haiku page · 2020-04-07 · haiku page 2012 / 1 editor’s note this issue features haiku with...

Haiku Page

俳頁

Issue 5, 2012

Haiku Page

Issue 5, 2012

Editor

Managing Editor

Art Editor

John Zheng

Ben H

Albert Wong

Haiku Page publishes haiku, haiga, hibun and short essays in the month of July. Submissions can be emailed to [email protected] or by snail mail with an

SASE for notification. Contributors with a subscription receive a hard copy of Haiku Page that publishes their work. With no subscription, they receive a PDF version of Haiku Page. Subscription is $5.00 per issue. The next issue will come out in July 2013. All rights revert to authors after publication. Haiku Page Copyright@2012 by Yazoo River Press Cover picture: “Skink, Sandrock, Alabama.” Ben H, with haiku by J. Quinn

YRP

Yazoo River Press MVSU 5032, 14000 Hwy 82 West Itta Bena, MS 38941-1400

Contents

Editor’s Note 1

Haiku with translation in Chinese 2 Dennis (chibi) Holmes, Michael Minassian, Alexander B. Joy, Joseph M. Kusmiss,

Barbara Taylor, Robert Cowser, Ted Haddin,

J.D. Mitchell-Lumsden, Bruce Ross,

Howard Lee Kilby, Toru Kiuchi,

Catherine Michaels, Robert Epstein,

John McCarthy, Ce Rosenow, John Zheng,

Tom Painting, Jane Stuart, Jim Kacian,

Charles Trumbull, Billie Wilson,

John Stevenson,

Poetic Lines from Poetry of Tang and Song Dynasties 15

Short Essay: Scent of Horseshoes 17

Brief Review 19

Haiga 20 Christine Catalano, John Quinn, Laura Turon,

Pauline Mateos, Brooke Harper, Carina Sanchez,

David Kline, John Bastamante

http://mail.yahoo.com/

Haiku Page 2012 / 1

EDITOR’S NOTE

This issue features haiku with translation in Chinese and haiga

created by the students in Dr. Albert Wong’s graphic design class

at the University of Texas at El Paso. Most of the haiku were se-

lected from submissions and invitations; some from anthologies

and journals. Each translation is accompanied with pinyin for

phonetic comparison.

A decade ago I translated for New World Poetry Magazine haiku

of eighteen poets including Jim Kacian, Dorothy McLaughlin,

John Ower, Tom Clausen and Lee Gurga. Soon Basho and Denver

Stull appeared in Chinese. Three poets I went on translating a few

more times were Kacian, Ower and Peggy Lyles. One night I re-

trieved from the bookshelf Ms. Lyles’ haiku book, To Hear the

Rain, for bedtime reading. Later that week I learned she died on

the day of my reading. Up till today, I still feel my reading that

night was like reading her farewell message.

In summer 2007, Albert and I were fellows at the East-West Cen-

ter’s Institute on Infusing East Asian Studies into the Undergradu-

ate Curriculum in Hawaii. The four-week stint at the Center

packed us with some knowledge on Chinese and Japanese cul-

tures, histories, religions and literatures. Upon returning, I asked

Albert whether he would be interested in teaching his students to

create haiga through haiku, and thus our collaboration began. He

used haiku to introduce typography to his students and asked them

to interpret haiku either with types or with graphic images, photo-

graphs, and illustrations. Some students’ work was published in

past issues of Haiku Page, and I surely believe the teaching and

publishing stimulated these young talents’ interest in learning and

reading haiku too. The six haiga by his students in this issue mark

our third-time collaboration, and we feel satisfied with what we

have been doing in infusing East Asian Studies.

As Haiku Page toddles forward in its fifth year, we will try to ex-

tend our reachability to the haiku world and to publish more poets

in translation. Enjoy reading!

Haiku Page 2012 / 2

DENNIS (CHIBI) HOLMES

Yazoo City...

a twist of wind snaps

tree after tree

小鎮雅珠...... xiao zhen ya zhu 龍卷風折斷 long juan feng zhe duan 樹株株 shu zhu zhu

MICHAEL MINASSIAN

Her scent lingers

on the letter—

spice winged words

她的芬芳 ta de fen fang

繚繞信上———— liao rao xin shang

字字翅味香 zi zi chi wei xiang

ALEXANDER B. JOY

heat wave—

swaying side to side

with the fan

熱浪———— re lang

隨那把扇 sui na ba shan

兩邊晃 liang bian huang

http://mail.yahoo.com/

Haiku Page 2012 / 3

JOSEPH M. KUSMISS

cold rain

the woodpecker

still eats

冷雨 leng yu

那只啄木鳥 na zhi zhuo mu niao

仍在吃 reng zai chi

bananas in

a fruit bowl—

Basho

果盆裡的 guo pen li de

蕉———— jiao

芭蕉 ba jiao (Basho)

