Shamrock
Haiku Journal
of the Irish Haiku Society
Focus on
his
horse ploughing the last rut
and
his shadow
through
an open door
into
the ambulance,
a
yellow leaf
scent
of the sea -
so
small the shell
in
my suitcase
country
feast -
between
two songs,
a
cricket’s story
-- Rajna Begović (transl. by the author and Anatoly Kudryavitsky)
dewdrops
gleaming
on
chestnut buds -
not
on each of them
-- Rajna Begović (translated by the author)
mulberry
leaf
picked
up by the wind -
a
kitten plays with it
hand
in hand,
a
boy and a girl walk
through
the field of wheat
a cock on the windowsill
viewing hens
in the neighbour’s yard
one
after another:
a
procession of ants…
a
hare jumps over it
boy’s tight fist
has captured light -
a firefly
--
Dejan Bogojević (transl. by Anatoly
Kudryavitsky)
an
owl’s feather
on
the old stump
absorbing
moonlight
-- Branislav Brzaković (transl. by Anatoly Kudryavitsky)
a mountain passing to another
the blue flower -
wind
flickering flame…
on the opposite wall,
shadow of the hearth
abandoned
house
a
door wreath
still
there
virgin
snow…
a
pine surrounded by
green
grass
icy
wind -
a
bare lime-tree branch
scratches
on the window
close
of the day -
a
naughty boy
gathers
glow-worms
-- Ivan Kolarić (transl. by Anatoly Kudryavitsky)
shirt
hanging from a birch branch -
the
owner sits
in
its shade
in
an empty
mug,
firefly
glow
snow
shaken off the tree -
the
bent branch
goes
up again
-- Dusan
Mijajlović Adski (transl.
by Anatoly Kudryavitsky)
clearing in the woods -
the full moon highlights
a cemetery
taking a walk -
among rooftop antennas,
the newborn moon
November
morning -
travelling on the motorway,
wisps of fog
falling snow -
a child draws the horizon
on
the windowpane
from
door to door -
the postman carrying letters
and first snowflakes
cloudless
sky -
in the field, the wind shaking
an old scarecrow
underneath
the moon
only
these willow leaves -
each
one shining
-- Aleksandar Nejgebauer
(translated by Anatoly Kudryavitsky)
destroyed
bridge -
only the
rainbow connects
the banks of a river
mist clears away -
in the spider's web,
a string of pearls
-- Aleksandar Ševo (transl. by Anatoly
Kudryavitsky)
snow
up to my knees…
where’s
the path that
has
brought me here?
a
blackbird has perched
on
the branch
hey
angler, take a look!
beggar
gathering
cigarette buts
a
profusion of roses
city
lights
a
firefly pauses at the edge
of
the forest
blooming
season
a
huge stump on the riverbank
unconcerned
-- Tanja Stefanović
(translated by Anatoly Kudryavitsky)
wading
through the silence
of
hospital lobbies
full
moon
reaper
swings his arm -
a
cloud of petals from
ripe
cornflowers
view
from the terrace
a
hilltop hut sinks
into
the shade
train
roaring by
the
utter silence
of
military graves
-- Saša Vašić (transl. by
the author and Anatoly Kudryavitsky)
clouds’
reflections
drawing
a shadowy landscape
on
the stream bottom
abandoned
house
giant
snowflakes fall
into
the chimney
the
wind carrying
children’s
kites
and
wild geese
cherry
petal
falling
through the shadows
of
grass blades
--Vid Vukasović
(translated by Anatoly Kudryavitsky)
Haiku in Serbia
The history of haiku in our region,
i.e. in former
However this poetic genre really
took off in
At that time our understanding of
haiku was enriched by the work of one of the most educated haiku poets,
Vladimir Devidé of
In 1975 Aleksandar Nejgebauer
(1930–1989), a translator, literary critic and Professor of English and
American literature, published the first ever collection of haiku poetry in the
Balkans. It was titled simply Haiku.
