brainstorms

Friday October 08, 2004

haiku for a penguin?

after writing my mac haiku, i (briefly :) thought about linux. it is conceivable that the right combination of cool hardware and a sharp version of linux in some cold toronto winter morning may inspire another haiku. here is a senryu variant of that warm laptop:

early morning snow -
little laptop
warm with penguin.

(2004-10-08 06:51:39.0) Permalink

Wednesday October 06, 2004

haiku for a mac

autumn evening -
little laptop
warm with os x.

oz [04/10/05]

[this is a variation of an earlier haiku written for plan9 a few winters ago. this autumn, an ibook with os X is an aesthetic and computational experience that is unmatched, thus a new version.]

(2004-10-06 08:47:42.0) Permalink

Saturday September 25, 2004

haiku and the indeterminacy of translation

How hard is it to translate haiku? With a nod to Quine, here are some of the translations of Basho's famous crow haiku (composed in the spring of 1681. see Shirane's [13] further discussion) i found in my library. Some earlier examples attempt to keep the 17-syllable form in english translations, while others have fewer syllables. [many authors now agree that english haiku needs only about ten to twelve syllables to have nearly the same duration and rhythm as a japanese haiku, which is based on onji sound units]

kareeda | ni | karasu | no | tomarikeri | aki | no | kure
bare-branch | on | crow | 's | is-perched | autumn | 's | evening

On a bare branch
A crow is perched -
Autumn evening.
         Makoto Ueda [1]

On a withered bough
A crow alone is perching;
Autumn evening now.
         Kenneth Yasuda [2]

On a withered branch
a crow has settled...
autumn nightfall.
         Harold G. Henderson [3]

on a dead branch
the crow settles -
autumn evening
         Bruce Ross [4]

On the dead limb
squats a crow -
autumn night.
         Lucien Stryk [5]

On a withered branch
A crow is perched,
In the autumn evening.
         R. H. Blyth [6]

on a bare branch
a crow has alighted...
autumn nightfall.
         Makoto Ueda [7]

on a bare branch
a crow lands
autumn dusk
         Jane Reichhold [8]

A crow
has settled on a bare branch -
autumn evening.
         Robert Hass [9]

on dead branches crows remain
perched at autumn's end
         Hiroaki Sato [10]

on a barren branch
a raven has perched -
autumn dusk
         William J. Higginson [11]

a solitary
crow on a bare branch -
autumn evening
         Sam Hamill [12]

on a leafless branch
a crow comes to nest -
autumn nightfall
         Haruo Shirane [13]

on a withered branch
a crow has settled -
autumn evening.
         David Landis Barnhill [14]

here is my version, based on raw word translation above (obviously without actual japanese understanding)

a crow settles
on a bare branch -
fall evening.

[1] Ueda, Makoto
Basho and His Interpreters: Selected Hokku with Commentary
Stanford University Press, 1995.

[2] Yasuda, Kenneth
Japanese Haiku: Its Essential Nature and History
Tuttle Publishing, 2002.

[3] Henderson, Harold G.
An Introduction to Haiku: An Anthology of Poems and Poets From Basho to Shiki
Doubleday Anchor Books, 1958.

[4] Ross, Bruce (ed).
Haiku Moment: An Anthology of Contemporary North American Haiku
Charles E. Tuttle Company, Vermont, 1993.

[5] Stryk, Lucien
On Love and Barley: Haiku of Basho
University of Hawaii Press, 1986.

[6] Blyth, Reginald Horace,
Haiku
Hokuseido Press, 1997.

[7] Ueda, Makoto
Matsuo Basho
Kodansha America, 1983.

[8] Reichhold, Jane
Writing and Enjoying Haiku: A Hands on Guide
Kodansha International, 2003.

[9] Hass, Robert
The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson & Issa
Ecco press, 1994.

[10] Sato, Hiroaki
[...]

[11] Higginson, William J. with Penny Harter
The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share and Teach Haiku
McGraw-Hill, 1985.

[12] Hamill, Sam
The Sound of Water: Haiku by Basho, Buson, Issa and Other Poets
Shambhala Publications, 1995.

[13] Shirane, Haruo
Traces of Dreams: Landscape, Cultural Memory and the Poetry of Basho
Stanford University Press, 1998.

[14] Barnhill, David Landis
Basho's Haiku: Selected Poems of Matsuo Basho
State University of New York Press, 2004.

[2004-09-25 added Hamill and Shirane translations to the list]

[2005-05-17 added Barnhill translation]

(2004-09-24 22:05:39.0) Permalink Comments [3]

Saturday September 04, 2004

rumi

let the beauty we love be what we do
there are hundreds of ways to kneel
and kiss the ground

many thanks to cherie westmoreland for reminding me of this fragment from rumi. (2004-09-03 21:23:11.0) Permalink Comments [1]