BARBARA TAYLOR

rusty moon

a postcard arrives

from Chile

鏽色月 xiu se yue

智利寄來的 zhi li ji lai de

明信片 ming xin pian

Haiku Page 2012 / 4

ROBERT COWSER

The covey of quail

crosses the sandy road—

a hieroglyphic

一群鵪鶉 yi qun an chun

過沙路———— guo sha lu

象形文 xiang xing wen

TED HADDIN

down in the desert

away from my books today

alone to alone

在沙漠深處 zai sha mo shen chu

今日我遠離書籍 jin ri wo yuan li shu ji

孤獨伴孤獨 gu du ban gu du

J.D. MITCHELL-LUMSDEN

funnel cloud

fingers the horizon:

summer dead-still

漏斗云 lou dou yun

指向地平線: zhi xiang di ping xian

夏死靜 xia si jing

Haiku Page 2012 / 5

BRUCE ROSS

spring morning

light through the body

of a window spider

春晨 chun chen

光線透過 guang xian tou guo

窗蜘蛛 chuang zhi zhu

cold rain

and more cold rain

stone Buddha

冷雨 leng yu

更甚冷雨 geng shen leng yu

石佛 shi fo

early spring

the napkin turned purple

from the plum

早春 zao chun

梅子染紫 mei zi ran zi

餐巾 can jin

cold morning

the empty tea kettle

gives a whistle

寒晨 han chen

空茶壺 kong cha hu

嘯叫一聲 xiao jiao yi sheng

Credit: "cold morning" previously published in RawNervzHaiku. Reprinted with permission of the

author.