His essay, "Metaphor in Haiku," was the first Serbian essay on haiku
to be translated into English and published outside
The growing popularity of haiku in
our country resulted in the establishment of haiku clubs and haiku magazines. The
first Serbian haiku magazine, Paun,
was launched in Pozega in 1988. It still exists under the editorship of Milijan
Despotovic). The club called “Masaoka Shiki” existed in
The national haiku association called
The Haiku Association of Yugoslavia (now called The Haiku Association Serbia
and
According to the statistics, there are about six hundred haiku poets in our country; they have published more than five hundred titles. Haiku from Serbian haiku contests held in about seven Serbian cities and towns were collected in about forty anthologies. Among these contests, the Yugoslavian Haiku Festival and International Haiku Contest, in Odzaci (held since accordingly 1987 and 1989); the Knjizevna kelija "Sveti Sava" Competition in Paracin that was held between 1994 and 1998; the International Haiku and Haibun Contest organised by the Aleksandar Nejgebauer Haiku Club in Novi Sad in 1998 (and still running), and also the International Haiku and Senryu Contest held by the Lotos Haiku Magazine (which has been published in Valjevo since 1999).
The first (exclusively) haiku publishing library entitled Matsuo Basho was established in Odzaci in 1986. This event marked a new splash of interest in haiku. In 1988 a new haiku library was founded in Odzaci. It was also named after Basho. Later (1993) it was transferred to another Serbian town, Kula.
The first Yugoslav haiku anthology
titled Leptir na caju (1991) was compiled and edited by Milijan Despotovic.
Another Yugoslavian anthology, Grana koja mase, that represented works of
around 400 authors had the same editor and was published the same year. We
should also mention KNOTS (1999), the anthology of south-eastern European haiku
poetry edited by Dimitar Anakiev of
Haiku gained popularity among Serbian people of several generations, who all had different education levels and occupations. Some mainstream poets are known to write haiku, notably Desanka Maksimovic, Dobrica Eric, Momcilo Tesic, Miroljub Todorovic, Slobodan Pavicevic, Mirjana Bozin. Serbian haiku poets win on average about forty awards and commendations at national and international haiku contests per year. Not all of these competitions are professionally judged which, of course, casts the shade of doubt on the merits of some of our haijin. The editors of our haiku journals have developed very different tastes and elaborated different criteria of judging haiku. Many of our authors pay for the publication of their books, sometimes not even obtaining a catalogue number for them. These books never hit the shelves of our bookshops but are often used as gift items. The quality of their works is also very different. Many of them even translate themselves into English – sometimes not having mastered the language. Time and again these texts are being submitted to international English-language competitions, which can only damage the reputation of our haiku movement. Unfortunately, we don’t have official haiku workshops that run periodically. Nor do we have critics who are ready to write about haiku happenings, so our haiku poets are often deprived of seeing their work reviewed. Apart from that, we seem to be moving forward on the path of haiku discoveries.
