Book of the Week – The Still Point by Raymond Roseliep
Raymond Roseliep writes:
MU
When I was recuperating from surgery in the summer of 1978, my friend Nobuo Hirasawa in Tokyo sent me an “omimai,” which he explained was a gift to comfort a person in bed, whether in the hospital or at home. The omimai was his own bamboo brush drawing of “mu,” done as he said in his “most Zen style.” Nobuo told me that “mu” means “nothing; none; empty.” His prescription for my return to health graces the cover and provides the opening illustration of The Still Point.
Over a period of half a year, I began exploring the honeycomb and catacomb of mu as themes for the haiku moment. Of the one hundred sixty-five I recorded, fifty arranged themselves into the pattern of this book, and three fell naturally onto my dedication page. This dedicatory triptych I intend as a thumbnail statement of both Nobuo’s Zen journeying and my own Zen-Christian pilgrimage to Therewhere.
Sodo (1641-1716) tells us,
In my hut this spring
There is nothing—
There is everything.
If we try to explicate, saying that here is an encomium of poverty and a denouncement of wealth, we lose the meaning completely. Such paradox is not for plucking the heart out of mystery but for keeping the heart in it.
The Still Point is experience and experiment. American haiku will cease to be adventuresome if we should suddenly stop for breath. Like old Basho’s frog, we must keep plunging. Eastern and Western frogs do, of course, and not all of them make the same sound.
The Still Point was first published in 1980 by Uzzano.
—–
Below are a few selected poems from the book:
not winding the heart
nor minding
the mind
—
the wheel
in motion
fades
—
time
is what
is still
—
shadow
is
I too
—
a frog to sit with
and not say
a word
—
lotus position …
water
on the kneww
You can read the entire book in the THF Digital Library. Please share your favorite poem from the book with us.
Do you have a full or chapbook length book published in 2019 or earlier that you would like featured as a Book of the Week? Contact us for details. Haiku featured in the Book of the Week Archive are selected by the THF Digital Librarian Kenneth Pearson and are used with permission.
Comments (2)
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Randy
I could be interested in any of Roseliep books that are not duplicated in the two books you have published. Are there any or were you referring to Collected and 100 Years.
Secondly I surely would be interested if you published one of your signature hardbacks books of Tom Clausen.I am sure it has already occurred to you. I am just adding my voice to the choir.
Regards
Ron Scully
Burien WA
[email protected]
I have about 50 duplicate copies of various Raymond Roseliep poetry collections available for those interested. This includes 5 copies of THE STILL POINT. Copies of these books (many clothbound & several signed) are available for $5-$10 each plus postage costs. Contact Brooks Books if interested, and we will send you the list of Roseliep books available. I would also be willing to trade for books I do not have in the Decatur Haiku Collection.