Haiku Page 2012 / 6

HOWARD LEE KILBY

winter evening

reading a three year old email

from my mother

冬夜 dong ye

讀母親三年前的 du mu qin san nian qian de

電郵 dian you

birthday party

my 86-year-old aunt

blows out the candles

生日派對 sheng ri pai dui

86歲的嬸 ba shi liu sui de shen

吹滅根根蜡燭 chui mie gen gen la zhu

online

searching for my friend

in Sendai, Japan

在線 zai xian

搜索日本仙台的 sou suo ri ben xian tai de

友人 you ren

Lin Yu-tang

The Importance of Living

still on my bookshelf

林語堂 lin yutang

《生活的藝術》 sheng huo de yi shu

仍在書架上 reng zai shu jia shang

Haiku Page 2012 / 7

TORU KIUCHI

awakening to

the subtle sound

of early summer rain

漸悟 jian wu

初夏雨 chu xia yu

妙音 miao yin

parrying

mosquitoes

with supple hands

手輕盈 shou qing ying

驅 qu

蚊 wen

tying my shoes—

smell from

an early-ripening rice plant

系鞋帶———— ji xie dai

味來自 wei lai zi

一棵早熟稻 yi ke zao shu dao

CATHERINE MICHAELS

low tide

the stench

of Flushing Bay

低潮 di chao

法拉盛灣的 fa la sheng wan de

惡臭 e chou

Haiku Page 2012 / 8

ROBERT EPSTEIN

last day of spring

some of the sky

cupped in her hands

春之末日 chun zhi mo ri

些許天空 xie xu tian kong 捧在她手中 peng zai ta shou zhong

torn dollar bill

when did the other half

of our love blow away

損鈔 sun chao

愛情另一半 ai qing ling yi ban

何時已吹散 he shi yi chui san

between

blue drops of rain

her colorless goodbye

藍色雨點 lan se yu dian

間隙中 jian xi zhong

她蒼白的再見 ta cang bai de zai jian

JOHN MCCARTHY

varicose veins

bare tree branches

against a winter sky

靜脈曲張 jing mai qu zhang

禿樹枝 tu shu zhi

直刺冬天 zhi ci dong tian

Haiku Page 2012 / 9

CE ROSENOW

trial separation

I sweep pine needles

from the doorway

試分手 shi fen shou

門口松針 men kou song zhen

我掃走 wo sao zou

dawn fog

trying to remember

my dream

曉霧 xiao wu

試圖記起 shi tu ji qi

我的夢 wo de meng

crossing the Bay Bridge

we discuss

translation

過海灣大橋時 guo hai wan da qiao shi

我們討論 wo men tao lun

翻譯 fan yi

JOHN ZHENG

歸元寺 gui yuan si

落雪 luo xue

入禪音 ru chan yin

Guiyuan Temple

snow falls

into Zen music

Haiku Page 2012 / 10

TOM PAINTING

midday heat

the pitch and yaw

of swallows

晌午暑 shang wu shu

燕子 yan zi

亂飛舞 luan fei wu

election day

the crunch of acorns

underfoot

選舉日 xuan ju ri

橡子嘎吱 xiang zi ga zhi

碎腳底 sui jiao di

JANE STUART

heavy rain

starlight washed away

from the ground

大雨 da yu

地面星光 di mian xin guang

儘沖走 jing chong zou


JIM KACIAN

gunshot the length of the lake

槍聲,湖的延伸 qiang sheng hu de yan sheng

the day now burnt out fireflies

日殘螢火飛 ri can ying huo fei

driving behind

the garbage truck

summer deepens

駛在 shi zai

垃圾車後 la ji che hou

夏真濃 xia zhen nong

heading home—

starlings in a tree

at dusk

歸途中—— gui tu zhong

椋鳥棲樹 liang niao qi shu

在黃昏 zai huang hun

not coming

to her master‘s call—

spring wind

春風不應主人喚 chun feng bu ying zhu ren huan


CHARLES TRUMBULL

night terminus

on the platform

unbroken snow

夜間終點站 ye jian zhong dian zhan

站台上 zhan tai shang

覆雪無痕 fu xue wu hen

between Lake Erie

and the nuclear station

fireflies

伊利湖 yi li hu

與核電站之間 yu he dian zhan zhi jian

螢火閃閃 ying huo shan shan

the swell of her breast

against the watered silk

summer moon

波紋綢 bo wen chou

襯出她的豐乳 chen chu ta de feng ru

夏月 xia yue

Credits: "night terminus" - Fallen Snow: Haiku for the Winter Cedar Falls, Iowa: Eight Pound Tiger

Press); "the swell of her breast" - Modern Haiku; "between Lake Erie" - First Prize, Convention on

Water, River, Lake and Sea (Japan, 2001). Reprinted with permission of the author.


BILLIE WILSON

trail’s end

the taste of wild onion

still sharp on my tongue

小徑尾 xiao jing wei

野蔥味 ye cong wei

仍然刺舌 reng ran ci she

winter wind

a cradle song sung

in an ancient tongue

冬季風 dong ji feng

一曲搖籃 yi qu yao lan

古語吟 gu yu yin

deer tracks

through the meadowsweet

first frost

鹿跡 lu ji

穿過繡線菊 chuan guo xiu xian ju

初霜 chu shuang

Credits: “trail's end” and “winter wind” - The Heron's Nest; “deer tracks" - Mariposa. Reprinted

with permission of the author.


JOHN STEVENSON

cold saturday—

drawn back into bed

by my own warmth

寒冷的週六—— han leng de zhou liu

被自己的溫暖 bei ziji de wen nuan

拉回床上 la hui chuang shang

homeless man—

authorities seeking

the cause of death

流浪漢—— liu lang han

當局在尋找 dang ju zai xun zhao

其死因 qi si yin

Father's Day

she tells me

I'm not the father

父親節 fu qing jie

她告訴我 ta gao su wo

我不是父親 wo bu shi fu qing

in the pollen

on my car

her signature

我車頂的 wo che ding de

花粉裡 hua fen li 她的簽名 ta de qian ming

jampackedelevatoreverybuttonpushed

擁擠不堪的電梯每個按鈕都按到

yongjibukandediantimeigeanniuduandao

Credits: “cold Saturday” – Something Unerasable; “Father’s Day,” “homeless man” – Modern

haiku; “in the pollen” – Upstate Dim Sum; “jampacked” – Frogpond. Reprinted with permission of

the author.


POETIC LINES FROM POETRY OF TANG AND SONG

DYNASTIES

白居易 BAI JUYI

月照平沙夏夜霜

yue zhao ping sha xia ye shuang

Moonshine on smooth sand summer night frost

朱慶餘 ZHU QINGYU

蘆葉有聲疑露雨

lu ye you sheng yi lu yu

Sound from reed leaves—dew or rain?

