Per Diem/Haiku of the Day for November 2021: ekphrastic haiku
Per Diem/Haiku of the Day for November 2021 features Guest Editor Iliyana Stoyanova’s collection on the theme of ekphrastic haiku. This is what Iliyana has to say by way of introduction to this theme:
Ekphrastic poetry has fascinated me for a very long time and when I edited the 2017 BHS Members’ Anthology ‘Ekphrasis’ I realised that intentionally or not a lot of poets write haiku inspired by various art forms and they thoroughly enjoy doing that. There is a whole range of ekphrastic haiku: some are simple and descriptive, almost sketch-like; others reveal different layers and associations, something special and more personal about the poet’s individual response to the world of art.
Good ekphrastic haiku should present the reader an opportunity for a deeper appreciation and understanding both of the poem and the artwork behind it. I hope you enjoy this selection of ekphrastic haiku!
—Iliyana Stoyanova
See Also our Haiku of the Day Archive.
This Post Has 15 Comments
Comments are closed.
re:
umbilical pole
on the belly of the sky —
Jiu river reversed
after the sculpture “The Endless Column” 1937
by Constantin Brâncuși
—Radu Şerban
Really this haiku!
Interestingly, as a haiku judge, I chose a haiku about The Endless Column as the winning entry:
Extended Judge’s Report for 2013 World Monuments Fund Haiku Contest from Alan Summers
https://area17.blogspot.com/2013/08/extended-judges-report-for-2013-world.html
the Endless Column –
somewhere, another cricket
is counting the stars
Christina Oprea
First Prize
Site: Endless Column
First Prize, The Endless Column
Judge’s commentary (Alan Summers):
“I kept coming back to the Endless Column which seemed to both represent a particular place and event but also so much struggle in so many countries, not just Romania, but every country through time.
The mention of a cricket (another cricket) counting stars is a magical and memorable part of this haiku. The two images worked well bouncing off each other, and another cricket is counting the stars lifted this haiku quite literally beyond its immediate place to perhaps one of Japan’s favorite haiku writers, that of Issa, who felt at one with all insects in particular, because of his tough and challenging life.”
“cricket” is an Autumn seasonal reference in Japanese haikai, a time of reflection, memories, and a certain wistful sadness.
Also see the incredibly beautiful video, with haiku, of the amazing sites around the world!
http://www.wmf.org/video/world-monuments-fund-2013-haiku-contest-winners
fierce dispute …
the divine simplicity
of a bee buzzing
(after the painting “Two philosophers” by Joan Miro)
I love this. We bought a print of the painting on honeymoon and of course Starry, Starry Night by Don McLean was a favourite song of the time.
starry night…
fireflies wink at
Van Gogh
I love this. We bought a print of the painting on honeymoon and of course Starry, Starry Night by Don McLean was a favourite song of the time.
Hopper diners the fading starlight short orders gather momentum
Alan Summers
Publication credit:
proletaria politics philosophy phenomena
ed. Elancharan Gunasekaran (December 2019)
https://proletaria.org/2019/12/19/three-so1oku-by-alan-summers/
neon light
three nighthawks
lost in loneliness
On the painting:
Nighthawks by Edward Hopper
These haiku remind me of mine:
Marc Franz
the horse
so shy
the blue
of the aubergine
a spider is caught
in the netsuke
Alan Summers
Publication credit: Snapshots Seven ed. John Barlow (2000)
Netsuke, porcelain glazed and enamelled with aubergine and spider, Japan, 19th century, Edo style (Victoria and Albert Museum)
This netsuke was probably produced in the Hirado kilns in Kyushu. The combination of an insect on fruit was a common theme and a symbol of impermanence. It was a particularly popular motif for netsuke carvers.
