nuihitsu ( a typo—sb zuihitsu)

[Lorraine Pester]

does the prose in a nuihitsu have to be in regular prose form, or can it be a prose poem interspersed with japanese forms?

lorraine

[AlanSummers]

Hi Lorraine,

Did you mean zuihitsu?  There are at least two zuihitsu appearing in the second issue of Blo͞o Outlier Journal due to come out this Summer! Two very different approaches, and I'm very excited about getting closer to the publication stage of the whole issue!

Zuihitsu is a multi-genre piece, so full rein!

Alan

does the prose in a nuihitsu have to be in regular prose form, or can it be a prose poem interspersed with japanese forms?

lorraine

[Lorraine Pester]

Hi Lorraine,

Did you mean zuihitsu?  There are at least two zuihitsu appearing in the second issue of Blo͞o Outlier Journal due to come out this Summer! Two very different approaches, and I'm very excited about getting closer to the publication stage of the whole issue!

Zuihitsu is a multi-genre piece, so full rein!

Alan

does the prose in a nuihitsu have to be in regular prose form, or can it be a prose poem interspersed with japanese forms?

lorraine

hi Alan,

yess. of course. zuihitsu. 🙃

boy. two pieces chosen for the journal.  and different! this is exciting! i look forward to reading and comparing/ contrasting styles.

this question is in response to my writing a piece that is begging for a prose poem instead of the usual essay style prose. i've put it together using the prose poem bones and really like the result. i'm not posting because it very well will be my submission later this summer for Trailblazer.

lorraine

[light pilgrim]

Hi Lorraine,

The Pillow Book by  Sei Shōnagon, a court lady to the Empress Consort in the Heian period, is one of the most famous of this style of writing, the zuihitsu (assorted writing)

In answer to your question, perhaps it could be said that you can mix poems in the narrative just as Sei Shōnagon has done in her book. Her narrative is full of descriptions of the court ceremonies and politics observed in the rise and fall of various officials and their lineage, the clothes, the household rites,  the seasons, the pilgrimages and of course the courtships and rendezvous of the ladies and nobles of the court. The tone is intimate not quite as gossipy as Diary of Bridget Jones but has quite revealing details. Her own opinions on the people and the events are a vital part of the account. It was customary in the Heian period for lovers to exchange waka poems and her book does have some poetical passages and titles of paragraphs/chapters.

She regarded Murasaki, the author of Tale of the Genji as her rival and therefore the tone of her account is not as shot through with mono no aware as Murasaki's work but still immensely engaging and enjoyable.


"Assorted writing" is perhaps the key to the zuihitsu style or form.

light pilgrim

[Lorraine Pester]

Hi Lorraine,

The Pillow Book by  Sei Shōnagon, a court lady to the Empress Consort in the Heian period, is one of the most famous of this style of writing, the zuihitsu (assorted writing)

In answer to your question, perhaps it could be said that you can mix poems in the narrative just as Sei Shōnagon has done in her book. Her narrative is full of descriptions of the court ceremonies and politics observed in the rise and fall of various officials and their lineage, the clothes, the household rites,  the seasons, the pilgrimages and of course the courtships and rendezvous of the ladies and nobles of the court. The tone is intimate not quite as gossipy as Diary of Bridget Jones but has quite revealing details. Her own opinions on the people and the events are a vital part of the account. It was customary in the Heian period for lovers to exchange waka poems and her book does have some poetical passages and titles of paragraphs/chapters.

She regarded Murasaki, the author of Tale of the Genji as her rival and therefore the tone of her account is not as shot through with mono no aware as Murasaki's work but still immensely engaging and enjoyable.


"Assorted writing" is perhaps the key to the zuihitsu style or form.

light pilgrim

hi!

thank you so much for this information. i will be looking into both publications and authors you mentioned.

and i do like "assorted writing" to describe zuihitsu. and. . .it provides an easy way to talk about the form that can be understood.

again, thank you

lorraine