(translated
to English by the author and Anatoly Kudryavitsky)
Saša Važić is the editor of Haiku Reality (http://www.geocities.com/ana_vazic/esejeng33.htm)
------------------------<>------------------------
"Predeo" by Slobodan VItković (Serbia)
------------------------<>------------------------
tinder
sticks
a last streak of green
in the aspen’s leaf
wind-twisted
leaves
the silent
flit
of a
lesser whitethroat
footfalls
the lizard
pauses
mid-scuttle
still
shadows
the cow's neck bent
into its flank
honey
country…
a tortoise makes its way
across the road
-- John Barlow (
the
shallows
a coot and its chick
ease into water
turnstones
among the rain-washed pebbles
channel light
evening
murmurs
through the yellowing grass
pairs of antlers
long
shadows
a wagtail undulates
over the outfield
-- Matthew Paul (
whale song
the twilight blues
deepen
cotton
sheets
the sound
of the sea
folding,
refolding
esplanade palms
the chihuahua's master
walking tall
new in
town
a thousand
butterflies
without
names
-- Lorin Ford (
cloudy day
the green of water
and the green of trees
old willow
a thousand branches holding
the spring wind
chilly morning
patches of fog pause
in thistles
a
sunflower
kissing
the sun
-- Anatoly Kudryavitsky (
flattened
grass –
white
lilies stand taller
in the
rain
too wet
for birdsong –
canary
yellow beet leaves
glisten in
the rain
sunburst –
scent of
wild garlic
fills the
garden
rain-drenched
lawn
a spate of
water lilies
carpet the
pond
-- Martin Vaughan (
September
sunset –
fiery
fuchsia nestles
in
hedgerows
warm rain –
lily pads
surrendering
to watery graves
a canopy
of
gnarled wisteria –
grey
refracted light
heatwave –
two
lighthouses exchange
hazy flashes
-- Sharon Burrell (
footsteps shuffling
outside the temple doors
new moon
carrying my baby
through the pine trees
a monkey watches
water rushing
through the paddy fields
morning soup
Golden Maitreya
hands resting on his knees
rupees at his feet
-- Siofra O’Donovan (
first snow
the garden Buddha
deeper
late afternoon
a fading photograph of sky
on the tin roof
troubled sleep
the half of the moon
I couldn't see
-- John W. Sexton (
cicada…
her
tapping foot
follows the
song
willow
a sliver
of moonlight
beneath a
branch
-- Cynthia Rowe (
heat haze –
dragonflies
silhouette
the sky
above the
circus tent,
tumbling
swifts
-- Juliet Wilson (
sunlight and honey
in a jar
her hands
working with flour –
the cloudless sky
-- Hugh O’Donnell (
a gust of leaves
throws shadows
-- Terry O’Connor (
chilly
morning –
a scarecrow
leaning
towards the greenhouse
hyacinth
in the regal flowerbed –
taking a
nap
--
Andrew Michael O'Brien (
between races
boy-rowers chasing frogs
in the tall grass
-- Eileen Sheehan (
at my front door
nothing between me
and the full moon
-- Mark Roper (
avenues of
trees
growing longer
after the summer rain
--
Breid Sibley (
cicadas
singing
for a mate
soon to
die
-- Maureen Purcell (
daybreak –
daisies peeping
through wet grass
-- Anne Morgan (
termite
mound…
the camper
van
in its
shadow
-- Allison Millcock (
our first
picnic
jacarandas moult
into the iced tea
-- Scott Thouard (
backhoe
berm –
ant pauses
before pieces of
broken
pottery
-- Richard Stevenson (
soft gum
under the
desks –
first day
back
-- Noel Sloboda (
a monkey
tearing
clothes
from the line
monsoon
drought
-- Michael Morical (
rain again
the season
of
verdant
mountains
-- Gillena Cox (Trinidad & Tobago)
hemlocks
entrance
gate
off its
hinges
-- Jared Carter (
the gleam
of roof
after roof
summer
rain
-- Dawn Bruce (
---------------------------<->----------------------------
Connecting
by Diana Webb (England)
She glances at books of poems but spends the money instead on thread and a choice
of loose beads in sea-green, rose and amber. Perhaps it's the nymph's claim
about her jewels picked up from childhood verse speaking classes that haunts
her - 'Hush. I stole them out of the moon.'
As the small glass spheres slip one by one along the needle into the growing
necklace, her reflections drift from bygone generations through parting with a
lover to embryos in formation. A tranquillity, each moment hovers.
After ten
years in the making, it is finally out, the first-ever complete edition of
Basho’s haiku translated to English by the prominent American poet Jane
Reichhold (whose own collection of haiku was reviewed in Shamrock No 6). “The
haiku saint” Basho wrote one thousand and twelve hokku, and all of them can be
found in this book, together with detailed notes on each of them and the
English transcription of the Japanese originals. Perhaps Basho’s haiku will
from now on be cited by Reichhold's numeration
system (at least, in the English-speaking countries), as it happened with Johnson’s numeration of
Emily Dickinson’s poems.
