer quarterly issue of Haibun Today is now online for your reading pleasure at http://haibuntoday.com
Contributors to this issue include Stephen Addiss, Melissa Allen, Johnny Baranski, Roberta Beary, Margaret Beverland, Colin Blundell, Steven Carter, Marcyn Clements, Glenn G. Coats, Jerry Dreesen, Claire Everett, Ignatius Fay, Amelia Fielden, William Guthrie, Autumn N. Hall, Paul Hodder, Cara Holman, Ruth Holzer, Elizabeth Howard, Leslie Idhe, Gerry Jacobson, Ryan Jessup, Ken Jones, Roger D. Jones, Colette Jonopulos, Jim Kacian, M. Kei, Richard Krawiec, Gary LeBel, Chen-ou Liu, Bob Lucky, Mike Montreuil, Satoko Murate, Marian Olson, Carol Pearce-Worthington, Stanley Pelter, Dru Philippou, Patricia Prime, Kala Ramesh, Ray Rasmussen, Jane Reichhold, Werner Reichhold, Bruce Ross, Ian Storr, Charles D. Tarlton, Julie Thorndyke, Zinovy Vayman, Max Verhart, Diana Webb, Neal Whitman and Brian Zimmer.
This issue also features the colloquium “Editing Haibun and Tanka Prose,” a critical discussion by 18 contemporary editors. Stanley Pelter and Diana Webb offer personal commentaries upon their own haibun and Patricia Prime reviews Jane Whittle’s new collection, Footprints.
Writers are now invited to submit haibun, tanka prose and articles for consideration in the September 2012 issue of Haibun Today. Consult our Submission Guidelines at Haibun Today.
Hortensia Anderson has passed.
Hortensia Anderson has passed.
http://tobaccoroadpoet.blogspot.com/2012/05/sad-news-hortensia-anderson.html
What a sad day for us all,
Curtis
—
Curtis Dunlap
tobacco road poet
http://www.tobaccoroadpoet.com
hcdunlap@gmail.com
http://tobaccoroadpoet.blogspot.com/2012/05/sad-news-hortensia-anderson.html
What a sad day for us all,
Curtis
—
Curtis Dunlap
tobacco road poet
http://www.tobaccoroadpoet.com
hcdunlap@gmail.com
Sketchbook Issue 41 is now on-line.
The new Sketchbook Issue 41 is now on-line. The March / April 2012 Sketchbook contains poems, art and features by one hundred-four writers from twenty-one Countries.
March/April 2012: Cover:
http://poetrywriting.org/Sketchbook7-2MarApr2012-41/Sketchbook_7-2_MarApr_2012_Cover_Emily_Romano_Swan_and_Lily.htm
March/April 2012: Contents Page:
http://poetrywriting.org/Sketchbook7-2MarApr2012-41/0_Contents_Sketchbook_7-2_MarApr_2012_Contents.htm
http://poetrywriting.org/Sketchbook7-2MarApr2012-41/0_Contents_Sketchbook_7-2_MarApr_2012_Contents.htm
March/April 2012: SHH2—spring Kigo results:
http://poetrywriting.org/Sketchbook7-2MarApr2012-41/Sketchbook_7-2_MarApr_2012_Karina_Klesko_SHH_2_Spring_Kigo.htm
http://poetrywriting.org/Sketchbook7-2MarApr2012-41/Sketchbook_7-2_MarApr_2012_Karina_Klesko_SHH_2_Spring_Kigo.htm
March/April 2012: "swing" Kukai results:
http://poetrywriting.org/Sketchbook7-2MarApr2012-41/0_Results_Sketchbook_7-2_MarApr_2012_swing_Kukai_Results.htm
March/April 2012: "pond life" Haiku Thread:
http://poetrywriting.org/Sketchbook7-2MarApr2012-41/0_Results_Sketchbook_7-2_MarApr_pond_life_Haiku_Thread_Results.htm
March/April 2012: PTP results:
http://poetrywriting.org/Sketchbook7-2MarApr2012-41/0_Results_Sketchbook_7-2_MarApr_2012_Results_PTPC_Index_Shanna_Baldwin_Moore_Results.htm
From the Editor's Chairs:
Announcement: May/June 2012: SHH 3—summer Kigo:
http://poetrywriting.org/Sketchbook7-2MarApr2012-41/Sketchbook_7-2_MarApr_2012_Announcing_SHH_3_Summer_Kigo_for_MayJune_2012_Issue.htm
http://poetrywriting.org/Sketchbook7-2MarApr2012-41/Sketchbook_7-2_MarApr_2012_Announcing_SHH_3_Summer_Kigo_for_MayJune_2012_Issue.htm
Announcement: May/June 2012: "wedding / bride" haiku Thread:
http://poetrywriting.org/Sketchbook7-2MarApr2012-41/Sketchbook_7-2_MarApr_2012_Announcing_MayJune_2012_wedding_bride_Haiku_Thread.htm
Announcement: May/June 2012: "cloud(s)" Kukai:
http://poetrywriting.org/Sketchbook7-2MarApr2012-41/Sketchbook_7-2_MarApr_2012_Announcing_May_June_30_2012_cloud_Kukai.htm
Announcement: May/June 2012: PTP Contest:
http://poetrywriting.org/Sketchbook7-2MarApr2012-41/0_Announcement_Sketchbook_7-2_2012_PTPC_MayJune_2012_Shanna_Baldwin_Moore.htm
The editors are now accepting submissions until June 20, 2012 for the next issue: submissions@poetrywriting.org
Karina Klesko, US and John Daleiden, US
jd
jd
Poetrywriting.org/Karina Klesko/Director
www.poetrywriting.org: Sketchbook
Karina Klesko, Senior Editor
John Daleiden, Editor/Webmaster
www.poetrywriting.org: Sketchbook
Karina Klesko, Senior Editor
John Daleiden, Editor/Webmaster
Take Five : Best Contemporary Tanka, Volume 4 Published by Keibooks
"M. Kei" <take5tanka@gmail.com> May 14 06:21PM -0400
Take Five : Best Contemporary Tanka, Volume 4 Published by Keibooks
Perryville, Maryland – May 14, 2012 – Take Five : Best Contemporary Tanka,
Volume Four Published
*Take Five : Best Contemporary Tanka*, the anthology series founded by
tanka poet and editor, M. Kei, has announced the publication of Volume
Four. Now on sale, it features 260 pages with the largest selection yet of
tanka poetry and related forms, making it the single largest volume in the
series. It retails for $18.00, and can be bought direct from the printer at
CreateSpace.com, or through Amazon.com and other online retailers.
