HAIKU DIALOGUE – Surrealism II – “Creation of the Birds” – commentary

Surrealism II with Guest Editor Lafcadio

For the next few weeks I would like to be your docent again in The Haiku Foundation Art museum. We will continue our tour of the Surrealist gallery. I know we were there last year, but now I’d like to show you a few of the works of the female Surrealist painters. First, let’s have a quick review about surrealism to make sure we are all on the same page, or in the same room. Surrealism is an artistic movement that began in the early 20th century. Surrealistic painters created dreamlike and often inexplicable images. One of the major characteristics of this kind of painting is the comparison of unrelated entities and components. This creates a surprise for the viewer and hopefully carries them into a world of fantasy and symbolism. This technique of painting not only challenged traditional painting, but was also a representation of the social and political upheavals of society after the trauma and disillusionment of World War I. Still, surrealistic paintings are used today to transcend the boundaries of the ordinary and deliver us in the realm of the extraordinary.

In 1924 Andre Breton, known as the father of Surrealism, wrote his first Surrealist Manifesto. He stated that 19 painters had created art that was absolute Surrealism. None of these painters were female. These painters felt women were useful to them as muses and inspiration but not as artists in their own right. However, by 1985 it was determined that no other art movement had such a large number of women participants. As Surrealist art grew into a larger and more diverse group of men, women became interested in expressing themselves through this art movement. Most of the first women who entered the Surrealistic movement were lovers of male Surrealists.

As with the previous male painters we have viewed, there is so much abstraction and symbolism in the drawings and paintings that you will be able to create surrealistic haiku and senryu that reflect the emotions in these works of art. Let’s begin…

Below is Lafcadio’s commentary for “Creation of the Birds”:

murmuration…
the whirl of a cosmos
in Minerva’s eyrie

Laurie Greer
Washington, DC

This poem conjures, in my mind’s eye, the magical image of a murmuration – the hypnotic movement of starlings in flight – compared to a cosmic whirl. The whirl captures both the movement of galaxies as well as the shaping of a metaphor for the act of creation and transformation displayed in Varo’s painting. Both a murmuration and the whirl of the cosmos can appear chaotic but also have a natural order to them. Many of Varo’s paintings also blur together order and chaos. The mystic being combines cosmic forces to paint birds and then brings them to life. Many of the poems submitted mentioned this connection between the cosmos and the creatures on earth. I especially enjoyed L3 when Laurie mentions ‘Minerva’s eyrie.’ This adds meaning as well as giving a surreal twist to the poem. Minerva is the Roman goddess of wisdom. The goddess is often associated with owls which have been represented in literature and art as having wisdom and insight. An eyrie is an elevated nest found in trees and cliffs indicating a place of watchfulness from the vantage point of wisdom. So not only are the birds given life, they are also followed out into the world to be watched over by their creator. Laurie merges the natural world with myths and symbolism. This juxtaposition creates awe of the environmental spectacles but connects us in an intimate way to the rest of the universe. Thank you to Laurie for sharing this beautiful haiku.

hatched within
liminal space — the desire
to meet our maker

Jenn Ryan-Jauregui
Tucson, Arizona USA

I should say, before mentioning the poem, that Jenn saw this painting in the museum in Mexico when she was visiting there recently. OK, I’m jealous, but it was exciting to see her photo of the painting.

In Jenn’s poem there are layers of meaning as she combines the surreal with the existential. By using the phrase ‘hatched within’ we are immediately drawn into Varo’s painting of birds and birth, otherwise described as creation in progress. We enter a deeper level when she uses ‘liminal space’ which suggests, possibly, thresholds to a new world, dreams or spaces that reflect an in-between gap of where we’ve been and where we are going (such as life and art, real and imaginary, creator and creation.) In L3 we move into the spiritual and artistic realm. Often many of us have that metaphysical longing to know our origin. In the painting we see Varo try to work out this longing by presenting life as magical but also a deeply personal experience that guides us as we search for answers to how and why we are here. Jenn, in just a few words, has touched on creation, liminality and the eternal quest for finding meaning in our lives. Varo, in most of her surrealist paintings, addresses this pursuit.

