The Haiku Foundation Forums

Sandra says

QuoteIt's a bit off-topic but I wonder if Maya and Polona would mind sharing why they do choose to do this?

Fitst off, Slovenian is a language spoken by roughly two million people, most of which, even if they've heard about haiku, haven't the slightest idea what haiku is. The status of the Haiku Club of Slovenia is currently frozen and the last publication of Letni časi / The Seasons magazine dates back in 2007. There is still Apokalipsa with their haiku contest and some activity in schools but mostly the use a world language (i.e. English) is necessary if one wants to make their haiku public.

On a more personal note, and this is not completely clear even to me, I find it easier to express myself creatively in English than in my native language. I suppose this has something to do with the teachers / mentors I encountered during my learning process. Until not many years ago I had no affinity for writing whatsoever and I actually learned to enjoy writing at an English course, a few years before I first discovered and fell in love with haiku.

QuoteHi, Polona, nothing curious about Peter's writing them directly in English, i do most of mine too.

Hi Maya, actually it was Sandra who found Peter's writing haiku directly in English curious. It seems quite normal to me - I do it, too :)

Hi Lorin... yes, a lot of empathy in this poem. And thanks for the budgie photo, they look great in their wildlife plumage :)

My impression is that while Petar's poem hits immediately with its stark and primal imagery, Sedlar's is not so easily accessible but turns out no less rewarding (now I talk like an expert which I am certainly not) :o

Hi Lorin,

I agree that the mention of the beach provides the seasonal reference and sets the poem in the summer and yes, there are a few known river beaches like Ada Ciganlija, an islet in the Danube near Belgrade, a popular venue for the local folks.

I also feel that the poet's voice mimicking the chirping of parrots / parakeets / budgies(?) is essential for the haiku and gives an interesting twist. The birds are caged but greet the returning owner with the cheerful chirping and he shows his affection by responding in the same way...

Hi all,

although Serbian is not my native language (Sloveinan is but my generation grew up surrounded by what was then known as Serbo-Croat), I thought I'd try to provide some info regarding the translation of Slavko's haiku. Having said which, I may be fluent in both English and Serbian but there is a possibility I'm missing some important nuances in either language.


А дође с плаже                             returning from the beach
Мој глас постаде цвркут              my voice becomes the chirp
Два папагаја                                of two parrots


From Saša's reply it is evident she thought the moment of the poet's return from the beach was important. However,  дође (comes, arrives, returns...) is not first person - so the way I read it, it may refer to the poet's voice rather than the poet himself. Of course, I may as well be wrong...

L2 Nd L3 are clear as far as direct translation goes but there is the issue of 'papagaj' (папагај in Cyrillic). It is a generic term which most dictionaries translate as parrot. I can only speak accurately for my part of the former Yugoslavia but it is fair to assume things weren't much different elsewhere. Larger species of parrot were rare and would be called with their genus name (ara for macaw; kakadu for cockatoo etc.). But budgies were quite common so it is highly likely that the parrots in Slavko's haiku were indeed budgies -which would also explain the chirping part.

I do not know how important the beach is in this haiku but I think there is a strong possibility that said beach was situated on the Danube rather than by the sea.