WHCshortverses  - Cinquain Workshop 2002

 

From mid-February to mid-March 2002, Denis Garrison, Editor of AMAZE, the Cinquain Journal and Associate Editor, Deborah Kolodji, conducted a highly successful Cinquain Workshop and Contest for members of WHCshortverses. We are pleased to present the Cinquain Workshop lessons beginning in this issue of World Haiku Review. After the workshop, participants entered their cinquain on the theme of spring to the cinquain contest. The winning cinquain, announced on WHCshortverses, will be published in the July Issue. Thanks to Denis and Deborah for their great work and to all participants for their enthusiastic response!

Opening Lesson: WHCshortverses Cinquain Workshop
Denis Garrison, Editor, AMAZE

Since many (or all) of you know the history of the cinquain's invention by Adelaide Crapsey, an Imagist poet who had translated haiku and tanka into English, I don't think we will belabor historical reflections. There are many links on AMAZE's History Page if anyone wants to study or refresh themselves on this subject. All of A.C.'s own cinquains are accessible from that page.

What I would like to do in this opening lesson is discuss the cinquain form itself, as it is a little more complex than some believe. Also, the cinquain form has been adapted for use in teaching grammar to children, resulting in some forms ("didactic cinquains") which, while they may be fun to write, are not cinquains in the sense of the original form intended to amount to something like "English Haiku."

The classic form developed in two stages. The first, fundamental form is a stanza of five lines of accentual verse, in which the lines comprise, in order, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 1 stresses. Very shortly, A.C. decided to make the criterion a stanza of five lines of accentual-syllabic verse, in which the lines comprise, in order, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 1 stresses and 2, 4, 6, 8, and 2 syllables. Iambic feet were meant to be the standard for the cinquain, which made the dual criteria match perfectly. Here is an example of a purely iambic accentual-syllabic cinquain which meets the dual criteria:

Accentual-syllabic - pure iambic:

On Layers

Behind
her care-worn face -
warm eyes of ardent youth.
A flash of impish smile belies
her age.

Denis Garrison

scansion

u/
u/u/
u/u/u/
u/u/u/u/
u/

It may seem that, if one stays to the syllable-count criterion, the stress pattern will follow. Not so. Here are draft lines 1 & 2 that do not meet the stress pattern but do meet the syllable-count criterion:

Hark! Hark!
A mockingbird.

2 & 4 syllables, yes; but respectively, 2 and 1 stresses, where the criterion is 1 and 2. Both words in line 1 are stressed and only "mock" in line 2 is stressed. These two lines do not meet the basic criteria for a cinquain.

Here is an example of a cinquain that meets the fundamental criterion, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1 stresses, but not the syllabic secondary criterion. The syllable count is 2, 4, 7, 11, 2, so two lines are long on syllables while correct on stresses. It starts and ends with trochees, not iambs.

Accentual; non-syllabic - mixed meter:

In Every Good Thing…

In your
elation, when
you're full of flowers and song,
you must not fail to watch for the witch at the
wedding.

Denis Garrison

scansion

/u
u/u/
u/u/uu/
u/u/u/uu/uu
/u

So, bottom line, the first and fundamental requirement is the stress count of 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, which may be met with more or fewer syllables than 22. The second criterion, which is more flexible, is the syllable count of 2, 4, 6, 8, 2. Classic cinquains need to meet the first criterion and are best realized when they also meet the second criterion.

In this first lesson, the only other point I want to make is about the use of titles. Haikuists are unused to titling their poems. In A.C.'s conception of the cinquain, the title is an integral part of the poem, the sixth line, so to speak. All her cinquains are titled, and the titles are never just the first line of the stanza; they convey significant information, necessary to fully understand the poem. In my opinion, the essential nature of A.C.'s titles is "context-setting." They fulfill an expository role without limits on their length. A classic cinquain ought to be carefully titled, so as to give greater depth and resonance to the poem.

Now, to the first exercise. Since Valentine's Day is fast approaching, please write a cinquain that has romantic love, Valentine's Day, sweethearts, etc., as the theme.

[Exercise was completed by members, online at WHCshortverses, February 14, 2002]

Denis Garrison
Editor, AMAZE: The Cinquain Journal

http://www.denisgarrison.com/amaze/

 

...to be continued!

 

Cinquain Contest Winners

Read: Japanese Haiku to American Cinquain