still warm nest
a fledgling on my palm
ready to fly

Arvinder Kaur
Chandigarh India

I love the tender gentleness of Arvinder’s poem. The fragment ‘still warm nest’ is full of potential. It speaks of something just born – the act of creation, recent, quiet and deeply organic. The painting seems to concentrate on the alchemist who is like a midwife delivering birds into existence. This poem holds the created in a vulnerable position as it prepares to enter the world. We should note that the fledgling is not quite ready, yet it has arrived and exists as something real and delicate in the palm of the creator. The words ‘ready to fly’ turn imagination into reality. The bird is safe and protected but also perched on the precipice of flight. Yes, ready to fly but also prepared to take on a life of its own. We see that moment of release and we have hope for the fledging to become independent and happy. Like the painting itself, Arvinder’s poem is quiet and expectant. Varo often includes themes of feminine creative power, transformation, and fantasy in her surrealist paintings.

pondering
the state of (e)motion
my inner owl

Roberta Beach Jacobsen
Indianola, IA, USA

Roberta’s ‘pondering’ suggests the intellectual depth of Varo’s painting. The poem does not interpret or describe literally Varo’s surrealistic symbolism but responds to its psychological and abstract components. Just the word “pondering” sets a thoughtful climate, much the same as the mood of Varo’s bird-woman, who seems completely absorbed in her act of creation. It leads us into a stillness combined with mental considerations – just as in the painting where thought and magic operate together. I appreciate the clever play on the words ‘(e)motion’ and ‘motion.’ Varo’s birds are created by scientific-mystical machinery, then brought to life by light and sound. Beyond the mechanics of the creation story there also is a feeling of contemplation paired with the action depicted in the painting. In Roberta’s poem we wonder if the birds are moving thoughts or if creation itself is a form of this emotional motion. The ambiguity is something Varo often considered in her paintings. Finally, L3 leaves us with a totally symbolic image. As mentioned before, owls are associated with wisdom, nocturnal vision and the mystical. Varo identified with birds and dream logic. So, the inner owl can cause introspection on our own creative, wise, and perhaps surreal inner self. Thank you, Roberta, for speaking Varo’s surreal language to create a poem that is mysterious but personal at the same time.

birdsong
I stitch another planet
to my chest

Nalini Shetty
Mumbai, India

Nalini has captured with this poem a surreal exactness that connects it beautifully with Varo’s painting. It also relates to the lost-in-thought quality we find when we examine this work of art. It begins with ‘birdsong,’ which is a simple word used in many haiku. However, in Varo’s painting birds and sound are deeply joined together. This word recognizes the connection and opens the poem with a note of music and light. The owl-woman plays a violin-like instrument that emits light or life. Here, ‘birdsong’ does not just mean the sound of birds singing but includes the creative energy of creation. L2 is my favorite line. It evokes the image of alchemy happening in the painting. The stitching of planets would take some care, so this phrase highlights the magical craftsmanship shown in Varo’s art. The words ‘another planet’ give a closer look at the surreal, otherworldly dimensions of the painting. In L3 the poem becomes personal and symbolic. The chest is the home of breath, song and heart. This could indicate the merging of creation and artist. We realize external expression also involves internal transformation. Nalini has been able to echo the painting’s themes of feminine creation, the cosmos, and magic. She has done all this with a bit of thread and birdsong tied together by the soul.

maternity room—
watching the galaxy
crack open

Nitu Yumnam
UAE

In an earlier poem in this commentary, the owl-woman was compared to a midwife. Here in Nitu’s poem we repeat again the concepts of creation and birth. It is profoundly appropriate to compare the alchemist’s laboratory to a ‘maternity room.’ The painting itself feels like a cosmic maternity room, a place where worlds are incubated and realities rewritten. It creates, with just two words, a powerful metaphor for the miraculous happenings there. Nitu juxtaposes cosmic grandeur with the moment of genesis we detect in the painting. By this juxtaposition we can see creation is not solely biological but also spiritual. This is not wholly about the act of creating birds, but also implies that artistic creation draws upon celestial energy by the vision of a galaxy splitting to allow light to mix with the creative processes of the artist. The phrase ‘crack open’ may also suggest both the violence of physical rupture and revelatory transcendence that surrounds any endeavor of creation. Including the word ‘watching,’ Nitu may imply a deliberate reverent gaze upon this moment. It adds metaphysical significance to the space in the painting and mixes the mundane with the mythic. We get the feeling that Nitu as an observer writes about the instant when something enormous and mysterious becomes visible. A universe emerging, not just in space, but within the womb, or on canvas.

