Figa No Makoto Book Review

WHR December 2019

Book Review - Fuga no Makoto

Geethanjali Rajan

Fuga No Makoto – Ten Years of World Haiku Review 2008 – 2017,

Published by the World Haiku Club, edited by Rohini Gupta, published as an ebook on Amazon 2019.

Links - Amazon.UK Amazon.com Amazon,in Amazon.jp

B07N5L8ND1 - for any other country copy this ASIN code into the Amazon search bar and it will open the books page in your country.

An anthology of The World Haiku Review, that contains poems from the last ten years (2008 - 2017) and one that is named after Basho’s most revered principle of ‘truth and sincerity in creation’ (poetry) cannot be anything other than brilliant. From the restrained cover in pale tones to the haiku that are placed in its pages, the honesty in the endeavour reaches out to the reader.

Susumu Takiguchi, Chairman, The World Haiku Club, Acting Editor-in-Chief, World Haiku Review has been actively reaching out to the world of haiku and haiku poets for many years now. The World Haiku Review has always been a journal of originality, by being true to the principles of haikai as practised by the Japanese. Hence, their anthology of haiku, Fuga no Makoto, is a one-stop place where you find some rare and deeply soulful yet beautiful moments, captured by seasoned haiku poets.

morning frost –

the eventual melts

into nothingness

Marie Shimane

Japan (2011)

a shred of kite

flaps in the wind

their missing son

Victor P. Gendrano

USA (2009)

The World Haiku Review has always accepted haiku in three forms - Neo-classical, Shintai (new style) and Vanguard haiku. All poems that are sent to the WHR are considered in these three sections (the decision on which section it belongs to, rests with the Editor). This has always been an advantage for the poet because what category a poem falls into isn’t something the poet needs to worry about. While Neo-classical haiku refer to haiku that are traditional in form (kigo, kireji ) and theme, Vanguard are more “radical” or modern haiku. Shintai are the poems that fall in between these two categories. This anthology has chosen from the top ten haiku in each category, from every issue of ten years. This itself ensures that the reader of the anthology gets to read the best, and also gets a wide variety of styles from the pages of Fuga No Makoto.

twilight —

the cricket's song

faintly blue

Carl Seguiban

Canada (2014)

Neo-Classical haiku

ice fog

everything familiar

unfamiliar

Debbie Strange

Canada (2016)

Shintai haiku

at a snail's pace

an empty shell

at the end of the trail

Michael Henry Lee

USA (2014)

Vanguard haiku

After the beautiful cover page, what catches one’s attention is the index - through the fog, dandelion fluff, the last of the green tea, summer on toast, what was written in winter…The list of chapters (sections) is beautiful poetry and later, one realises that they are poems or part of poems that appear in that section. The Editor, Rohini Gupta, has arranged the book thematically and that adds to the beauty of the book. Some very different perspectives on the same theme grab your attention.

For instance, from the section titled Dawn Childbirth:

summer dawn...

the distant echo of

a fisherman's oars

Keith A. Simmonds

Trinidad and Tobago (2009)

break of dawn

all the field cows

facing east

Carole MacRury

USA (2014)

The sectioning by theme does not give an overdose of the same theme. In fact, it does the opposite. One gets to enjoy different tones, moments and perspectives set carefully on the same page. Each poem is also a reminder that haiku are not just formulaic telegrams in a few words. They are poems where the sounds, the alliterations, the words used and the ideas, all contribute to the music and the making of art.

Where Fuga no makoto also proves to be a book that all poets attempting haiku should read, is the collection of comments by Susumu Takiguchi on the winning poems across the years. There is a wealth of information that also dispels many trite and simplistic approaches that newbies to haiku may find on the internet. These comments are as interesting, as are educative. Some of the comments are fairly detailed and also look at other possible structures for the same poem and point out why the particular poem was successful in reaching out to the reader. This is something that one seldom finds in other books. For instance, on the following poem:

drowning the cicada's song

the swift currents of

the Kiyotaki River

Lawrence 慈光 Barrow

Japan

Here, the Editor, Susumu Takiguchi, comments on the use of the words, debates the use of different formats for the poem and concludes,

“What is in this haiku, and lacking in others is a story to tell, a drama to enjoy, music to listen to, a picture to appreciate, the feeling as if we ourselves are there too, in addition to the underlying factors such as Basho-like observation and topic, Uta- makura (beautiful places traditionally renowned in poems) visited by thousands of people. This was made possible because Lawrence used words which are necessary and important, free from the minimalists’ misconceptions…”

This and many other comments make the book an interesting journey in haikai, rather than just a conventional anthology of haiku. For one who is looking for deeper dialogues on haiku and what actually makes a haiku resonate with the reader (or editor), Susumu Takiguchi’s comments are illuminative and thought-provoking. (There is another book in the making from the prose articles and editorials of the twenty five issues - another interesting collection worth waiting for!)

The haiku in Fuga no Makoto traverse many emotions, include all the senses and journey through seasons and locales. This is something an anthology usually offers to readers. However, apart from these aspects, we get to see haiku from poets young, old, experienced and new, and many of these haiku are unique in that most journals or anthologies that stick to one style of haiku, will not have published them, let alone ranked them in the top ten of an issue. This anthology brings to our notice that haiku is not about rules or one accepted style, it is about the spirit of haikai. Sample some of the haiku here:

crickets in night air

Tibetan throat singers

hold their breath in unison

andra J. Anfang

First place, Shintai haiku (2017)

in so much loss

so much compassion found

tsunami mud

Marie Shimane

Japan Vanguard haiku August 2011

домашно сладко от ягоди

лятото върху

препечена филийка

homemade strawberry jam

the summer on

toast

Hristina Pandjaridis (Translation Vessislava Savova)

Bulgaria (2014 )

vaccination reminders

for the dog we buried at home

summer hail

David Oates

USA (2017)

If you are new to writing haiku and want to understand the form better, read this delightful anthology for the variety and depth of haiku. If you have been writing haiku for a while, revisit haiku with this book - there are many voices here, and some will definitely reach out to you. If you don’t write haiku, you might still want to sample this anthology. Who knows, your first haiku might take shape! And so it goes, as an ebook on Amazon, Fuga no Makoto.