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The following lecture, originally in Spanish, was accepted by the Japanese Cultural Center in Buenos Aires in a competition for foreign exponents of Japanese culture. When I presented my lecture, the Center provided me with fascinating literature on haiku to improve what finally was the grand finale of the various presentations. Note: “haiku” is both singular and plural. JAPANESE HAIKU AS A POETIC INSPIRATION IN OTHER LANGUAGES Sue Littleton The haiku is a Japanese poetic form which, created in other languages according to the original criteria established by the Japanese, consists of 17 syllables in three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables each. Also, haiku in another language should not have a title, capital letters, punctuation, metaphor, or rhyme; the first two lines are linked and the third stands alone. As the Japanese language has no articles, I am convinced that the poet should try to avoid articles. (It is too easy to find another syllable for a line by adding an article that contributes nothing to the haiku!) The form expresses fullness and suggests more with the fewest number of words. In fact, it is the shortest form of poetry in literature. It earned this distinction in the 17th century when Basho raised it to a refined art. The purpose of haiku is to suggest sentiments by way of natural images, rather than expressing them in a direct way. Since 1905 many Western poets have been particularly interested in writing haiku. “Imagism” is the name of the poetic movement that flourished in the United States and England between 1909 and 1917 in opposition to Romanticism. It was led by the American poet Ezra Pound and later by Amy Lowell. The imagists, as followers of Imagism called themselves, were looking for a new style of verse and an aesthetic that would justify it. They dedicated themselves to writing free verse, i.e., the simplification of expression and the elaboration of a style that could present precise impressions. For poets of other languages, the haiku was the perfect answer to achieving the objectivity, colloquial language and fullness of free verse, as suggested by the imagists. Ezra Pound was probably the most well known of the imagists. One of his most famous short verses (which would be impossible to understand without the title), is very similar to well-known Japanese haikus. “In a Station of the Metro” The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. 1 Compare this with the following translation of an exquisite haiku by the great master Moritake: fallen flower returns to bough a butterfly Generally, the rule of 5-7-5, no title, no rhyme, etc., has been suspended or ignored by many poets who call their short poems “haiku.” The fact that these poets refer to their minimalist poems as “haiku” is, to a degree, the definition the poet has elected and the corresponding acceptation by the reader. Professor Hasegawa says, “The 5-7-5 rhythm of haiku is not 17 syllables. It is 17 beats. Those 17 beats are like the beats of a heart in the Japanese language. Given this, two things are apparent. First, a Japanese haiku of 17 beats is acceptable, even if it doesn’t have 17 syllables. There are haiku with 5-5-7 and 7-5-5 beats. But if the rhythm is not followed because the poet thinks it is not necessary, then the poem is not a haiku. Haiku is a disciplined poetry, and the rhythm (the beats) are the life of poetry.” I am inclined to agree with those Japanese who say that what has kept the haiku poetically important in English has been the faithful adherence to the 5-7-5 rule. I refer to three line poems that break the syllable requirement “minimalist poetry.” Jack Kerouac established, with copyright, his own idea of haiku in English, which he styled “American Haiku.” He explained that English was too different from Japanese to hold to the 5-7-5 form. Here, for an example, I’d like to read four of my haiku that are not included in my bilingual book Sueku/Suku. The Spanish translations, where included, are simply minimalist poems. 114 sybaritic cats sprawl before electric fire frost lace drapes window Gatos sibarítas se arrellanan frente a la estufa eléctrica. En la ventana cuelgan cortinas de escarcho. And now, a little humour: 121 2 reed choked stagnant pond lolls unloved ignored asleep but wait frog heaven La estancada laguna, llena de junquillos, se duerme en el olvido y desamada. Pero, para las ranas es el Cielo. 122 ancient black tree trunks hearts hollowed by passing years cradle scrolled green ferns Los ancianos troncos negros de los árboles. sus corazones ahuecados por el pasaje de los años, acunan las verdes volutas de los helechos. “Haiku: Tributo Silencioso” “Haiku, a Silent Tribute,” published in Chile in 2008, has haiku from all the countries of Latin America, from Mexico to Argentina, including Cuba. Here are two translations of these Spanish haiku by the famous Argentine writer Jorge Luís Borges and another from a Cuban poet that especially appealed to me: Borges: ¿Es un imperio esa luz que se apaga o una luciérnaga? Is this an empire this light that flickers or a firefly? Elmys Antonia Restrepo, from Cuba: En el estanque el pez se sueña lirio y bebe una estrella. In the pond the fish dreams itself a water lily and drinks a star 3 Almost none the haiku of this Chilean book follow the exact rules for haiku in other languages, but I’ve noticed that even the strictest Spanish professors, or “maestros” of haiku, allow their students to use punctuation and capital letters. The verses have three lines, but not always the required number of syllables. Personally, this is not the form I like to use when I write haiku, but I accept that this is my choice and not an inflexible rule. In the Japanese language there are more than a thousand code words, or “kigo,” key words that have a special meaning for the Japanese. Originally, a kigo was a word that belonged to a particular season, i.e., spring, summer, fall, winter. As its use evolved, beginning in the 8th century, the list of kigo has expanded to include many coded meanings. For example, the crow is a symbol of melancholy and mourning; a flowering cherry tree is a symbol of spring; the lotus, lilies and sunflowers represent summer, and a cricket is a symbol of fall. Radishes, fallen leaves and the first snowfall symbolize winter. Below is a haiku written on the death of my eighteen year old grandson from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome: slow rain without cease dark crow huddles on dead branch gutters run with tears The insertion of a kigo in Japanese haiku comes from a wealth of meanings that are impossible