Buy link: <https://www.createspace.com/3785119 — also available from
Amazon.com and other retailers.
The editorial team consisting of M. Kei, editor-in-chief (USA), Patricia
Prime (NZ), Magdalena Dale (RO), Amelia Fielden (AUS), Claire Everett (UK),
Owen Bullock (NZ), David Terelinck (AUS), Janick Belleau (CAN), and David
Rice (USA), read all tanka published in English during 2011 with the goal
of selecting the best individual tanka, kyoka, waka, gogyohka, gogyoshi,
tanka sequences, tanka prose, and responsive tanka for inclusion in the
annual anthology. The team read approximately eighteen thousand poems to
choose nearly four hundred for inclusion in the fourth and final volume in
the Take Five series.
Contemporary tanka and related forms in English are an exciting literature
that continues to grow and develop in the hands of increasingly diverse
poets around the world. Originating in Japan over fourteen hundred years
ago, it remains a strong and flexible form evoking profound responses in
the reader. This year’s volume is especially affected by the triple
disaster in Japan. Poets who lived through the disaster bear witness to the
ruin in their poems, while other poets around the world waited anxiously
for news and were compelled by the disaster to reassess the fragility of
their own lives. Many of the poems published in this volume reflect
‘aware,’ the Japanese aesthetic that focuses on the perishability of the
world.
Contributors for this volume are:
Adelaide B. Shaw, Akiko Hasegawa, Alan S. Bridges, Alan Summers, Alex von
Vaupel, Alexander Ask, Alexis Rotella, Alison Williams, Amelia Fielden,
André Surridge, Andrew Riutta, Angela Leuck, Angie LaPaglia, Anita Virgil,
Anne Benjamin, an'ya, Antoinette Libro, Askold Skalsky, Aubrie Cox, Audrey
Olberg, Autumn Noelle Hall, Aya Yuhki, Barbara Robidoux, Barbara A. Taylor,
Barry Goodmann, Beatrice van de Vis, Becky Alexander, Belinda Broughton,
Bett Angel-Stawarz, Bette Norcross Wappner, Beverley George, Beverly Acuff
Momoi, Bob Lucky, Brendan Slater, Brian Zimmer, Byakuren Yanagihara, C.
William Hinderliter, Carla Sari, Carlos Colón, Carmel Summers, Carmella
Braniger, Carol Pearce-Worthington, Carol Purington, Carol Raisfeld, Carole
MacRury, Carolyn Eldridge-Alfonzetti,Catherine Mair, Catherine Smith, Cathy
Drinkwater Better, Chad Lee Robinson, Charles Tarlton, Chen-ou Liu, Cherie
Hunter Day, Christina Nguyen, Claire Everett, Claudia Coutu Radmore, Colin
Stewart Jones, Collin Barber, Curtis Dunlap, Cynthia Rowe, David Caruso,
David Platt, David Rice, David Steele, David Terelinck, Dawn Bruce, Dawn
Colsey, Deborah P. Kolodji, Dee Evetts, Diane Mayr, Dietmar Tauchner,
Dimitar Anakiev, Doreen King, Dorothy McLaughlin, Dorothy Walker, Dru
Philippou, Dy Andreasen, Edith Bartholomeusz, Elaine Riddell, Elehna de
Sousa, Elizabeth Bodien, Elizabeth Howard, Enta Kusakabe, Eve Luckring,
Fonda Bell Miller, Francis Masat, Gary LeBel, Gavin Austin, Gennady Nov,
Geoffrey Winch, George Swede, Gerd Börner, Gerry Jacobson, Giselle Maya,
Grant D. Savage, Guy Simser, H. Gene Murtha, Hannah Mahoney, Harue Aoki,
Heather Feaga, Helen Buckingham, Helen Yong, Hortensia Anderson, Huguette
Ducharme, Ignatius Fay, Ikuko Melze, Ikuyo Okamoto, J. Andrew Lockhart, J.
M. Rowland,J. Zimmerman, James Tipton, Jan Dean, Jan Foster, Jane
Reichhold, Janet Lynn Davis, Janick Belleau, Jeanne Emrich,Jeanne
Lupton,Jeff Hoagland, Jeffrey Woodward,Jim Schneider, Jo McInerney, Joanna
Ashwell, Johannes S. H. Bjerg, John Parsons, John Quinnett, John Samuel
Tieman,John Soules, John Stevenson, Johnny Baranski, Joyce S. Greene, Joyce
Wong, Judith Ahmed, Jules Cohn Botea, Julie Thorndyke, Kala Ramesh, Karen
Audioun Klingman, Karen Peterson Butterworth, Kate King, Kath Abela Wilson,
Kathe L. Palka, Katherine Samuelowicz, Kathy Lippard Cobb, Keitha Keyes,
Kirsten Cliff, Kirsty Karkow, Klaus-Dieter Wirth, Kozue Uzawa, Larry Neily,
Laurence Stacey, LeRoy Gorman, Leslie Giddens, Leslie Ihde, Liam
Wilkinson,Linda Galloway, Linda Jeannette Ward, Linda Papanicolaou, Lisa
Alexander Baron, Lisa M. Tesoriero, Liz Rule, Lois Holland, Lucas
Stensland, Luminita Suse, Lynn D. Bueling, Lynette Arden, M. Kei, Magdalena
Dale, Makoto Nakanishi, Margaret Chula, Margaret Conley, Margaret Dornaus,
Margaret Fensom, Margaret Grace, Margaret Owen Ruckert, Margaret Van Every,
Margarita Engle, Maria Steyn, Marian Morgan, Marian Olson, Marie Lecrivain,
Mariko Kitakubo, Marilyn Hazelton, Marilyn Humbert, Marjorie Buettner, Mark
Holloway, Martin Lucas, Mary Franklin, Mary Kipps, Mary Lou Bittle-DeLapa,
Mary Mageau, Matt Quinn, Matthew Caretti, Max Ryan, Maxianne Berger, Mel
Goldberg, Melissa Allen, Merle Connolly, Michael Ketchek, Michael
McClintock, Michael Thorley, Michele L. Harvey, Micheline Beaudry, Mike
Montreuil, Mira N. Mataric, Miriam Sagan, Naoko Kishigami Selland, Naomi
Beth Wakan, Noele Norris, Owen Bullock, Paginini Jones, Pamela A. Babusci,
Patricia Prime, Paul Smith, Peggy Heinrich, Polona Oblak, Quendryth Young,
Raffael de Gruttola, Randy Brooks, Renee Gregorio, Richard von Sturmer, Rie
Ezaki, Roary Williams, Robert McNeill, Robert Smith, 1Robert West, Rodney
Williams, Ron C. Moss, Ron Woollard, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, Ruby
Spriggs, Ruth Holzer, Saeko Ogi, 1Sakurako, Sanford Goldstein, Sanjukta
Asopa, Sarah Wika, Seren Fargo, Sheila Sondik, 1Shernaz Wadia, Shona
Bridge, Sonam Chhoki, Sonja Arntzen, Spiros Zafiris, Stanford M. Forrester,
Stella Pierides, Steve Mangan, Steve Wilkinson, Sue Richards, Susan
Constable, Svetlana Marisova, Sylvia Forges-Ryan, T. J. Edge, Takako
Nazuka, Taro Aizu, Terra Martin, Terry Ann Carter, Terry Ingram, Tess
Driver, Tessa Wooldridge, Tim Geaghan, Tito, Tom Clausen, Tomohime, Tracy
Davidson, Vasile Moldovan, Vasile Smărăndescu, Veronica Shanks, Victor P.
