Embedded Files
Questions asked on behalf of Global Haiku News by Editor-in-Chief
THE UNKNOWN HAIJIN INTERVIEW - Part 2/3
(all rights unreservedly reserved)
jp: Thanks to The Unknown Haijin (again) for finding time in his busy schedule to be with us this evening. To summerise: since our first meeting in 2010], around the time of the Rabbi Grebe uprising (exposé coming New Year's Day 2012), it seemed to me that you were somewhere else. After the first part of this interview, I'm of the opinion that you are and, yet, at the same time, you aren't. We discussed your food preferences and you were quite open in admitting that you favour lentil soup and cooking chocolate (not together, necessarily). Also the apple crumble we make [in the Global Haiku Cafeteria - from the old village apple tree's windfalls], took your fancy, along with our saturday girl [Kylie]...TUH: *cough*jp: ...who was quite impressed with your astonishing cool and handsome, somewhat windswept, bearing.
[TUH shuffles in his seat, crosses his legs, clasps his hands and purses his lips]
During the course of the first interview [Halloween, 2011] we came to understand a little regarding your haiku metaphysics and the 'living wind' was cited as a bag to put it all in, so to say:
"Now, with the 'full package' of our psyche we address the world as we find it, on our haiku walk, our ginko. Because we have slowed down (and are slowing down even more as we deepen into our journey, or on pause, perchance to scan a particular item of haiku interest), we are increasingly engaging with what is (quite appositely) termed: The Living Wind." - TUH
Then, we moved on to glam—
TUH: Yes, glamour. Bewitchment by our sensorium's Joie de vivre. Desire for lentil soup and suchlike. The power of the senses' lust for life over our objective reason and higher faculties of intuition. The animal vehicle's assertion of dominion. The car driving the driver. Habit, hypnosis...and so on. How this is used to socialise us and at the same time alientate us from our natural connections in the seasonal round. Haiku can help us disentangle from this robot glamour, at will.
jp: Glam—
TUH: Yes, glamour. Plato, in his Symposium, discusses this in terms of 'the becoming' and 'the eternal'. The former being constant change and the latter being the constant, changeless arena for changingness. [smiles] This is somethingness' Noh theatre, which we have covered well enough. Suffice to say we need to stabilise in the latter whilst we experience a haiku-vision blossom in its essential form. This is the Noh analogy.
jp: Indeed. So, we're up to date and I was wondering, on behalf of our exponetially growing readership, what you would like to natter on about in this second section of the interview? By the way, why did you have to nip off so suddenly at the closure of part 1?
TUH: Frankly, I'd rather not say.
jp: Who's Frank Lee? [laughter]
TUH: Truth of the matter is I had to relieve myself after all that lentil soup and cooking chocolate. By the time that was done it was time to catch my flight to London to see Cats.
jp: Man, Cats is good. I went with number one daughter and son. Theatre in the round and one of them seriously nubile young cats (the white one) leapt into the audience, stroked my leg, purred and left me stunned and thoughtful. Which poem did you like best?
TUH: Hard to say. Mmm...Macavity - The Mystery Cat, that was good. I liked all of them.
jp: When I was a potter the cat poems often soundtracked when throwing on the wheel. It was like a ritual each winter. When the musical was made I was quite flabbergasted.
TUH: So, we covered some of the important ideas in the last section. The ones about the deep mystery in and behind things. Here I'd like to respond to your haiga, the one in which you quote me.
jp: Oh, yes, had forgotton about that. Hang on and I'll upload a copy for you to expound on. . . .
The Unknown Haijin's Song
prayer to the universal mystery
the yugan's dream-maker
the living wind and all of the beautiful creatures
from this moment of everywhere's nexus
so mote it be
TUH: Yes, that's the one, with all the jelly beans.
jp: That's supposed to be sub-atomic particles in a state of absolute flux, actually. So, what about a commentary, for me, and all the readers who wrote in asking what on earth it meant (although most agreed it was quite pretty, nevertheless.)
