HAIKU:
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Reviews & ResponsesJuly 31, 2008 Haiku: The Art of the Short Poem is the first feature-length film about haiku in English. It is based on interviews conducted with poets at the Haiku North America conference in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Some of the poets, like Sonia Sanchez, are better known for other kinds of poetry. Other poets, like William J. Higginson, are well known in haiku circles. Tazuo Yamaguchi blends the interviews with these poets into a tapestry of ideas and passions about haiku in English. A Haiku North America conference is basically a gathering of people whose lives have been changed by haiku. Several poets in the film describe their first encounter with haiku by the Japanese masters—how something in these poems flashed across oceans and centuries and touched them in a profound way. Other poets describe the need, in the words of Sanchez, “Not just to learn the form, but to transform the form.” Another layer is Yamaguchi’s own perspective, that of a Japanese-American whose family photos often show haiku on scrolls in the background; a performance poet who has won titles in national head-to-head haiku competitions; a videographer who has spent most the last decade capturing poetry on film. Robert Hass once said of Japanese haiku, “What is in these poems can’t be had elsewhere.” Listen to the haiku poets in this film as they search for that something. —Dave Russo, HNA 2007 organizer Winter issue, Riverbed Haiku The 2007 Haiku North America conference played host to haiku poets from across the haiku community and one ambitious idea: to create the first haiku documentary film in the English language. Tazuo Yamaguchi used the gathered resources of the English-language haiku community to compile interviews with the leading English-language haiku voices of our time. Interspersed with haiku readings and presentations from the conference, an invaluable window into the world of English-language haiku is formed. In addition to the wealth of information gleaned from the conference, Yamaguchi gives us an introduction to the form itself, allowing the uninitiated to receive a crash-course in modern English-language haiku. This information becomes packaged in a concise multimedia package within the film, giving the audience the treasure of not only haiku—but also the voices behind many of the influential poets active today. Accompanying the film is a book presenting many of the haiku we hear in the film, as well as quotes from participants regarding the haiku experience. Also in the book are brief biographical notes introducing these poets. This film and book will be treasured by teachers of modern English haiku—and enjoyed greatly by both students and enthusiasts of the form. Yamaguchi has successfully presented the subject in a manner appropriate to high school students, yet interesting enough for seasoned haijin to appreciate. —Brock Peoples, Editor, Riverbed Haiku |
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