Gendrano, Yūko Kawano
About the Editors:
M. Kei is a tall ship sailor and award-winning poet. He lives on the
Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay (USA) and apprenticed aboard a
skipjack, a sail-powered oyster dredge. He now serves with a fully rigged
ship. His publications include over 1400 tanka poems in six languages and
ten countries. He is the editor-in-chief of the anthology series, *Take
Five : Best Contemporary Tanka*, and the author of *Slow Motion : The Log
of a Chesapeake Bay Skipjack*, Recommended Reading by the Chesapeake Bay
Project. He edits *Atlas Poetica : A Journal of Poetry of Place in
Contemporary Tanka*. He is the compiler of the Bibliography of
English-Language Tanka, which documents over one thousand publications from
1899 to the present day. He is also the author of the award-winning gay Age
of Sail adventure series, *Pirates of the Narrow Seas.*
Patricia Prime, a semi-retired early childhood teacher, lives in Auckland,
New Zealand. She is co-editor of *Kokako*, reviews editor of Takahe, and
reviews/interviews editor of *Haibun Today*. Patricia has been one of the
editors of the *Take Five* anthologies since their inception. Her poems,
reviews, literary essays and interviews have been published in the *World
Poetry Almanac* (Mongolia) and in various journals. She is currently
writing collaborative tanka sequences with an Australian poet and shisan
renga with poets from Europe and also from New Zealand. Her work is
scheduled for publication in *Haibun Today, Contemporary Haibun Online,
Lynx, Atlas Poetica, Gusts, Eucalypt, multiverses *and* red lights*, among
others.
Magdalena Dale was born in, and lives in, Bucharest, Romania. She is a
member of the Romanian Society of Haiku and World Haiku Association. Her
work has been published in several reviews and anthologies in her country
and abroad. Her tanka and haiku have appeared in more literary sites
online. She wrote a bilingual tanka book *Perle de roua/Dew pearls*, a
bilingual renga book *Mireasma de tei/ Fragrance of lime* with Vasile
Moldovan and a bilingual haiku book *Ecourile tăcerii/ The echoes of
silence.* She received several awards for her work.
Amelia Fielden is an Australian professional translator and an
internationally awarded and published tanka poet. Seventeen books of her
translations of modern and contemporary Japanese tanka have appeared over
the last 11 years, with a further two volumes forthcoming in 2012. Amelia
has also published six collections of her own tanka, the most recent
being*Light On Wate
*r (2010). She has collaborated with other Australian poets to produce four
books of responsive tanka, including *Yesterday,Today & Tomorrow* (2011)
with Kathy Kituai, and the bilingual *Words Flower* (2011) with Saeko Ogi.
Amelia is happy to be contacted at anafielden@hotmail.com.
Claire Everett's haiku, tanka, and more recently, haibun and tanka prose,
have appeared in many of the short-form poetry journals worldwide. She was
a contributing poet for cycle 11 (spring/summer 2011) of the online journal
*Daily Haiku*. Claire's interest in tanka prose increased when she was
invited by M. Kei to conduct an in-depth interview with Jeffrey Woodward
for *Atlas Poetica* 9 (July, 2011) discussing the history and practice of
tanka prose. She is now delighted to be the tanka prose editor for *Haibun
Today*. Claire lives with her husband and five children in North Yorkshire,
England, and draws most of her inspiration from walks on the Moors and
Dales and in the Lake District.
Owen Bullock's first tanka appeared in tangled hair in 2000, and thereafter
in *Eucalypt, Lynx, Magnapoets, Modern English Tanka, Moonset, paper wasp,
Atlas Poetica, Presence*, etc. He has published a collection of haiku, *wild
camomile *(Post Pressed, Australia, 2009); fiction, *A Cornish
Story*(Palores, UK, 2010), and poetry,
*sometimes the sky isn't big enough* (Steele Roberts, New Zealand, 2010).
Owen has edited a number of journals, including *Kokako* and *Poetry NZ*.
He is currently on the International Editorial Board for the online
journal, *Axon: Creative Explorations *(University of Canberra). He teaches
creative writing online for the Waiariki Institute of Technology and the
New Zealand Writers' College. <http://www.owenbullock.com/>
David Terelinck (Sydney, NSW, Australia) is a full-time employee and
part-time writer who seriously wishes the balance were reversed. He has
been involved in creative writing for more than twenty-five years with many
awards for his short stories, articles and poetry. David has been writing
tanka for the past five years and has been widely published in
international tanka journals. David's first tanka collection, *Casting
Shadows*, was published in late 2011. During the same year, David co-edited
*Grevillea & Wonga Vine: Australian Tanka of Place*, with Beverley George.
He enjoys giving tanka and other creative writing workshops, and lives by
his motto *scribo ergo respiro*. In 2012 he is looking forward to joining
the editorial panel of the Canadian journal, *GUSTS: Contemporary Tanka.*
Janick Belleau’s latest publication* D’âmes et d’ailes / of souls and wings*—a
bilingual tanka collection won her the Canada-Japan Award in 2010. She
edited the collective work *Regards de femmes—haïkus francophones* in 2008
and coedited *L'Érotique poème court / haïku *in 2006. Her feature articles
and presentations in Canada, in France and in Japan deal with the
contribution of women in the advancement of haiku and tanka.
David Rice lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and aging dog.
Three children and three grandchildren also live in the Bay Area. He has
been reading and writing tanka for more than twenty years, and his poems
have appeared in numerous anthologies. He has self-published two tanka
chapbooks and, with Cherie Hunter Day, the collaborative tanka sequence *Kindle
of Green* (2008). In 2012 he became the editor of *Ribbons*.