TUH: As with most haiku things it's quite simple provided you keep to what's being presented and not what you think is being presented. (Second-guessing a haiku is a distraction which must be left behind as we journey to the haiku's heart. We can figure those things out later when all the layers of the onion are revealed to our scrutiny.)
jp: That's an important point, TUH. How many times do we try to figure a haiku out when we should be letting it inform us?
TUH: This is a major hurdle for beginners and more experienced students alike. If you catch yourself at it, nip it in the bud each time.
jp: There are several levels, I've noticed.
TUH: Indeed and this will be dealt with in our forthcoming publication.
jp: More of that in next months issue. Your commentary—
TUH: Lets do it by lines, then. As you can see, we have 5 lines (honouring the basic tanka layout). I'11 place a response below each line:
L1
prayer to the universal mystery
The one thing we're sure of is that we are surrounded by mystery and filled with it also. This is yugan (originally a dark blue dye, the colour of twilight).
L2
the yugan's dream-maker
Having established the yugan's credentials we can deduce the dream-maker's identity.
L3
the living wind and all of the beautiful creatures
The messenger service and its recipients and respondants.
L4
from this moment of everywhere's nexus
We shake the boundless Web of the Wyrd at each moment.
L5
so mote it be
Amen.
jp: Very clear. And, if we apply haiku-vision we have the imagery to advise us in more detail.
TUH: Absolutely.
jp: it's almost like you have a map?
TUH: A schema, we call it. Sure, several schematas. They all intersect into one, but are seperable for closer study. Haiku mandala. You have one section currently under appraisal. How's that going?
jp: Well, from first glance we could see that it was going to be a radical clarification of the current jumble which global haikai is in. The problem seems to be one of definition. No two pundits seem to be able to agree on even the basic formal requirements of a haiku, even as measured against what we know out of old Japan.
TUH: Not a difficult problem if we have our new formal/procedural blueprint to raise the level of debate to a higher catagorical plateau. This is what you have been purusing, in part.
jp: Let me find the link. . . .
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source [click pic to enlarge] © infopic/concept — jp
TUH: You've done a clear infotainment graphic for this interacting continuum of relationships which locate haiku in its existential (if not literary) matrix. I particularly like your side symbols. Nice job.
jp: Thanks. Firm and erect behind that apparently simple diagram is a cornucopia of information waiting to disseminate.
TUH: Very true. It does need unpacked, though, and this is where the new publication will play its part.
jp: Thanks. The Living Wind: DNA, Haiku & Fast-Track CNS Normalisation & Evolution, is the working title. But, probably end up calling it: Little Voices: Haiku For Everyone - In A Trice.
TUH: If only. . . .
[At this point The Unknown Haijin had to dash. Don't miss Part 3 - scheduled for Imbolc, 2012. Or, whip back to Part 1 ]
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The Unknown Haijin lives in the wnd (he says). More bio would be nice but that's all we can glean
a
t time of press. We have the distinct impression that TUH is someone else in his day job. We will press him on this during part-3 (penciled in for release around Imbolc - Feb 1st, 2012). The general impression of his character, though, here at Haiku Crossroads' busy front office, is quite positive. He seems to be the real deal. In fact, our saturday girl has a teenage crush on him which we all find quite amusing, especially when she insists on fetching multiple soups! One thing is clear, we've had more mail about this interview than all of our other ones put together (including the clairvoyantly mediated Basho's ghost transcript - which outlined the genesis of Mat's ubiquitous frog thing) :The Matsuo Bashō Interviews #1: Frog & Rice Cake
t time of press. We have the distinct impression that TUH is someone else in his day job. We will press him on this during part-3 (penciled in for release around Imbolc - Feb 1st, 2012). The general impression of his character, though, here at Haiku Crossroads' busy front office, is quite positive. He seems to be the real deal. In fact, our saturday girl has a teenage crush on him which we all find quite amusing, especially when she insists on fetching multiple soups! One thing is clear, we've had more mail about this interview than all of our other ones put together (including the clairvoyantly mediated Basho's ghost transcript - which outlined the genesis of Mat's ubiquitous frog thing) :The Matsuo Bashō Interviews #1: Frog & Rice Cake
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— jp
[asking questions on behalf of Global Haiku News]
05-11-11
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