In the
Introduction, Jane Reichhold gives us an insight into Basho’s poetic
background, as well as into his religious life as a practicing Buddhist, and
into his impact on poetry. She states that poetry was the great master’s way of
life, and calls him “genius with words”.
In the main
part of the book, Jane Reichhold divides Basho’s creative life into seven
periods and gives biographical information for each period, as well as accounts
of the poet’s travels. The poems written over the first period (1662 – 1774)
are referred to as “early poems”. The second period (1675 – 1679) addresses
Basho’s work as “the professional poet”. Third period (1680 – 1683) is
described as “A retreat to nature – a religious life” of Basho; the fourth
(1684 – 1688), “Basho’s journey in the way of the poet”; the fifth (1689),
“Basho’s journey to the interior”, which includes poems written during the
poet’s journey to the Far North, i.e. to the northern provinces of
In her
short introductions to each period, Jane Reichhold reveals creative influences
on Basho, as well as the way Basho’s works, in their turn, influenced his
contemporaries. Her translations are always convincing, and stand up as excellent
English-language haiku. She always uses common language, as did Basho himself,
and it always adds to the quality of her translations:
today
this night has no time to sleep
moon viewing
- or this
one, which Harald Henderson once called “the most discussed haiku in the
language”:
summer grass
the only remains of soldiers’
dreams
We liked
the economy of most of these translations. The only thing a haiku purist could
wish for is that the translator would have taken a further step on the thorny
path of eliminating all the forms of the verb “to be” from haiku; e.g. from
these:
the beach at Suma
New Year’s preparations are
a bundle of brushwood
or
life of a priest
my name is swept away
in the River of Fallen Leaves
Still,
worshipers of haiku brevity will find in this book a lot to admire:
their color
whiter than peaches
a narcissus
or
bush warbler
has dropped his hat
camelia
In the Appendices, Jane Reichhold offers a comprehensive discussion of Basho’s writing techniques, thus expanding and commenting on the material previously published in her well-known manual titled “Writing and Enjoying Haiku”. Other Appendices include glossary of literary terms, selected chronology of Basho’s life, and bibliography. The book has beautiful illustrations: original sumi-e art by renowned Japanese artist Tsujimura. We would describe the book as a Basho encyclopaedia, as we have no doubts that haiku scholars will refer to it again and again. Moreover, it is a wonderful gift to all the lovers of haiku, let alone haiku poets.
Anatoly Kudryavitsky
The information page in this book of
haiku by Lorin Ford states that “this book is proudly published and produced in
Australia”, and this sentence sets the tone for a work that is suffused with descriptions
of the flora and fauna of that nation. This is evident from the opening haiku (incidentally, first published in Shamrock No 3):
first light –
eye to dreaming eye
with a kookaburra
– and continues throughout
the book, with the author bringing us on a journey of the exotic: with images of
mynah birds, cicadas and lorikeets. But the book does not need descriptions of
the exotic to create interesting and illuminating haiku, as this author has the
power to elucidate even the most banal and bring an image to life.
Lorin Ford produces work that manages to be both humorous and personal. The simplicity with which she achieves this is evident in the haiku such as:
headstone
a leaf crosses out
the I in his
name
and
low tide –
bits and pieces of her
wedding china
Her
“cicada” haiku exhibits the sweet sadness of wabi-sabi:
cicada husk...
also clinging
to a straw
This seems to be an allusion to Basho's "cricket" haiku:
loneliness
hung on a nail
a cricket
(translation: Jane Reichhold)
In this poem Lorin Ford explores the hidden depths of everyday things, which is one of the elements that contribute to its unique sound. As it happens, many haiku poems focus on the impermanence of existence or on the pain of loss but not too many authors actually remember that existence itself can be quite painful.
The author lives in