韓愈 HAN YU

黃昏到寺蝙蝠飛

huang hun dao si bian fu fei

Dusk over the temple flying bats

劉長卿 LIU CHANGQING

閑花落地聽無聲

xian hua luo di ting wu sheng

Sparse petals falling to the ground, soundless

錢起 QIAN QI

鵲驚隨葉散

que jing sui ye san

Surprised magpies are gone with flying leaves


歐陽修 OUYANG XIU

老去光陰速可驚

lao qu guang yin su ke jing

Getting old the speed of time is shocking

夜深風竹敲秋韻

ye shen feng zhu qiao qiu yun

Deep night bamboos in wind clanking of autumn

晏殊 YAN SHU

何處高樓雁一聲

he chu gao lou yan yi sheng

Where in the high tower a wild goose’ call

秦觀 QIN GUAN

夢破鼠窺燈

meng po shu kui deng

Dream broken a rat peeps at the lantern

蘇軾 SU SHI

蕭蕭暮雨子規啼

xiao xiao mu yu zi gui ti

Drizzle upon drizzle at dusk a cuckoo’s cry

無名式 ANONYMOUS

踏花歸來馬蹄香

ta hua gui lai ma ti xiang

Back from flower-viewing scent of horseshoes

Haiku 12 / 17

JOHN ZHENG

Scent of Horseshoes

The poetic line of a classical Chinese poem by an unknown

poet, 踏花归来马蹄香 (Back from flower-viewing scent of horse-

shoes), tells an interesting story about creative thinking and imag-

ination in painting in the Song Dynasty. An emperor of the Song

Dynasty, who was good at painting, used this poetic line as the

theme to challenge participants in a painting contest initiated by

him. Some painters thought it was an easy thing; they drew some

flowers and a horse as the objective images in the poetic line

states. Some were perplexed by the word “scent,” which, as an ab-

stract idea in the line, was difficult to present in painting. Some

drew a man holding a flower on horseback, some drew a few pet-

als under the horseshoes, but only one painter showed his unique

imagination. He simply drew a couple of butterflies following the

shoes of a trotting horse to make the intangible scent tangible, thus

transferring the olfactory image into a lovely kinetic one and win-

ning the competition and the favor of the emperor.

This story tells that the importance of painting lies in creative

thinking, suggestive way of expression and unique imagination,

and that a painter should be able to draw out the meaning beyond

words. Similarly, a poet should have the ability to use images to

present ideas in a fresh, creative way.

Here is one of Basho’s haiku that shows a strong echo of the

Chinese “back from flower-viewing”:

In the garden

a sweaty shoe—scent

of chrysanthemum. (Basho 74)

The scent in Basho’s haiku is more specific through the image of

chrysanthemum, and the sweat of the shoe, maybe the flower-

viewer’s or the gardener’s, makes the scent smelled in an unusual

way.

The next haiku by Richard Wright has the resemblance in its

expression to both the classical Chinese poetic line of “back from

flower-viewing scent of horseshoes” and Basho’s “In the garden”

haiku:


In a misty rain

A butterfly is riding

The tail of a cow. (17)

This haiku presents a beautiful picture of the springtime. Through

the description of a butterfly chasing the tail of a cow, the poet

sees the harmony that exists in nature and thus expresses his poet-

ic sensibility to the natural beauty.

Influence can be direct or indirect, traceable or untraceable.

Poets of different times may think alike, or even write alike. But,

we can assume from the haiku discussed here that, if there is any

influence from classical Chinese poetry to Basho and then to

Wright, this influence shows a receptive and re-creative process

that presents new or different ways of viewing nature.

Works Cited

Basho, Matsuo. On Love and Barley: Haiku of Basho. Trans and

intro. Lucien Stryk. New York: Penguin, 1985. Print.

Wright, Richard. Haiku: This Other World. New York: Arcade,

1998. Print.


Brief Review

Epstein, Robert. A Clear View Of. Greenfield, MA: Tribe P, 2005.

A booklet of ten contemporary and innovative haiku and senryu,

of which this one gives a moment to smile:

pouring rain

I pedal faster

on the stationary bike

this one provides a gap to fill or to figure out:

m

o

caug (ht)

and this one invites the reader to ponder and complete a view in

any direction by adding an image appropriate for the ending:

where

the

tree

once

stood

a

clear

view

of

This haiku reminds me of a window view after Hurricane Katrina

snapped trees in my friends’ backyard: a clear view of the houses

across the creek.

John Zheng


CHRISTINE CATALANO


JOHN QUINN

late fall

a lone moon

through lace


JOHN QUINN

(picture taken in Nashville, Tennessee)


JOHN QUINN


Haiga

by students

in a graphic design class

with Dr. Albert Wong

at The University of Texas

at El Paso


LAURA TURON


PAULINE MATEOS


BROOKE HARPER


CARINA SANCHEZ


DAVID KLINE


JOHN BASTAMANTE

haiku page · 2020-04-07 · haiku page 2012 / 1 editor’s note this issue features haiku with...

Documents