BOOKNEWS....
POETIC LEAPS: FEATURED PUBLICATIONS..........
 

 Selections from

Come Dance With Me

     Robert D. Wilson and Anita Virgil

 
"Atarashimi" (newness) was one of the most important requirements of the Shofu (the canon of the Basho School). Without it, haikai would go stale, hackneyed and clichés-ridden. "Atarashimi", however, must also be rooted in lasting tradition. Without the latter, haikai would become superficial, gimmicky and rootless. The World Haiku Club has been encouraging "atarashimi" in many ways while emphasising the importance of tradition. This applies to all haikai-related genres: haiku, senryu, haibun, renku—the lot. Here, we introduce a new feature of World Haiku Review to celebrate and endorse it: POETIC LEAPS.

As the first episode of POETIC LEAPS, we look at some samples of innovative verses written jointly by Anita Virgil and Robert D. Wilson extracted from their forthcoming book entitled Come Dance With Me. These verses are rooted in tradition but inspired to expand its scope and style in an innovative manner.

According to Virgil, the two authors "...work off each other's poetry (usually haiku but occasionally a tanka or a senryu is paired with a haiku in the book )  to create a kind of synthesis somewhat akin to the fragrance nioi of linked verse, but not constrained by anything other than the connections drawn out of the collaborative effort—the gestalt of what their union creates. This is something new. Even though there have been collaborative efforts between haiku poets before, none manifest the extended and tight thematic connection of this work."

Only time will tell whether this experiment will become viable. The purpose for it is not to follow the rules of haikai or renga item by item but rather to make a poetic leap by making the most of the platform of linked verse for new possibilities. The experiment, therefore, is not to disregard haikai or renga in its traditional lines or depart from it but to try a new way of having two poets to dance together with verses based on the old. Any new attempt will need courage and is bound to meet resistance but without it no progress will be made.

The first set of the sample verses, which begins with "my white iris" will have as part of the poetic corpus a colour photograph of a white iris from Virgil's own garden. The photo is not just an illustration. More ambitiously, it is intended as a kind of "modern haiga", which is also new in a book. 

            1

1

my white iris
why do they sprout now
just before the frost?

av 
                                                                           

where is  home
when nightfall swallows
your shadow?

rdw

2

persistent  leaves!
i sweep them away and
they  return

rdw

 

too tired . . .
let the fall winds
sweep away
those dead leaves

av
 

3

winter evening
and soup—
a mixing of mists

rdw

 

added to the pot
of soup
some of her tears

av
 

4

my dreams
once  so rich & various—
they  pale like morning stars before
the  lush reality
of  you

av


between the stars,
innumerable
crickets

rdw

 
5

just lying here
where the sky begins
in the spring  grass

av

 

what is weeds?
what is grass?
an emerald field

rdw


6

we picnic
at the ancient gravesite
with a breeze    the quiet

av

 

sunshine—
the shared breath
of a kiss

rdw

 
7

i am not
alone—
the sunlight!

rdw

 

feeding the birds
I tell them
I will love you forever

av

 
8

all ways
the dawn birds
tune up the day

av

 

early morning,
gazing at the stars—
lilac scent

rdw

 
9 

dancing
only a step or two
in the room
where you were—
misty all night

av


the scent of you,
lilac,  lingers after
you have gone

rdw

 

          2                             

 

The  world of dew—
A world of dew it is indeed,
and yet. . .

            --Issa

        The Autumn Wind
 

 

1

 

the  tops of the clouds

in  starlight

below  him

 

av

 

we sail beneath

the moon in a sea

filled with stars

 

rdw

 

 

 

2

 

only  words on the wintry air

to softly wrap you in,

to  draw you gently close

to  keep you

warm  at last

 

av

 

with shared breath,

we keep warm

this wintry night

 

rdw
 

 

3

 

my finger writing
love notes in the crevice
of a dream

rdw
 

 

I drift beyond this sphere
holding  just
the memory
of your open hand
heaped with love
 

av
 

 

4

 earth viewing—
a sky
full of stars

rdw
 

 

far below the stars a tiny train train travels
into my dream
 

av
 

 

5

 

dreams  of you,
this evening
sprinkled  with moonlight
 

rdw
 

 

half-asleep  hoping
this  is no dream
my  leg slides across soft cool
empty  sheets . . .
from  the woods
the sound of the stream
 

av
 

 

6

to  share the
stars with you
in wet repose
 

rdw
 

 

 

feed me fresh fruits first
then   love me
till the stars grow dim
 

av
 

 

Dream Suite
 

in my hand,
a strawberry
scented with you

 

moonflower--
how slowly she
unbuttons her blouse

 

pull me into your
blossom--it's a dream
after all!

 

moonlight
furrows your hair
with now

 

 calloused hands
softened with moonlight
. . . and a kiss

 

dawn clouds linger,
wistful for the night
that bore them

 

sunrise--
a snail's
steady path

 

parting clouds--
the glisten of
crow wings
 

rdw
 

 

          §
 

 

7

 

a  gloomy sky
tonight,
longing  for stars
 

rdw
 

 

lying  here . . .
ah!   just  the sound of rain,
enough  of a song
 

av
 

 

8

running his finger down
the small of her back—
a  gentle rain
 

rdw
 

 

do you recall
the red sweet grapes
I brought you
and warm rye bread
after your long journey to love?
 

av
 

 

9

 

“you”  scented books
on the dresser beside
my  bed
 

rdw
 

 

I wake to the blue light
of dawn
suffused  with
this growing love
of you
 

av
 

 

10

 

rainy night—
contemplating  what
could  have been
 

rdw
 

 

driving alone
in  spring night rain
road  ghosts draw me on
to the dark house
bereft of you
 

av
 

 

[END]

 

Photograph © 2005 Jennifer Virgil Gurchinoff

 


Anita Virgil
A past president of The Haiku Society of America. Poetry, essays and book reviews by her have appeared in all major haiku magazines and anthologies since 1969. Most recently, her poetry and essays appear in the online literary journal Simply Haiku (2004 and 2005); Haiku (2003, Alfred A. Knopf Everyman’s Library edition); Where Dogs Dream and Haiku for Lovers (MQP London 2003). Her six books A 2nd Flake, one potato two potato etc, on my mind: an interview of Anita Virgil by Vincent Tripi, Pilot, A Long Year, and  summer thunder. 
 

Robert D. Wilson

Robert D. Wilson is the owner/managing editor of Simply Haiku, an online literary journal that showcases Japanese short form poetry (www.simplyhaiku.com).  He is also a columnist for Teacher Librarian Magazine, the director of a community day school for troubled teenagers, and has written a murder mystery novel entitled, Late for Mass.  His Vietnam Ruminations  are available at www.vietnamruminations.com  coltrane @lodelink.com. He lives part of the year with his family near Yosemite National Park and the remainder of the year in the Philippines.  He was born and raised in Los Angeles.

 

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