WHCSENRYU

Susumu Takiguchi, UK
Editor
header

INDEX  CONTENTS  HIGHLIGHTS  MASTHEAD  ABOUT WHC  SUBMISSIONS ARCHIVES  E-CARDS  SEARCH

PITH AND VINEGAR
 special features of WHCsenryu


 

WHCsenryu NOTEBOOK
from the WHCsenryu forum

SUSUMU TAKIGUCHI on:

 

WHCsenryu EDITORIAL TEAM:

DIRECTOR, WHC:
Susumu Takiguchi, UK

EDITOR, WHR:
Susumu Takiguchi

PROOFREADERS:
Jay Santini, US
Deborah Humphreys, US
Kate Steere, US

TECHNICAL EDITOR:
Sean Kent, US

2005 SPECIAL FEATURE IMAGE:
'watch the birdie' photo by
Mark Bender, US, with digital manipulation by DW Bender, US

 

EDITOR'S WELCOME

There is a special 'laboratory' at the World Haiku Club where a new experiment has been pursued on the subject of the so-called senryu. The 'laboratory' is located at WHCsenryu, and within its parameters, various tests and exercises are being performed in order to achieve the objectives of the experiment. In a nutshell, the experiment is to drop all definitions and conventions of senryu which have been in use outside Japan, and to start again from scratch with only Japanese senryu as a guidance—but not as the be-all-and- end-all. In other words, the aim is not to learn Japanese senryu or to write senryu like them. The aim is to create a new form of works with the help of Japanese senryu and hope that will be a new and true form senryu.
 
The main characteristics of Japanese senryu are summarised as okashimi (humour), ugachi (insightful and penetrating observations) and karumi (light-heartedness), though not all of these need to be present in all senryu, except perhaps for karumi. In dropping all non-Japanese definitions and conventions, the comparison between senryu and haiku, and the common practice of asking whether a particular work is haiku or senryu are particularly avoided as misplaced and causing confusion. In other words, at WHCsenryu senryu is pursued and developed as senryu in its own right and in relation to no other genres, especially haiku. In this sense, whether or not haiku has similarities or differences with senryu is totally irrelevant. In this special feature, we try to show some of our efforts in this unique experiment.
 
Let me take Japanese tea ceremony as an illustration. In the pre-modern time, those invited to a tea ceremony were asked to leave swords and other items before entering the tea room through an entrance deliberately made small (one could not enter with the swords on). Thus, once inside everybody became equal regardless of their social status and was treated as such. In a similar way, members of WHCsenryu are asked to leave preconceived ideas and definitions of senryu each time they enter WHCsenryu through a narrow entrance. (However, it is not easy for them to do so because unlike swords, the things they need to leave at the door are all held in their mind. If they can apply the Zen practice of ridding oneself of all the unnecessary and harmful thoughts and preconceptions in order to empty their mind, it would be ideal).

A special feature of this issue's WHCsenryu column is Bakumatsu and Meiji Underground Verse Forms, by Dean Brink, Assistant Professor of Japanese Studies at St. Martin's University, Seattle Washington, US. His article examines the history of senryu in Japan, along with other related popular verse forms, and in it, looks at ugachi in senryu. Professor Brink is a senryu writer, himself, a member the Hokubei Ginsha in Seattle.

Featured in WHCsenryu Notebook are articles and senryu selections highlighting the aforementioned objectives and exercises which have been in progress at the World Haiku Club's online senryu forum. If you would like to join us, please go to the light blue box in the left side column with hyperlink which will take you to the WHCsenryu forum's YahooGroups homepage.

And directly below, please open the Editor's Choice hyperlink to read the commentary, then follow through to enjoy the selections from your WHCsenryu submissions.

Susumu Takiguchi
 WHCsenryu Editor

SENRYU selected by Susumu Takiguchi, Editor
 click to read selections & commentary


EDITOR'S CHOICE
 Selected for Commentary by Susumu Takiguchi, Editor

gossip column—
only the ink remains
unsmeared

Carol Raisfeld, US


SENRYU - BEST TEN

Elizabeth Fanto, Hisanori Ohgane,
DW Bender, Zhanna P. Rader,
Allen M. Terdiman, Gary Gach,
Marie Summers, Carole MacRury,
Willow Katsumi


SENRYU- ZATSUEI

Allen M. Terdiman, Bruce Ross,
Francine Porad, Bill Kenny,
Hisanori Ohgane, Allen McGill,
DW Bender, Zhanna P. Rader,
John Tiong Chunghoo,
Narayanan Raghunathan,
Carmel Lively (Westerman),
Victor P. Gendrano,
Elie Duvivier, Helen Ruggieri,
Jasminka Nadaskic Diordievic,
Origa (Olga Hooper), Willow Katsumi
 

 


SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR WHCSENRYU
 

Some of the contents herein contain elements which some readers may find offensive. They have been created within the framework of the intended aims of a WHC forum or project for study purposes and purely as a work of literary pursuit, being a part of arts and not as a pursuit of anything else such as political or religious act. They are presented here as such for those wider audience who may find them interesting. Therefore, those who are likely to find them offensive are free to opt them out. World Haiku Club and its magazine, the World Haiku Review, are not associated with any formal political, social, psychological, religious or philosophic organisation or party of any kind.
return to top of page