For media inquiries or to arrange an interview, contact editor-in-chief M.
Kei by e-mail at: Keibooks at gmail dot com. Publisher information at:
www.AtlasPoetica.org
Keibooks
P O Box 516
Perryville, MD 21903 USA
<http://AtlasPoetica.org>
—
M. Kei
Editor-in-chief
Take Five : Best Contemporary Tanka
P O Box 516
Perryville, MD 21903
take5tanka (at) gmail (dot) com
Take Five : Best Contemporary Tanka, Volume 4 Published by Keibooks
Perryville, Maryland – May 14, 2012 – Take Five : Best Contemporary Tanka,
Volume Four Published
*Take Five : Best Contemporary Tanka*, the anthology series founded by
tanka poet and editor, M. Kei, has announced the publication of Volume
Four. Now on sale, it features 260 pages with the largest selection yet of
tanka poetry and related forms, making it the single largest volume in the
series. It retails for $18.00, and can be bought direct from the printer at
CreateSpace.com, or through Amazon.com and other online retailers.
Buy link: <https://www.createspace.com/3785119 — also available from
Amazon.com and other retailers.
The editorial team consisting of M. Kei, editor-in-chief (USA), Patricia
Prime (NZ), Magdalena Dale (RO), Amelia Fielden (AUS), Claire Everett (UK),
Owen Bullock (NZ), David Terelinck (AUS), Janick Belleau (CAN), and David
Rice (USA), read all tanka published in English during 2011 with the goal
of selecting the best individual tanka, kyoka, waka, gogyohka, gogyoshi,
tanka sequences, tanka prose, and responsive tanka for inclusion in the
annual anthology. The team read approximately eighteen thousand poems to
choose nearly four hundred for inclusion in the fourth and final volume in
the Take Five series.
Contemporary tanka and related forms in English are an exciting literature
that continues to grow and develop in the hands of increasingly diverse
poets around the world. Originating in Japan over fourteen hundred years
ago, it remains a strong and flexible form evoking profound responses in
the reader. This year’s volume is especially affected by the triple
disaster in Japan. Poets who lived through the disaster bear witness to the
ruin in their poems, while other poets around the world waited anxiously
for news and were compelled by the disaster to reassess the fragility of
their own lives. Many of the poems published in this volume reflect
‘aware,’ the Japanese aesthetic that focuses on the perishability of the
world.
Contributors for this volume are:
Adelaide B. Shaw, Akiko Hasegawa, Alan S. Bridges, Alan Summers, Alex von
Vaupel, Alexander Ask, Alexis Rotella, Alison Williams, Amelia Fielden,
André Surridge, Andrew Riutta, Angela Leuck, Angie LaPaglia, Anita Virgil,
Anne Benjamin, an'ya, Antoinette Libro, Askold Skalsky, Aubrie Cox, Audrey
Olberg, Autumn Noelle Hall, Aya Yuhki, Barbara Robidoux, Barbara A. Taylor,
Barry Goodmann, Beatrice van de Vis, Becky Alexander, Belinda Broughton,
Bett Angel-Stawarz, Bette Norcross Wappner, Beverley George, Beverly Acuff
Momoi, Bob Lucky, Brendan Slater, Brian Zimmer, Byakuren Yanagihara, C.
William Hinderliter, Carla Sari, Carlos Colón, Carmel Summers, Carmella
Braniger, Carol Pearce-Worthington, Carol Purington, Carol Raisfeld, Carole
MacRury, Carolyn Eldridge-Alfonzetti,Catherine Mair, Catherine Smith, Cathy
Drinkwater Better, Chad Lee Robinson, Charles Tarlton, Chen-ou Liu, Cherie
Hunter Day, Christina Nguyen, Claire Everett, Claudia Coutu Radmore, Colin
Stewart Jones, Collin Barber, Curtis Dunlap, Cynthia Rowe, David Caruso,
David Platt, David Rice, David Steele, David Terelinck, Dawn Bruce, Dawn
Colsey, Deborah P. Kolodji, Dee Evetts, Diane Mayr, Dietmar Tauchner,
Dimitar Anakiev, Doreen King, Dorothy McLaughlin, Dorothy Walker, Dru
Philippou, Dy Andreasen, Edith Bartholomeusz, Elaine Riddell, Elehna de
Sousa, Elizabeth Bodien, Elizabeth Howard, Enta Kusakabe, Eve Luckring,
Fonda Bell Miller, Francis Masat, Gary LeBel, Gavin Austin, Gennady Nov,
Geoffrey Winch, George Swede, Gerd Börner, Gerry Jacobson, Giselle Maya,
Grant D. Savage, Guy Simser, H. Gene Murtha, Hannah Mahoney, Harue Aoki,
Heather Feaga, Helen Buckingham, Helen Yong, Hortensia Anderson, Huguette
Ducharme, Ignatius Fay, Ikuko Melze, Ikuyo Okamoto, J. Andrew Lockhart, J.
