The Haiku Foundation Forums

I've been feeling rather opinionated about gendai haiku

Sometimes, in my opinion, these poems can leave the reader behind without a frame of reference to share in the poet's intentions. In some cases, the reader might not be able to gain any other experience than witnessing some word play, though, for the author, there may be much more imbedded in the words.

But because of Tyler Pruett's new collection, Blue Wolves Are Howling Grapefruit Orange, I've gained a new perspective.

Sometimes, I am delighted to discover, gendai haiku can be visionary.

It can pierce "reality" and take us deeper. The narrative format and gradual "decent" or (ascent?) into gendai  that occurs in Blue Wolves Are Howling Grapefruit Orange assists in this.

I've written a few more words on the subject here:
http://rosenberrybooks.com/what-is-gendai-haiku/

..and would welcome the input of those more experienced with (or just opinionated about) the genre.

Thanks!
Diane Katz

Just the title of our new book of haiku - Blue Wolves Are Howling Grapefruit Orange - alerts the reader to a new reality.

http://rosenberrybooks.com/hand-bound-editions/haiku/blue-wolves-are-howling-grapefruit-orange/

The seventy-seven poems, written by Tyler Pruett, form a narrative, yet we begin to veer into alternate realities via gendai.

Sometimes gendai haiku can pierce what we call "reality" and take us deeper into a more expansive vision of what reality might be.

This visionary quality is evident in Blue Wolves Are Howling Grapefruit Orange.

Here, the reader is taken on a gradual road from what is known and observed, and in an astonishing fashion,
is led to an interior territory of what might be...

Please also visit our blog post about gendai - and add your 2 cents!
http://rosenberrybooks.com/what-is-gendai-haiku/

Diane Katz of RosenberryBooks.com

I don't see any postings for haiga, so I'll just add to this posting of new books.

Is there interest in haiga out there? If so of primary interest is this new book ---Last Bite --- haiku by Robert Moyer, art by Guntram Porps & Mona Wu

The artists work, and the book's design itself, really "get" haiga's potential to reach beyond the haiku. Great vitality here! Mona Wu does gorgeous, traditional work while Guntram Porps' work is swift, sensitive and widely eclectic.

http://rosenberrybooks.com/hand-bound-editions/haiku/last-bite/

A different approach to reaching beyond the haiku through haiga is demonstrated in Patricia Nolan's Western Brushstrokes. She selects a calligraphic Japanese word written with brushstokes in renman, an extreme form of cursive, that angle towards the haiku in unique ways -- both visually and in meaning.

http://rosenberrybooks.com/hand-bound-editions/haiku/western-brushstrokes/

I know these are our books .... but I personally really prefer haiga that travels beyond illustration. (Even if Basho sometimes did just illustrate his own haiku) .... Do others feel this way??

Alan, thank you for visiting our blog, and for your reflections on the first posting of "Typography Tips for Poets" !

We've just posted a continuation: "Part 2 Large Repercussions of the Small."
http://rosenberrybooks.com/part-2-large-repercussions-of-the-small/

I'm so glad to hear of your agreement ... and the results in Bones Journal. E-books have certain challenges, with less ability to shape how the reader sees the page. I see why you put the authors in the back for safe-keeping.

In a printed and bound book there are other options. For instance, The shape of the curving page offers a nice place to add info, like an authors name -- towards the gutter. As the page curves inward the text is there at hand, but less apparent.

Every different setting calls for different priorities and solutions. A lovely challenge!

Just about everyone is typing these days, every day, as fast as possible. Anyone can print, anyone can make a book. Isn't that amazing!

But I've seen some mighty fine writing essentially trashed by lack of typographical awareness. It's like taking a beauty like Gregory Peck (he used to do something like this, by-the-way, in order to walk about), and dressing him in a soup-slopped sweater and a slouch hat with fishing hooks. You might tend to look away....

Alan, thank you for the praise for Elliot's love-story of a book -- and for the creative publishing we do at Rosenberry Books!

When Haiku Foundation folks come for a visit to see Tangled Shadows and other haiku titles, you might also like to take a look at a new series of articles on our blog, titled "Typography Tips for Poets" (particularly for haijin).

So much attention to subtle detail goes into the creation of haiku and other short forms. The articles are meant to help poets (and publishers) see that awareness is maintained via the typographical presentation of the poems.

http://rosenberrybooks.com/typography-tips-for-poets-pt-1/