to understand in a language that doesn’t have kigo, or that has relatively few symbolic words of this kind. The great masters of the Japanese haiku can give themselves the luxury of writing haiku with another syllabic map, but, for me, those of us who are inspired by classic haiku must follow the 5-7-5 rule. It is obvious that after 500 years of haiku culture and more than 1,000 code words, or kigo, only the Japanese can write and understand the elegant details of the haiku. This does not change the fact that after seeing a translation of a haiku into their own language, poets of other countries can experience profound inspiration, as did the original imagists who read the haiku and took flight in free verse so many years ago. Traditionally, haiku, like other poetic compositions, has attempted to describe natural phenomenon; the changes of the seasons, and the daily life of people. Influenced greatly by philosophy and the aesthetics of Zen, its style is characterized by nature, simplicity (and here I don’t mean to say “plain”), subtlety, austerity, and the apparent symmetry that suggests freedom-- and with this, eternity. 4 “Haiku is simply what is happening in this place, in this moment.” (Matsuo Basho 1644-1694) I would like to make a comment here about the debate between various poets and critics whether haiku are prose or if they are poetry. For some poets, this saying by Basho could be the definition of prose, not poetry. I am inclined to believe that the haiku, as Basho states, is poetry. The words have their music and rhythm of the language and present images that open the mind and incite emotions that come from these images. Federico Garcia Lorca said, “Poetry is the union of two words that one never suspected could be put together and that form something like a mystery.” “The mission of the haiku is to produce a lively, but fleeting impression. To take control of one instant or flicker at its climax in our heart and express it immediately in a very brief and condensed way.” (Shisuo Kasai) (Haiku remind me of those little balls of colored paper imported from Japan when I was a child. When you dropped one of these balls into a glass of water, it would expand into a tiny garden of exotic and extravagant flowers.) The emphasis in haiku as symbolic representations of aspects of Buddhism is very clear, and explains why haiku are so rooted in Japanese culture. This also explains, in my opinion, why at times it is difficult for a Western writer to emulate the profound religious depths of a haiku. We may be trying to express philosophical ideas, but it is very difficult to incorporate Zen philosophy into our efforts when we have never studied and lived Zen, as have the Japanese. In “Tres Maestros”: “To suggest and approximate emotions is the most adequate way to know this poetry that, even though it offers elements of reality, develops them with great economy of description, which proposes an incomplete vision that the reader continues to freely elaborate.” It appears to me that all those poets who do not know Japanese can do when we write our versions of haiku is to attempt to express an image of nature that transmits an implied idea. This means following, where possible, the traditional syllabic form that the Japanese haiku allows us in other languages. The apparent simplicity of haiku, which at the same time hides great depth, lends rigidity to the scheme, and, in addition, allows the presence of something cohesive and pure. On the other hand, composing haiku in Spanish is difficult for me, but at the same time I consider that Spanish may be more loyal to the Japanese model because of the number of syllables or beats in the words. English, with so many descriptive one-syllable words, allows the poet to practically write a novel in a haiku where Spanish forces the poet to look for words with much more 5 certainty! Apparently, Spanish is more like Japanese in the imposed limitations because of the number of syllables or beats in the language. In a conference presented by the Centro Cultural de Japón, I met Noemi Müller, a prize-winning poet from Buenos Aires who writes haiku in Spanish. Her charming haiku are loyal to the rules most used in Spanish, meaning without rhyme or titles and with three lines and 5-7-5 syllables, and not always with punctuation. Baldosa rota en tus venas abiertas brota un malvón. Broken tile in your open veins a geranium sprouts Oscureciendo se desliza la noche soltando tules Dusk falls night appears wafting tulles Gota de agua buscando su camino de no retorno. drop of water searching your road of no return Dejo mi huello en el río de la vida. ¿Dejo mi huello..? I leave my footprint in the river of life. Do I leave my footprint? I have written the following haiku that alternate between the classic haiku (5-7-5) in Spanish, the translation 5-7-5 in English, and again in Spanish, to explain the problem of translations in general – and to illustrate why English gives so much more scope to the poet than Spanish. 6 First version in Spanish: viento corre hojas caídas brincan niños jugando Now, translated in English, loyal to the 5-7-5 syllables: stray breeze skips and runs joyfully scatters bright leaves small children playing If I were to faithfully translate the English version to Spanish, it would read like this: brisa vagabunda salta y corre 11 syllables alegremente desparramando hojas llenas de colorido ninos pequeños jugando 19 syllables 8 syllables – for a grand total of 38 syllables! The poet can only hope that the resulting translation of the verse will have its own rhythm and appeal, as a minimalist poem rather than a traditional haiku. As there are so many different ideas about what a haiku is, in my bilingual book of haiku Sueku/Suku, I tried to avoid the issue by calling the verses in English “sueku” with the “e” in my name, “Sue.” The Spanish minimalist poems derived from the translation from English to Spanish I name “suku. Keeping in mind that the haiku is rejected as poetry by some poets, I am more and more convinced that indeed haiku are poetry, a unique poetry, delicate and graceful, and that the expressed limits challenge the poet with a discipline comparable to the sonnet, the villanelle, and other established forms. I invite you all to the special and delightful world of haiku. I am sure that any sensitive and creative person can become of poet of haiku. It is a wonderful literary exercise for young people from elementary school and onwards. To close: farewell haiku muse now the time has come for us to part how sweet your visit 7 Adíos, musa del haiku Ahora tenemos que despedirnos. Qué dulce fue su visita? Sue Littleton January 2014 8