M. Rowland,J. Zimmerman, James Tipton, Jan Dean, Jan Foster, Jane
Reichhold, Janet Lynn Davis, Janick Belleau, Jeanne Emrich,Jeanne
Lupton,Jeff Hoagland, Jeffrey Woodward,Jim Schneider, Jo McInerney, Joanna
Ashwell, Johannes S. H. Bjerg, John Parsons, John Quinnett, John Samuel
Tieman,John Soules, John Stevenson, Johnny Baranski, Joyce S. Greene, Joyce
Wong, Judith Ahmed, Jules Cohn Botea, Julie Thorndyke, Kala Ramesh, Karen
Audioun Klingman, Karen Peterson Butterworth, Kate King, Kath Abela Wilson,
Kathe L. Palka, Katherine Samuelowicz, Kathy Lippard Cobb, Keitha Keyes,
Kirsten Cliff, Kirsty Karkow, Klaus-Dieter Wirth, Kozue Uzawa, Larry Neily,
Laurence Stacey, LeRoy Gorman, Leslie Giddens, Leslie Ihde, Liam
Wilkinson,Linda Galloway, Linda Jeannette Ward, Linda Papanicolaou, Lisa
Alexander Baron, Lisa M. Tesoriero, Liz Rule, Lois Holland, Lucas
Stensland, Luminita Suse, Lynn D. Bueling, Lynette Arden, M. Kei, Magdalena
Dale, Makoto Nakanishi, Margaret Chula, Margaret Conley, Margaret Dornaus,
Margaret Fensom, Margaret Grace, Margaret Owen Ruckert, Margaret Van Every,
Margarita Engle, Maria Steyn, Marian Morgan, Marian Olson, Marie Lecrivain,
Mariko Kitakubo, Marilyn Hazelton, Marilyn Humbert, Marjorie Buettner, Mark
Holloway, Martin Lucas, Mary Franklin, Mary Kipps, Mary Lou Bittle-DeLapa,
Mary Mageau, Matt Quinn, Matthew Caretti, Max Ryan, Maxianne Berger, Mel
Goldberg, Melissa Allen, Merle Connolly, Michael Ketchek, Michael
McClintock, Michael Thorley, Michele L. Harvey, Micheline Beaudry, Mike
Montreuil, Mira N. Mataric, Miriam Sagan, Naoko Kishigami Selland, Naomi
Beth Wakan, Noele Norris, Owen Bullock, Paginini Jones, Pamela A. Babusci,
Patricia Prime, Paul Smith, Peggy Heinrich, Polona Oblak, Quendryth Young,
Raffael de Gruttola, Randy Brooks, Renee Gregorio, Richard von Sturmer, Rie
Ezaki, Roary Williams, Robert McNeill, Robert Smith, 1Robert West, Rodney
Williams, Ron C. Moss, Ron Woollard, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, Ruby
Spriggs, Ruth Holzer, Saeko Ogi, 1Sakurako, Sanford Goldstein, Sanjukta
Asopa, Sarah Wika, Seren Fargo, Sheila Sondik, 1Shernaz Wadia, Shona
Bridge, Sonam Chhoki, Sonja Arntzen, Spiros Zafiris, Stanford M. Forrester,
Stella Pierides, Steve Mangan, Steve Wilkinson, Sue Richards, Susan
Constable, Svetlana Marisova, Sylvia Forges-Ryan, T. J. Edge, Takako
Nazuka, Taro Aizu, Terra Martin, Terry Ann Carter, Terry Ingram, Tess
Driver, Tessa Wooldridge, Tim Geaghan, Tito, Tom Clausen, Tomohime, Tracy
Davidson, Vasile Moldovan, Vasile Smărăndescu, Veronica Shanks, Victor P.
Gendrano, Yūko Kawano
About the Editors:
M. Kei is a tall ship sailor and award-winning poet. He lives on the
Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay (USA) and apprenticed aboard a
skipjack, a sail-powered oyster dredge. He now serves with a fully rigged
ship. His publications include over 1400 tanka poems in six languages and
ten countries. He is the editor-in-chief of the anthology series, *Take
Five : Best Contemporary Tanka*, and the author of *Slow Motion : The Log
of a Chesapeake Bay Skipjack*, Recommended Reading by the Chesapeake Bay
Project. He edits *Atlas Poetica : A Journal of Poetry of Place in
Contemporary Tanka*. He is the compiler of the Bibliography of
English-Language Tanka, which documents over one thousand publications from
1899 to the present day. He is also the author of the award-winning gay Age
of Sail adventure series, *Pirates of the Narrow Seas.*
Patricia Prime, a semi-retired early childhood teacher, lives in Auckland,
New Zealand. She is co-editor of *Kokako*, reviews editor of Takahe, and
reviews/interviews editor of *Haibun Today*. Patricia has been one of the
editors of the *Take Five* anthologies since their inception. Her poems,
reviews, literary essays and interviews have been published in the *World
Poetry Almanac* (Mongolia) and in various journals. She is currently
writing collaborative tanka sequences with an Australian poet and shisan
renga with poets from Europe and also from New Zealand. Her work is
scheduled for publication in *Haibun Today, Contemporary Haibun Online,
Lynx, Atlas Poetica, Gusts, Eucalypt, multiverses *and* red lights*, among
others.
Magdalena Dale was born in, and lives in, Bucharest, Romania. She is a
member of the Romanian Society of Haiku and World Haiku Association. Her
work has been published in several reviews and anthologies in her country
and abroad. Her tanka and haiku have appeared in more literary sites
online. She wrote a bilingual tanka book *Perle de roua/Dew pearls*, a
bilingual renga book *Mireasma de tei/ Fragrance of lime* with Vasile
Moldovan and a bilingual haiku book *Ecourile tăcerii/ The echoes of
silence.* She received several awards for her work.
Amelia Fielden is an Australian professional translator and an
internationally awarded and published tanka poet. Seventeen books of her
translations of modern and contemporary Japanese tanka have appeared over
the last 11 years, with a further two volumes forthcoming in 2012. Amelia
has also published six collections of her own tanka, the most recent
being*Light On Wate
*r (2010). She has collaborated with other Australian poets to produce four
books of responsive tanka, including *Yesterday,Today & Tomorrow* (2011)
with Kathy Kituai, and the bilingual *Words Flower* (2011) with Saeko Ogi.
Amelia is happy to be contacted at anafielden@hotmail.com.
Claire Everett's haiku, tanka, and more recently, haibun and tanka prose,
have appeared in many of the short-form poetry journals worldwide. She was
a contributing poet for cycle 11 (spring/summer 2011) of the online journal
*Daily Haiku*. Claire's interest in tanka prose increased when she was
invited by M. Kei to conduct an in-depth interview with Jeffrey Woodward
for *Atlas Poetica* 9 (July, 2011) discussing the history and practice of
tanka prose. She is now delighted to be the tanka prose editor for *Haibun
Today*. Claire lives with her husband and five children in North Yorkshire,
England, and draws most of her inspiration from walks on the Moors and
Dales and in the Lake District.
Owen Bullock's first tanka appeared in tangled hair in 2000, and thereafter
in *Eucalypt, Lynx, Magnapoets, Modern English Tanka, Moonset, paper wasp,
Atlas Poetica, Presence*, etc. He has published a collection of haiku, *wild
camomile *(Post Pressed, Australia, 2009); fiction, *A Cornish
Story*(Palores, UK, 2010), and poetry,
*sometimes the sky isn't big enough* (Steele Roberts, New Zealand, 2010).
Owen has edited a number of journals, including *Kokako* and *Poetry NZ*.
He is currently on the International Editorial Board for the online
journal, *Axon: Creative Explorations *(University of Canberra). He teaches
creative writing online for the Waiariki Institute of Technology and the
New Zealand Writers' College. <http://www.owenbullock.com/>
David Terelinck (Sydney, NSW, Australia) is a full-time employee and
part-time writer who seriously wishes the balance were reversed. He has
been involved in creative writing for more than twenty-five years with many
awards for his short stories, articles and poetry. David has been writing
tanka for the past five years and has been widely published in
international tanka journals. David's first tanka collection, *Casting
Shadows*, was published in late 2011. During the same year, David co-edited
*Grevillea & Wonga Vine: Australian Tanka of Place*, with Beverley George.