modern alchemist
the language of this violin
becomes a bird

Maya Deneva
The Netherlands

Alchemy is a word that was used often in the submissions for this prompt. Alchemy is the medieval forerunner of chemistry. It centers on the transformation of matter – especially the goal of converting base metals into gold. In modern times alchemy has become a broader word for any process that transforms and seems mysterious or magical. Varo’s painting is a surreal act of transformation – a scientist/sorceress using a violin-like instrument and starlight to bring birds to life. She doesn’t use chemicals or crucibles. Maya has called her a ‘modern alchemist.’ She is someone who practices mystical science with sound and light. Creativity has been transmuted. In L2 Maya confirms that music is one of the agents of change. The music can also be considered as a form of communication or language that reshapes reality. Finally, in L3 the music becomes a bird. The violin’s song takes flight. As Varo’s painting is a surreal act of transformation, Maya’s poem is also a surreal creative act. Maya generates language from the violin into fluttering wings with only 10 words. Thank you for sharing, Maya!

self-portraiture
a nun’s marginalia
in the bestiary

Richard Straw
Cary, North Carolina

I really enjoyed reading and studying this poem by Richard. It has many layers that appear to connect visual art, spirituality, feminist views and symbolic animals. The opening fragment ‘self-portraiture’ indicates that the painting by Varo may reveal to us something of the painter’s life. Varo often inserted parts of herself into her art. She did this through surreal figures, alchemy processes and spirituality. Certainly, the painting isn’t merely an imaginative fantasy, but a self-portrait of Varo, completed not with mirrors but with wings. She becomes the bird-creator as avatar. The painting can be considered as an act of self-creation as well as artistic creativity. L2 is incredibly evocative. It summons images of a cloistered woman artist, possibly deprived of recognition for her work. We know that many male Surrealistic artists did not recognize the paintings of women at first. Women were considered muses and companions. Women had to fight this designation to gain acceptance for their art. They saw the art of their lovers and felt the desire to express themselves this way. In Richard’s poem we also see this nun leaving notes or drawings in the margins of sacred texts. There is a tension here between restriction and creative expression. The owl-woman in the painting wears a robe resembling a nun’s habit. The term ‘marginalia’ emphasizes both her subversive nature and the spirituality of her artistry. She operates in the margins. Despite the limitations she imbues the drawings with meaning. L3 gives us a location for the marginalia. A bestiary is a medieval anthology of animals, many of them allegorical. In Richard’s poem, the use of ‘bestiary’ completes the idea of the painting being a mythical manuscript. The birds are painted, animated by light and sound, and then are set free forming a living bestiary. They are creatures born from imagination and symbols. Varo’s birds are considered hybrids: created from machinery but imbued with mystical and spiritual qualities. There is a sacredness to the painting and to this poem. Richard has given us a strong metaphor for the inner life of Varo. Her birds are both divine and defiant trying to liberate themselves from the constraints of doctrine while steeped in mystery. Varo works for this same freedom for herself and other female Surrealist painters.

wonderland
dodos return
to Mauritius

Susan Farner
USA

Susan’s poem has a dreamlike feeling to it much like the surreal painting by Varo. She gives us imagery that speaks of the return of a mythical creature. A ‘wonderland’ is a place of fantasy and altered reality, as is the laboratory of our owl-woman. L2 speaks to impossible resurrections, which is a perfect companion to Varo’s birds that emerge from the brush of a mystical being. The poem could direct us to recovery of extinct beauty as a way to move forward. We need to be open to the act of divine artistic creation. In L3 ‘to Mauritius’ grounds the surreal in a real geographic location. By doing this the interplay between imagination and reality that appears in Varo’s work is reinforced. The island of Mauritius was once home to the extinct dodo, so it becomes a site of rebirth. This parallels Varo’s painting as a portal to life. I love this poem and how it verifies the paradoxes in Varo’s painting, science and magic, extinction and creation, the mythic and the everyday.

