One
of the major missions of The World Haiku Club is to
"find" and help new talent realise him-/herself to
his/her full potential. Using wine jargon, this could be called
"En Primeur" in haiku. We also enjoy at WHC, good wines,
especially wines of good vintage. We, therefore, would like to
introduce a new feature where excellent vintage haiku from
well-known vineyards may be sampled.
In
this issue, we will taste some superb vintage haiku written
by the famous maker of "Chateau Lincoln" of Illinois,
USA - Lee Gurga.
Vintage
Haiku by Lee Gurga
Rows
of corn
stretch to the horizon
sun on the thunderhead |
Grand
Prize, 1996 Kusamakura International Haiku Contest, Grand
Prize, Kumamoto, Japan
Pine
shade
the wooden bench
worn smooth |
In
& Out of Fog, Press Here, 1997
Scenic
overlook
the whole Mississippi valley
hidden in mist |
In
& Out of Fog, Press Here, 1997
Graduation
day
my son & I side by side
knotting our ties |
Fresh
Scent, Brooks Books,1998
Summer
sunset
the baby finds his shadow
on the kitchen wall |
1990
Mainichi Daily News Haiku in English Contest, 1st place
[traditional category]
Fresh
scent
the labrador's muzzle
deeper into snow |
1996
Haiku Summit Contest, 1st Place, International Division
From
house
to barn
the milky way |
Fresh
Scent, Brooks Books,1998
what
is
he
thinking
?
the
mouse
whose
head
is
inside
the
kingsnake's
mouth
*
"Happy"
"Mother's"
"Day"
at
last
her
favorite
son
released
from
prison
*
sunny
saturday
morning
"I"
"don't"
"do"
"that"
"for"
"everyone"
"you"
"know"
About
Lee Gurga
Lee
Gurga (aka "The Haiku Halfwit") was born and raised in
Chicago, Illinois, USA. He attended the University of Illinois
in Urbana (birthplace of HAL 9000 from 2001: a Space Odyssey)
where he studied mathematics, Asian studies and modern dance,
and finally, desperate to make a living, dentistry. He was
introduced to haiku through the works of R.H. Blyth while in
high school. He has served as president of the Haiku Society of
America (HSA) and in 1998 received a poetry fellowship from the
Illinois Arts Council for his work in haiku. His haiku have won
the top prize in haiku contests in the US, Canada, and Japan.
His In & Out of Fog (Press Here, 1997) and Fresh
Scent (Brooks Books,1998) were both awarded 1st prize in the
HSA Merit Book Awards. Recent influences on his work include
Bashô and Roland Barthes. He has been quoted on haiku in The
New York Times, The New Age Journal, and Entrepreneur
Magazine. He and his co-translator, Emiko Miyashita, have
published translations of Masajo Suzuki's Love Haiku (Brooks
Books, 2000) and Akito Arima's Einstein's Century (Brooks
Books, 2001). He is currently associate editor of Modern
Haiku (USA), the oldest and most respected journal of haiku
and haiku studies outside of Japan. He is the haiku columnist
for the Illinois Times in Springfield, Illinois and Solares
Hill in Key West, Florida. He now works as a dentist in the
farming community of Lincoln, Illinois. He divides his time
between Lincoln and Key West.
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