He enjoys giving tanka and other creative writing workshops, and lives by
his motto *scribo ergo respiro*. In 2012 he is looking forward to joining
the editorial panel of the Canadian journal, *GUSTS: Contemporary Tanka.*
Janick Belleau’s latest publication* D’âmes et d’ailes / of souls and wings*—a
bilingual tanka collection won her the Canada-Japan Award in 2010. She
edited the collective work *Regards de femmes—haïkus francophones* in 2008
and coedited *L'Érotique poème court / haïku *in 2006. Her feature articles
and presentations in Canada, in France and in Japan deal with the
contribution of women in the advancement of haiku and tanka.
David Rice lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and aging dog.
Three children and three grandchildren also live in the Bay Area. He has
been reading and writing tanka for more than twenty years, and his poems
have appeared in numerous anthologies. He has self-published two tanka
chapbooks and, with Cherie Hunter Day, the collaborative tanka sequence *Kindle
of Green* (2008). In 2012 he became the editor of *Ribbons*.
For media inquiries or to arrange an interview, contact editor-in-chief M.
Kei by e-mail at: Keibooks at gmail dot com. Publisher information at:
www.AtlasPoetica.org
Keibooks
P O Box 516
Perryville, MD 21903 USA
<http://AtlasPoetica.org>
—
M. Kei
Editor-in-chief
Take Five : Best Contemporary Tanka
P O Box 516
Perryville, MD 21903
take5tanka (at) gmail (dot) com
Poems for Inner Rooms: Six New Titles by Ai Li
From time to time, in the world of English-language haiku and tanka, there is a poet who transcends the form – Ai Li is such a poet. Her work places her firmly among the best of today's post-modern writers. She is an east-west fusionist, whose work needs to be evaluated among those working in both eastern forms and the more free form western traditions. In short, not a genre poet, but simply – Poet. Ultimately, this is where she will stand and be counted.
After a ten year hiatus, since the closing of her London-based journal, “still: a journal of short verse,” Ai Li went silent, or so it seemed, but suddenly she has burst onto the scene with a collection of six new Kindle ebooks. Here are to be found mostly new work seasoned with a pinch of old favorites. She, again, shows the power and the aesthetic of the short, short poem with the same strength, subtlety, and integrity that she has so generously given her readers all along. Ai Li, I might hazard to say, has done with the haiku and tanka forms what Emily Dickinson did with the ballad form in her day.
Ai Li sounds a range from “zen, loss, joy, the surreal, temps perdu, the erotic, humour, truth, the everyday, and ... the sublime.” These six new books are theme-based to appeal to the taste of various readers: 1) the taste of shadow – night journal; 2) flame trees – temps perdu; 3) blood sisters – journal intime; 4) drowning jasmine – memories of malaya; 5) fish kiss – becoming still; 6) tenement moon – memento mori – and all priced at a pocket-cozy $2.99, easily found on Amazon.com’s Kindle eBooks by simply searching “ai li”.
As a long time fan of Ai Li’s poems, all I can say is how sweet to have this rich lode of her work in one place.
– Larry Kimmel, editor of Winfred Press
After a ten year hiatus, since the closing of her London-based journal, “still: a journal of short verse,” Ai Li went silent, or so it seemed, but suddenly she has burst onto the scene with a collection of six new Kindle ebooks. Here are to be found mostly new work seasoned with a pinch of old favorites. She, again, shows the power and the aesthetic of the short, short poem with the same strength, subtlety, and integrity that she has so generously given her readers all along. Ai Li, I might hazard to say, has done with the haiku and tanka forms what Emily Dickinson did with the ballad form in her day.
Ai Li sounds a range from “zen, loss, joy, the surreal, temps perdu, the erotic, humour, truth, the everyday, and ... the sublime.” These six new books are theme-based to appeal to the taste of various readers: 1) the taste of shadow – night journal; 2) flame trees – temps perdu; 3) blood sisters – journal intime; 4) drowning jasmine – memories of malaya; 5) fish kiss – becoming still; 6) tenement moon – memento mori – and all priced at a pocket-cozy $2.99, easily found on Amazon.com’s Kindle eBooks by simply searching “ai li”.
As a long time fan of Ai Li’s poems, all I can say is how sweet to have this rich lode of her work in one place.
– Larry Kimmel, editor of Winfred Press
Darlington Richards launches the Little Book of Yotsumonos.
Darlington Richards, publishers of Journal of Renga & Renku, are pleased to announce the launch of the Little Book of Yotsumonos.
Preview: http://darlingtonrichards.com/lboy_preview
Purchase: http://darlingtonrichards.com/lboy_buy
John Carley’s recently-designed four-verse renku format is represented by 60 poems, wherein Carley collaborates with such well-known haikai poets as Hortensia Anderson, Lorin Ford, Carole MacRury, Sandra Simpson, William Sorlien and Sheila Windsor, together with an introduction to the form.
“I have always been impressed by John Carley’s knowledge of Japanese linked verse… It is my sincere hope that this new form of linked verse will take root.” —Nobuyuki Yuasa, Professor Emeritus, Hiroshima University, and translator of Basho’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches (Penguin Classics, 1966).
“the Little Book of Yotsumonos opens up a world of poetic possibility, sourced by the old, both the Chinese and Japanese poetic traditions, yet fresh and original… I suspect few will be able to read this book without wanting to try and compose a yotsumono themselves.” —Sonja Arntzen, Emeritus Professor of East Asian Studies, University of Toronto, and translator of The Kagero Diary and Ikkyu and the Crazy Cloud Anthology.
Preview: http://darlingtonrichards.com/lboy_preview
Purchase: http://darlingtonrichards.com/lboy_buy
Norman Darlington
Moira Richards
Darlington Richards Press
http://darlingtonrichards.com
Preview: http://darlingtonrichards.com/lboy_preview
Purchase: http://darlingtonrichards.com/lboy_buy
John Carley’s recently-designed four-verse renku format is represented by 60 poems, wherein Carley collaborates with such well-known haikai poets as Hortensia Anderson, Lorin Ford, Carole MacRury, Sandra Simpson, William Sorlien and Sheila Windsor, together with an introduction to the form.
“I have always been impressed by John Carley’s knowledge of Japanese linked verse… It is my sincere hope that this new form of linked verse will take root.” —Nobuyuki Yuasa, Professor Emeritus, Hiroshima University, and translator of Basho’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches (Penguin Classics, 1966).
