haikaiTALKS: a saturday gathering! 2nd November

haikaiTALKS: EVOKING SILENCE| a saturday gathering_under the banyan tree

host: Lev Hart 2nd November 2024

haikaiTALKS: a saturday gathering_under the banyan tree

EVOKING SILENCE

Your host for haikaiTALKS Lev Hart

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EVOKING SILENCE

Haiku poets agree that showing is better than telling --- except in the case of silence. No end of haiku appear in journals, referring to the silent this, or the silence of that, instead of letting the reader hear the silence herself.

Three of our Triveni poets have discovered ways of evoking silence. Keiko Izawa evokes silence by focusing on the sole sound in a vast expanse.

       mountain village

       with each echo of the axe

       autumn deepens

       (haikuKATHA Issue 19, May 2023)

Keith Evetts evokes silence by focusing on one sole sound ending abruptly:

       a robin's short song

       in the stillness of yews

       evening chill

       (HAIKUsutradhar, Apr 02, 2023)

Lori Kiefer evokes silence by focusing on one sole sound fading into the distance:

       first of spring

       a gull’s call follows

       the river

       (HAIKUsutradhar, Mar 04, 2023)

None of the haiku use words like silent, silence, or quiet. This week’s goal is to write two haiku that evoke silence, instead of telling the reader about it. You can try the methods demonstrated by Keiko, Keith and Lori, or come up with your own. Remember the kigo. Avoid shopworn imagery. Strive for originality.

“A Dictionary of Haiku Classified by Season Words with Traditional and Modern Methods,” by Jane Reichhold:

https://thehaikufoundation.org/omeka/files/original/7fb6654a1dfd1afef97369da920530f8.pdf

indian subcontinent SAIJIKI:

https://www.trivenihaikai.in/indian-saijiki

The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words:

http://www.2hweb.net/haikai/renku/500ESWd.html

The World Kigo Database:

https://wkdkigodatabase03.blogspot.com/

The Yuki Teikei Haiku Season Word List:

https://yths.org/season-word-list/

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Thank you for doing this for us, Lev.

Members,

Please give your feedback on others' commentary and poems too. _()_

This is an exciting phase for haikaiTALKS! Have fun! Keep writing and commenting! _kala