A Letter to James W Hackett

December 2012

A letter to James W. Hackett

from Harold Gould Henderson (l889 -1974)

December 21, 1970

Dear Hackett san:

Long time no write -- partly because of 8 operations in the last two years. I am writing now because I find myself in need of your advice.

I am trying to put the kibosh on at least some of the atrocious hogwash that still masquerades under the name of "haiku". [Eric] Amann and [Leroy] Kanterman have asked me to help prepare a sort of "Credo" that should, hopefully, be subscribed to by the editors of all haiku magazines. I am enclosing a copy of the first preliminary draft, but I am by no means thoroughly satisfied with it. [Draft returned to H.H.]

For one thing, I have not specifically mentioned either Zen or the spiritual values I believe inherent in haiku. (Though I have tried to suggest the importance of appreciating each moment of existence, and of linking our humanity with something outside itself.) Do you think I should be more specific, and if so, how?

I have been careful because there are some biased people who automatically feel that anyone who speaks of "spiritual values" must be talking cant. Some of these are, I believe, otherwise O.K., and I want to persuade them, not slap them in the face. And as for Zen: I cannot speak authoritatively, and, I feel much as I do about "spiritual values" --- by any other name they'd smell as sweet.

I am beginning to think that much of our trouble stems from the fact that so many of us live in cities -- in fact live a life that is essentially anti-nature. [Boldface added]

Though I am diffident about bothering you with a verse of my own -- I know I am not a real poet -- I cannot resist submitting to you my:

House fronts in stiff rows ---

and all the trees bend from them

toward each other.

Still yours, as ever, and with all the best season's greetings,

Harold Gould Henderson

The letter from Harold Gould Henderson (l889 -1974) deals with points which Hackett explores in his commentary essay for a single poem which he has chosen. Henderson's deep respect for Hackett is also shown here toward the latter's deep understanding of Zen and haiku. It is refreshing to see such humility coming from a man who, himself, understood both haiku and Zen profoundly and did so much to disseminate the form not only among the Americans, but also among peoples in the whole world.

Professor Henderson, famous among haijin in the world for his "The Bamboo Broom" (1933), "An Introduction to Haiku" (1958, a revised version of "The Bamboo Broom") and "Haiku in English" (1967), was a friend of R. H. Blyth's. Blyth had just been released from a Japanese internment camp where he spent his time during the war and later became a tutor of the Crown Prince, the present Emperor. Henderson was on the staff at General MacArthur's GHQ (General Headquarters of the occupation forces). Blyth and Henderson served, among other things, as liaison between MacArthur and Japan's Imperial household, particularly in developing the Emperor's speech which he delivered in a historical nation-wide broadcasting in 1946, renouncing his divinity, i.e. a living God.

This particular letter is one in a series of almost 100 letters from Henderson to Hackett between 1960 and his death.

Note : this article was first published in the World Haiku Review, August 2001, Vol 1-2.