“the Little Book of Yotsumonos opens up a world of poetic possibility, sourced by the old, both the Chinese and Japanese poetic traditions, yet fresh and original… I suspect few will be able to read this book without wanting to try and compose a yotsumono themselves.” —Sonja Arntzen, Emeritus Professor of East Asian Studies, University of Toronto, and translator of The Kagero Diary and Ikkyu and the Crazy Cloud Anthology.
Preview: http://darlingtonrichards.com/lboy_preview
Purchase: http://darlingtonrichards.com/lboy_buy
Norman Darlington
Moira Richards
Darlington Richards Press
http://darlingtonrichards.com
The Haiku Foundation Video Archive campaign on IndieGoGo
Hi Folks,
I'm writing to let you know about The Haiku Foundation Video Archive campaign on IndieGoGo.
Take a moment if you would to check it out. All the tools are there. Get perks, make a contribution, or simply follow updates. If enough of us get behind it, we can make 'The Haiku Foundation Video Archive' happen. This is a word of mouth kind of campaign, so passing this link along and spreading the word is greatly appreciated too. Thanks for having a look, and take care.
Jim Kacian
President
The Haiku Foundation
http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Haiku-Foundation-Video-Archive?a=346480&i=emal
I'm writing to let you know about The Haiku Foundation Video Archive campaign on IndieGoGo.
Take a moment if you would to check it out. All the tools are there. Get perks, make a contribution, or simply follow updates. If enough of us get behind it, we can make 'The Haiku Foundation Video Archive' happen. This is a word of mouth kind of campaign, so passing this link along and spreading the word is greatly appreciated too. Thanks for having a look, and take care.
Jim Kacian
President
The Haiku Foundation
http://www.indiegogo.com/The-Haiku-Foundation-Video-Archive?a=346480&i=emal
Journal of Renga & Renku third issue call
http://darlingtonrichards.com/jrr-cfc
Hello!
We're ready to begin accepting offers of content for the third issue of our Journal of Renga & Renku, which is now listed with the Bibliography of Asian Studies and the MLA International Bibliography. The journal will be:
1. published early 2013
2. available in hardcopy only
3. available for secure online purchase using Paypal
We're looking for a variety of content along the lines of:
1. academic/polemic articles on any aspects of the genre
2. translations of old renga and renku
3. news of renku groups and happenings
4. book articles/reviews
5. letters responding to the contents of previous issues, or on any relevant topic
6. and of course, a showcase of current examples of the genre:
a) in English
b) in any other language, accompanied by an English translation
c) previously published or not (just let us have details of prior publication so we can acknowledge properly)
d) simultaneous offers are fine too, again provided you advise us immediately of acceptance, for purposes of acknowledgement
e) in any of the standard forms: kasen, triparshva, nijûin, jûnichô, shisan, rokku, hyakuin, imachi, yotsumono, etc.
f) in any explorations of the above forms in terms of experimentation with one-line, zip, 5/7/5 or other fixed counts, and even rhyme
g) solo and group work
h) with (preferably) or without notes/reflections on the poem/process from sabaki or renju or both
i) Please include the following text in all poetry submissions: "I hereby confirm that I have obtained consent from all of the participating poets to offer this poem for publication by JRR"
7. We are also holding a contest, the winning poem to appear in JRR3; click here for details: http://darlingtonrichards.com/contest
8. We're open to discussing content ideas we've not covered above, so please write
9. All communications will be acknowledged within two weeks
10. Closing date for sending content: October 1, 2012
11. We are regretfully unable to pay contributors for content at this stage
To gain an idea of the sort of content that interests the editors, leaf through the previews of our previous issues (or, better still, buy them) at http://www.darlingtonrichards.com/jrr
Please send all contributions and other communications to RengaRenku@gmail.com (RengaRenku AT gmail DOT com)
We look forward to hearing from you.
Norman Darlington
Moira Richards
Journal of Renga & Renku
http://darlingtonrichards.com/jrr-cfc
Hello!
We're ready to begin accepting offers of content for the third issue of our Journal of Renga & Renku, which is now listed with the Bibliography of Asian Studies and the MLA International Bibliography. The journal will be:
1. published early 2013
2. available in hardcopy only
3. available for secure online purchase using Paypal
We're looking for a variety of content along the lines of:
1. academic/polemic articles on any aspects of the genre
2. translations of old renga and renku
3. news of renku groups and happenings
4. book articles/reviews
5. letters responding to the contents of previous issues, or on any relevant topic
6. and of course, a showcase of current examples of the genre:
a) in English
b) in any other language, accompanied by an English translation
c) previously published or not (just let us have details of prior publication so we can acknowledge properly)
d) simultaneous offers are fine too, again provided you advise us immediately of acceptance, for purposes of acknowledgement
e) in any of the standard forms: kasen, triparshva, nijûin, jûnichô, shisan, rokku, hyakuin, imachi, yotsumono, etc.
f) in any explorations of the above forms in terms of experimentation with one-line, zip, 5/7/5 or other fixed counts, and even rhyme
g) solo and group work
h) with (preferably) or without notes/reflections on the poem/process from sabaki or renju or both
i) Please include the following text in all poetry submissions: "I hereby confirm that I have obtained consent from all of the participating poets to offer this poem for publication by JRR"
7. We are also holding a contest, the winning poem to appear in JRR3; click here for details: http://darlingtonrichards.com/contest
8. We're open to discussing content ideas we've not covered above, so please write
9. All communications will be acknowledged within two weeks
10. Closing date for sending content: October 1, 2012
11. We are regretfully unable to pay contributors for content at this stage
To gain an idea of the sort of content that interests the editors, leaf through the previews of our previous issues (or, better still, buy them) at http://www.darlingtonrichards.com/jrr
Please send all contributions and other communications to RengaRenku@gmail.com (RengaRenku AT gmail DOT com)
We look forward to hearing from you.
Norman Darlington
Moira Richards
Journal of Renga & Renku
http://darlingtonrichards.com/jrr-cfc
Journal of Renga & Renku 2012 renku contest - invitation for entries
Prior to our call for content for the Journal of Renga & Renku, Issue 3, we are delighted to announce this year’s renku contest which will be judged by Dr Chris Drake, long-time professor of Japanese literature at Atomi University in Japan. Details below:
1. Lots of great reading matter, including information about the kasen form, from John Carley here:
Entry fee: None
Deadline: 1 October 2012
Prizes
1. The winning poem will be published, together with a detailed critique, in the 2013 issue of the Journal of Renga & Renku. All entries will be considered as content for inclusion in the journal.
2. A small (and yet to be selected) prize will be sent by way of congratulation to the sabaki or one designated participant of the winning poem.
