| James W. Hackett
continues his distinct way of addressing the most important
issue which faces the contemporary haiku community: make or
break of this form as a viable and respectable literary
genre in our age and beyond. It is no exaggeration to
compare him, in this mission, with the great poets and
commentators of the past, from Basho, through Buson,
Shiki and Kyoshi to Blyth. If the comparison may be
challengeable, there is absolutely no doubting the
seriousness of the issue which the mission tries to unravel. |
Harold
G. Henderson
(click
picture for larger image)
|
Firstly, Hackett addresses the issue by choosing only one
haiku poem from, this time, among the 296 poems submitted to
World Haiku Review's August edition. Around the haiku thus
chosen, he expounds his views, beliefs and messages.
As time
advances, we human beings come out of nature more and more, increasingly
having no other alternatives but to dwell in urban
environment. Here lies one of the most testing challenges for
haijin of modern time: Is haiku possible in such an environment?
Hackett laments the current situation where the naturalism of
traditional haiku is ignored and asks whether urban,
anthropocentric verses should be called haiku. It is a crusade
against the contemporary aesthetic anarchy of haiku and
human-centred hubris by which we make light of what he calls
"the Greater Nature". We must listen to him not so
much to admire and obey what he says, as to seek what he is
seeking.
Secondly, Hackett has re-opened his bureau drawers and went
through some of his early correspondences with the people we can
only read in books, Blyth, Henderson etc. He is kind enough to
offer one of the most fascinating letters to him from these
"legendary" figures: a letter written to him by Harold
Gould Henderson and dated 21st December 1970. When Blyth died
(28th October 1964) at almost 66 years of age, Henderson told
Hackett to the effect that now that the great man was no
longer with us Hackett must take over where Blyth left it and be
his successor. The interactions among these three men are of
immense interest to us students of haiku. It is so fortunate for
us to have the very person in our midst who can tell us his
direct experience which nobody else can. The letter in question
is self-explanatory and I would not wish to dilute it with my
unnecessary introduction.
|
JAMES
W. HACKETT
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James
W. Hackett:
a Personal Selection
Hackett creates, in World Haiku Review,
a new and unique way of teaching and appreciating haiku
which he chooses from submissions. Instead of
conventionally selecting the best three or top ten, he
will be selecting only one haiku poem per issue, which may
not necessarily be even what he judges as “best”.
Rather than the usual praise and commentary, the chosen
haiku will serve as an example by which he will expound
his own ideas and points. In other words, we will be
hearing his own voice through the poem he chooses.
~ Susumu Takiguchi
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Read:
Next:
James
W. Hackett: A Personal Haiku Selection
A
Letter from Harold Gould Henderson
"A
Personal Conclusion" from "That Art Thou: A Way of
Haiku"
Volume
1, Issue 1, August 2001 - [Use
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