WHCsenryu
EDITOR'S CHOICE: THE GRAND BEST
Selection and Commentary by Susumu Takiguchi, UK

 

gossip column—
only the ink remains
unsmeared

Carol Raisfeld, US

What strikes me first and foremost as distinct when reading this senryu is its cleverness. Not cleverness for cleverness' sake. Senryu is in a sense about exercising our wit. This work certainly has outwitted others. Of all the factors that make it a clever senryu, the one I particularly wish to mention is that the full nature of the gossip column is depicted in the way converse to the more usual expression. Namely, instead of saying that the gossip column is full of smears, it says that there is nothing in the column which is not a smear except for the ink in which the column is printed. This reverse expression makes the senryu far more eloquent in its depiction of the sordid, false and ribald nature of the gossip column, which in turn is a reflection of us humans.

The word 'gossip column' conjures up an image of cheap and dirty newspapers or magazines from the association of 'gossip' which is dirty, untrue and cheap (what is called 'tabloids' in Britain). However, in this senryu the ink is not smeared, indicating rather that they are expensive and glossy magazines. They must therefore be full of gossips about celebrities, TV personalities or politicians. The celebrity worship is one of the most depressing faces of our life. All this is a mirror-image of the decadence of modern time which has a rich surface but is filth and cultural poverty beneath it. Such a flash of penetrating satirical insight is called ugachi in Japanese senryu.

As for the basics of this work as a WHCsenryu senryu, it uses senryu-like words and topic ('gossip' and 'smear'), has a sense of humour (okashimi), is light-hearted and yet deep (karumi), has brevity and style, demonstrates a twist (hineri), unexpectedness or surprise (odoroki or igai-sei: one expects to hear about the contents of the gossip but one is told, instead, about the ink), has clever wording (e.g. 'remains' indicates that everything else has been proved to be falsity and uncouth filth), displays mockery and satire, and above all ruthlessly reveals the ills of our society. Gossip magazines sell because of the high and enduring demand for them. We feed on what they provide us with. And what they provide us with is fool's paradise. Therefore, we are enjoying looking at our own absurdities.

Thus WHCsenryu senryu is a good way of looking at the frailty, weaknesses, foibles, absurdities, defects, flaws and warts and all of ourselves. These are what make us human as well as lofty idealism or moral high horse. That is why comedy and tragedy are two sides of the same coin.

I have been following Raisfeld's senryu for some time now and feel strongly that with this senryu she has come to grasp the essence of WHCsenryu senryu. The penny, it seems, has dropped. I can almost feel that inside her there is a kind of satori that has occurred with this senryu. Here, she is no longer comparing senryu with haiku and asking the age-old pointless question of whether or not this is senryu or haiku. There is absolutely no need to take such a circuitous and nugatory approach for her. Once you get it, you get it. The reverse is also the case: unless one grasps what WHCsenryu senryu is by instinct or by practice one would never get there.

I have asked her what senryu means to her and I am glad I have asked that question. Here is her answer:

"As a poetic genre in its own right, senryu is liberating for me. I enjoy exploring its boundaries.  Whether it be witticism or penetrating satire, senryu provides me a platform that allows for freedom of expression within a short form, while at the same time allowing the use of poetic devices such as simile, metaphor, puns or parody. The challenge of creating a scenario of human comedy or drama in three short lines is an adventure within the adventure."

 

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