Details
1. Only renku in the kasen form are eligible for this contest
2. There is no limit on the number of entries you may send
3. Previously published kasen are also eligible for the contest
4. Kasen that include verses written by the contest judge or editors of JRR, or led by them, are NOT eligible for this contest
Entry procedure
The leader or sabaki of the poem is designated the contest entrant and should do the following:
1. Send a clean copy of the poem (stripped of initials, schema notes, renju's names etc.) as a Word (or RTF) document attachment to RengaRenku@gmail.com (RengaRenku AT gmail DOT com)
2. Mark the subject line: Kasen contest/name of poem/name of sabaki, e.g. Kasen contest/October's Moon/Moira Richards
3. In the body of the email, paste the following text:
I hereby confirm that I have obtained consent from all of the participating poets to enter this poem in the 2012 JRR Renku Contest, and to offer it for publication by JRR
4. There is no need to list the names or number of poets who contributed to the poem. We'll contact you later for this information if we decide to publish.
Judging criteria
Dr Drake will look for:
1. Evidence of serious literary intent and imaginative daring.
Deadline: 1 October 2012
Prizes
1. The winning poem will be published, together with a detailed critique, in the 2013 issue of the Journal of Renga & Renku. All entries will be considered as content for inclusion in the journal.
2. A small (and yet to be selected) prize will be sent by way of congratulation to the sabaki or one designated participant of the winning poem.
Details
1. Only renku in the kasen form are eligible for this contest
2. There is no limit on the number of entries you may send
3. Previously published kasen are also eligible for the contest
4. Kasen that include verses written by the contest judge or editors of JRR, or led by them, are NOT eligible for this contest
Entry procedure
The leader or sabaki of the poem is designated the contest entrant and should do the following:
1. Send a clean copy of the poem (stripped of initials, schema notes, renju's names etc.) as a Word (or RTF) document attachment to RengaRenku@gmail.com (RengaRenku AT gmail DOT com)
2. Mark the subject line: Kasen contest/name of poem/name of sabaki, e.g. Kasen contest/October's Moon/Moira Richards
3. In the body of the email, paste the following text:
I hereby confirm that I have obtained consent from all of the participating poets to enter this poem in the 2012 JRR Renku Contest, and to offer it for publication by JRR
4. There is no need to list the names or number of poets who contributed to the poem. We'll contact you later for this information if we decide to publish.
Judging criteria
Dr Drake will look for:
1. Evidence of serious literary intent and imaginative daring.
2. Evidence of familiarity with renku and with the kasen form. Sites such as renkureckoner.co.uk are good places for review or for gaining basic knowledge, and translations of traditional kasen as well as EL kasen are recommended.
3. Success in achieving multivalent linking. Above all, verses must work as 1) a single verse and also as a new, transformed verse in relation to 2) the previous verse and 3) the following verse. Readers need be able to concretely feel the way identical words have different nuances or mean different things in relation to different verses.
4. Success in using moon, blossom, seasonal, love, and other non-seasonal verses to create an overall sequence rhythm and tone. Variations for standard images will be accepted. The moon, for example, may be replaced by other celestial objects if the change is stated in a note.
5. Success in creating an introduction in verses 1-6, full-bodied, dynamic development in 7–30, and a smooth, quick return to the material world in 31-36.
6. A kasen is long enough to create its own world. If successful, it affects the way a reader returns to and experiences his or her own daily world.
7. Traditional monotheme kasen on a single topic (blossoms, love, Amida Buddha, etc.) will be accepted, though monotony must be avoided.
8. Both group and solo (dokugin) kasen will be accepted. Solo kasen should show evidence of the writer’s ability to hear otherness in her or his own voices.
Contest judge
Chris Drake will judge this contest and introduces himself here:
Chris Drake will judge this contest and introduces himself here:
“I was born in Tennessee in the U.S. in 1947. I got a PhD in Japanese literature from Harvard and taught Japanese literature and comparative literature at Atomi University in Japan for nearly three decades before retiring. My classes included renku appreciation and writing for Japanese students. I’ve published annotated translations of both kasen and hundred-verse hyakuin by Japanese haikai poets of the 17th, 18th, and 20th centuries, including a translation of a kasen by Bashō and his followers in JRR2. I’m now completing an annotated translation of Saikaku’s 1675 solo thousand-verse haikai requiem for his wife. I write renku both in English and in Japanese and have participated in several kasen sequences in Japanese judged by the late Higashi Meiga (Akimasa).”
Why a one-form renku contest?
Every JRR contest will feature a different form of the genre, in order to
a) promote appreciation of the distinctive features of the various forms of the genre and how they can be employed to different ends in the writing of poems, and
b) encourage poets to explore more fully the possibilities of one form, and to appreciate what others do with it.
The Kasen
The name Kasen means 'Poetic Immortals' and refers to the Chinese and Japanese practice of creating ideal groups of thirty six artistic forbears. Prior to the establishment of the Basho school formalised linked verse was generally written as one hundred or fifty verse sequences. By the time of Basho's death the majority of haikai sequences were Kasen.
Though he is known as the father of haiku the Kasen renku and haibun [mixed poetry and prose] were Matsuo Basho's preferred vehicles for expression. It therefore comes as no surprise that the Kasen is rather good.
Seasons recur. [The major seasons of spring and autumn] may appear for up to five verses in a row. There are two spring blossom verses. There are three moon verses, two of which are generally autumn. Love appears as a fixed topic twice, potentially for an extended run. The structure of the Kasen clearly demonstrates that fine writing has more to do with periodicity and interlocking cycles, with tonal control, evolution and recontextualisation.
Without clear vision and leadership the twelve verses of a development side can rapidly become amorphous. The Kasen too takes time to complete. But the Kasen was and remains essential to the development of all aspects of excellence in renku. A person who limits themselves always to the shorter contemporary forms is unlikely to develop the highest level of artistry that the genre permits.
—John Carley, Renku Reckoner
Want to learn more about renku and kasen?
Want to learn more about renku and kasen?
1. Lots of great reading matter, including information about the kasen form, from John Carley here:
http://www.renkureckoner.co.uk/
and excellent material from the late Bill Higginson here:
http://www.2hweb.net/haikai/renku
2. Lots of space to learn, write and meet other renku enthusiasts at The Renku Group here:
http://renkugroup.proboards.com/
—
and excellent material from the late Bill Higginson here:
http://www.2hweb.net/haikai/renku
2. Lots of space to learn, write and meet other renku enthusiasts at The Renku Group here:
http://renkugroup.proboards.com/
—