with a w0mb on top
– — – — – —– – — – — –
glass mosaic ceiling

Helen Buckingham
United Kingdom

Helen’s poem begins with a womb. This line reminds us of Varo’s themes of feminine genesis and sacred creation. I love the way Helen stylized ‘w0mb’ suggesting both biological origin and machine-like surrealism. Varo’s birds are also a mixture of organic and mechanical. I thought of the binary code when I saw zero replacing the O in womb. L2, Helen explained to us, is the concrete representation of the glass mosaic ceiling in L3. It is visually striking and functions almost like silence or the soundless transmission of starlight and divine energy that Varo paints. I can also see it as the musical frequency that flows from the cosmos into the owl-woman apparatus, like an invisible string or beam that connects the heavens to the act of creation. In the final line the glass mosaic ceiling may reveal a barrier of fragile beauty that separates the earthly from the celestial. Varo’s laboratory is a room in the interior cosmos and the glass is a threshold through which the outer cosmos can enter by way of starlight. It is also important to note that the glass is a mosaic which indicates both fragmentation and unity. Each piece of the glass is part of the whole just like each act of creation is vital to Varo’s surreal world.

owl sonata
framing stardust
into wing veins

Marilyn Ashbaugh
USA

Marilyn’s poem confirms the surreal mysticism found in Remedios Varo’s painting, “Creation of the Birds.” Both works draw on images that combine the scientific, the cosmic, and the magical, as do many of Varo’s surrealist paintings. The main figure who appears to be an alchemist, a mystic and part-avian, draws birds using a violin-bow quill, guided by a prism directing starlight with the help of mysterious machinery that is also constructed with organic parts. In this haiku, the owl becomes a co-creator by being described as a ‘sonata.’ Originally the sonata was a piece of music for an instrumental soloist often accompanied by a piano. However, it has come to mean a specific form of composition that can be used by an entire symphony not just a solo instrument. But this sonata does more than make musical sound – it shapes light itself. This adds a bit of synesthesia to the poem. The phrase ‘framing stardust into wing veins’ reflects Varo’s representation of celestial energy being converted into life. Varo’s main character makes birds out of alchemy and starlight with the owl in Marilyn’s poem posing as the living instrument through which the magic happens. Music becomes matter and starlight becomes the life force in the birds. Marilyn’s poem helps us arrive at a gateway to both the seen and unseen world.

Thank you to everyone who submitted a poem for this prompt. It was amazing to read all the varied interpretations of Remedios Varo’s painting, “The Creation of Birds.” They all added substance and meaning to the artwork. Stay tuned for next week’s prompt with another surrealist painting. Also, if anyone is interested, I found a short article titled “What do surrealists and haiku poets have in common?” on The Haiku Foundation site you may like to read.

Join us next week for our next prompt…

Bios:

Guest (& Assistant) Editor Lafcadio, a former teacher, now works from home writing, editing and proofreading study guides for nursing textbooks. She lives in Tennessee. She has written poetry for a long time but a couple of years ago fell in love with Japanese micropoetry and hasn’t looked back. Lafcadio has been published in a number of journals and anthologies. She writes under the nom de plume of Lafcadio because nom de plume is so fun to say. You can read her poems on Twitter (X) @lafcadiopoetry or BlueSky @lafcadiobsky.

Assistant Editor Vandana Parashar is an associate editor of haikuKATHA and one of the editors of Poetry Pea and #FemkuMag. Her debut e-chapbook, I Am, was published by Title IX Press (now Moth Orchid Press) in 2019 and her second chapbook Alone, I Am Not, was published by Velvet Dusk Publishing in April 2022.

Lori Zajkowski is the Post Manager for Haiku Dialogue. She lives in New York City and enjoys reading and writing haiku.

Managing Editor Katherine Munro lives in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and publishes under the name kjmunro. She served as Membership Secretary for Haiku Canada for ten years, and her debut poetry collection is contractions (Red Moon Press, 2019). Find her at: kjmunro1560.wordpress.com.

Portrait by Laurel Parry

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Banner photo credit:  Lafcadio

Haiku Dialogue offers a triweekly prompt for practicing your haiku. Posts appear each Wednesday with a prompt or a selection of poems from a previous week.