plus
some poems by Ruziika Mokos Matuka:
Among roses
reaching toward the window
a tomato plant
bursting the banks
of all the village
fences torrents of roses
sudden summer storm
boxes of baby chicks
under an umbrella
Honour Thomasin Stedman:
love is a penguin
black and white, no greys,
standing up to meet the storm
and warm in the coldest seas
eyes of the owl
ears of the bat
in the grass, a skull
sunrise from the East
warms a stack of old sleepers
my worst night is ending-
"I am not beautiful
she says aloud -
her dozing cat purrs.
Down on the moonlight shingle
a driftwood fire is raging.
In Oct '98 we printed a group of haiku by Michael Spencer, another 36 verse
renga by Dick Pettit and 2 haiku by Joan Howes Dick Pettit came 19th of 36 poets
in the voting, but rengas are unfamiliar ground for the unschooled. Michael
Spencer was 12th, but not all haiku There was also a considerable Dick Pettit
renga
(partially given below)
Dick Pettit
"Party Conference"
Eider ducks crooning
Bannered hopes rally on the beaches of the promised land
warm, comforting loving sounds
waves of improvement pound....this stupendous
nation of ours
the rain lashes down
a grey suit enquires from Madame Zara what's in it for him
I'm expecting a buzz from a lady and a need for ready cash
Jack's the boy the girl's all soon get set on to moonlighting
rain on the mountains
we're pushing ahead with....caring enterprisism
evening shaft of sunlight
a high pram bowls along the front...giving baby air
each gully glistens
"Motherhood is the last refuge of a moody teenager
but Poppet, what Amanda's asking for is peanuts "
almonds are non-carcinogenic
and have more essential oils
Beauty by the road
two cameramen empty every bowl along the bar
browns, some reds, a flash of white
late night spirits, refining an early morning coup
used to be a fox
the moon fades : city lights, ethereal against pink and blue
a substantial explosion of interest from the green, white and orange
"It's zero tolerance.....inappropriate
behaviour will be discouraged
cut off without the benefit.....there'll soon be a
beating of brains
they'll self-destruct -.....all we need to think
about is some policies
"Rosette a tad higher.....and try for a deeper
voice"
Plus two more very relevant and
scathing verses in this very senryu-orientated
renga, which I regret I cannot print in full.
In '99 a few single haiku were
scattered amongst other poetry in several entries. I was busy through 2000
editing a large Anthology of haiku, senryu and tanka (voted for anonymously and
seen for the first time by the judges) offering the best six poems written by
each of fourteen prominent members of the British Haiku Society during several
year's work in the postal workshops of the society.
The B.H.S Postal Workshops
Anthology 2000 to which I refer, is a 90 page book of which an inaugural copy
rests in the Japanese Prefectural Museum of Literature at Gunma in Japan, by
their invitation.
This is available for £5 per copy
from the above Email.
However, to make up for this
relative neglect, our 2001 Volume 1 of Peer Poetry contains 20 mixed haiku and
tanka selected by Bill Wyatt the distinguished author, from his book 'Gleanings
from the Throstles Nest' and amongst other works included are a group of haiku
by the Norwegian, Jan Oskar Hansen; 24 haiku by Joanna Ashwell entitled 'Open
Spaces' and a group of 12 tanka called 'British Summertime'.
We were also delighted to offer
two remarkable pages of haiku and tanka from that brilliant artist ' ai li ' -
photographer - writer - publisher and editor of 'Still' the highly successful
'independent literary journal of short verse' which asks you to write "from
a place of truth with a zen approach".
Now in its fifth year Peer Poetry
International has drawn considerable attention to itself amongst
the followers of the non
avant-garde British poets in the genre.
I'll take only a brief chunk of
the above cornucopia of riches by the main protagonists, with many thanks to
them in particular and also to all who have contributed haiku and related forms
to Peer Poetry as part of their overall submissions and have not been previously
been quoted:
Joanna Ashwell
as the nights shorten
and days spark with low light
summer finally shows
silently tracing
curved lines of your body
The sun passes between clouds.
following you
wherever you
turn that black cloud
hoping for a break in the storm
faces pressed
against darkened windows
Bill Wyatt
walking up the hill
but no longer a burden
the clouds on my back
still feeling homeless
I let the winter wind blow
away this sadness
winter settles in
the washing machine cleaning
my summer clothes
Monastery love
wanting to become
free of attachments
I seem to gain
yet another one
She doesn’t reply to
my last letter filled
with the fragrance
of spring - I offer
it back to the flowers
Endless winter
rain buzzing round the kitchen
The season’s last fly
All this above material and more has appeared in the magazine - and there is not
a critical word about its appearance and unusual character in our correspondence
from subscribers (we don’t print these, it reduces the room for poetry -
although we are pleased to receive them.)
To me, this confirms that the
experiment of introducing haiku, tanka, renga and senryu into the realms of
conventional poetry has caused hardly a ripple on the surface of Peer Poetry
International, except to ensure that the magazine acquires more lavish praise as
it moves into the future.
The voting figures for this work,
whilst not hitting the highest levels all the time, have been placed steadily
around the middle and upper ground. Interestingly there are noticeable
differences between the value of votes given by the protagonists of two or three
poets offering haiku., showing that those making the judgment are not
classifying all apparently similar material as carrying the same value
Considering that so many of those
who buy the magazine don't know anything about the theory and are voting on the
impact of the imaginative use of words alone.; this is a great tribute to the
strength of the British version of these poems and the immediate appeal of the
possibilities to poets in Britain. This will
increase as the familiarity with
the various forms penetrates the poetry world.
During the intervening years since
the establishment of Peer Poetry International (As much as half the contents
derive from overseas) I have contributed several articles concerning the broad
ground rules of writing haiku in English and whilst not being too pedantic, have
returned several inadmissible submissions that would have seriously distorted
people’s ideas of what constitutes this form of poetry.
From the point of view of haiku
enthusiasts, this is surely a wonderful thing. It will militate against the
defensive tendency that can infect many artistic groups who feel that they alone
nurture the secret of the 'true faith' and can easily become inward looking and
unprepared to tolerate the development of any alternative attitudes to evolution
that has not been given their imprimatur.
I have found that this is already
noticeable amongst some groups of poets on the Continent, having myself been
'told off' for failing to observe the correct formulas which have been handed
down. I have also heard, anecdotally, that this happens in some groups in the
USA and elsewhere.
Of course there is no point in
chaos, and the essence in this, as in many other disciplines, pragmatic as well
as artistic; is that the essential thing is to know the rules thoroughly and
have proved that you can
work with them, before you range off into the far blue.
The story of all art movements has
been of the avant garde of one generation turning into the 'Old Guard’ as the
movement ages. It grows stiff and eventually collapses beneath successive waves
of the new avant garde.
We must not create barriers of
knowledge - they are just as damaging as barriers of ignorance, perhaps more so,
as they have acquired authority and can prevent the advance of inexperienced,
yet capable tyros who may not be sufficiently respectful.
Art in all fields is full of such
stories. I’m particularly au fait with such in classical music, in which
practically all new talent in composition has been savaged and the ‘politically
correct’, less talented academics praised.