aubergine and spider netsuke:
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O229500/netsuke-unknown/
Dear readers,
it should read as follows, kindly condone the spelling
her violin throb
in swollen thumb
its play where
her violin throb
with swollen thump
its play where
birds in the painting
from the thrift store
forever in flight
This post includes a vintage image by Ida Waugh, from Reusable Art:
https://ellenolinger.com/2016/09/04/birds-in-the-painting/
Ekphrastic haiku can bring both the poem and the artwork alive! 🙂
the cat’s in love
night becomes Magritte
with a bowler hat
Alan Summers
René Magritte’s Golconda 1953
Publication: Asahi Shimbun (Japan, March 2020)
blue note—
the snow falls
out of itself
Blue Note by Murad Sayen
Painting – Oil On Panel
Description
A small farm sits on a hill in Maine, the January full moon shines, and the night is well below zero. Contact Mast Cove Gallery, Kennebunkport Maine
Publication credit:
Nick Virgilio Writers House Poetry: Volume 1: haiku, senryu, and tanka
ed. Henry Brann
Publisher: upright remington press (29 July 2019)
the blue guitar
how many snails
dream of race
The Old Guitarist, from Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period
The Man With the Blue Guitar by Wallace Stevens (a poem treatment published in 1937)
Publication Credit: Frozen Butterfly issue 4 ed. John McManus
(July 2016)
unnamed night
the aviator’s goggles
shaking feathers
“Untitled (Dark Owl)” 2013 by Peter Doig
Ekphrasis: The British Haiku Society Members’ Anthology 2017 ed. Iliyana Stoyanova
ISBN-13: 978-1906333089
Auvers-sur-Oise
the crows changing
into their colours
Wheatfield with Crows, Auvers-sur-Oise, July 1890 Vincent van Gogh
posted at Area 17
nighthawks…
the sodium streets
sizzle in its rain
Alan Summers
Nighthawks by Edward Hopper (1942)
Publication Credit: Weird Laburnum (September 2019)
black cow soda
the cherry topped stools
that spin
Alan Summers
Nighthawks by Edward Hopper (1942)
Publication Credit: Weird Laburnum (September 2019)
Hirst’s butterflies disturbing the exhibits people
‘In and Out of Love (Butterfly Paintings and Ashtrays)’
Damien Hirst
Tate Modern retrospective 2012
Alan Summers
Publication Credits:
Roadrunner 12.3 (December 2012)
Lakeview International Journal of Literature and Arts Vol.1, No.1 February 2013
Collection: Does Fish-God Know (2012)
girl in an owl
a human gun for yellow
Alan Summers
Creation of The Birds
by Remedios Varo (1957)
Publication Credits:
c.2.2. Anthology of short-verse ed. Brendan Slater & Alan Summers
(Yet To Be Named Free Press 2013)
Article:
Haiku Foundation:
https://www.thehaikufoundation.org/forum_sm/index.php?topic=2130.0
second dates…
Norman Rockwell snow
holds the front page
News Kiosk in the Snow, the Norman Rockwell Santa Saturday Evening Post cover (December 20, 1941)
Alan Summers
Anthology Credit: Journeys 2015, An Anthology of International Haibun
ed. Angelee Deodhar ISBN 978-1515359876
a dreaming forest busy as Hitchcock
Tom Ryan, Original Alfred Hitchcock Print “The Birds” (1963)
Alan Summers
from: The Comfort of Crows
Hifsa Ashraf and Alan Summers
(Velvet Dusk Publishing, December 2019)
https://www.velvetduskpublishing.com/uploads/3/7/5/9/37595991/the_comfort_of_crows_ebook.pdf
moonlighting crows in other colors
Wheatfield with Crows, Auvers-sur-Oise, July 1890 Vincent van Gogh
Alan Summers
Journal Credit: Frogpond (39:1) Winter Issue 2016
Anthology Credit: 2016 HSA Member Anthology Full of Moonlight
paintings of trees
on old pine walls
quiet music
Published in Four Hundred and Two Snails, Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology 2018, edited by Nicholas M. Sola.
I’ve loved both ekphrastic haiku and haibun and taught it on courses over the years.
Here’s two Van Gogh haibun using a new haikai technique for both haiku and haibun:
Van Gogh’s combat fatigues
https://area17.blogspot.com/2019/11/van-gogh-painter-artist-haibun-by-alan.html
The People of Van Gogh
https://area17.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-people-of-van-gogh-hybrid-writing.html