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Spring 2009, vol 7 no 1
 

RENKU
 

Renku Editor's Notes

Welcome to Simply Haiku's first Renku Column of 2009, and to my first as its editor. I'll not even attempt to fill the Wellies of John Carley and Norman Darlington but I am an avid student of renku and hope (with your help and contributions) to continue building the wonderful resource they've created here over the last six years. 

 

Triparshva: On Papery Wings

This poem was composed by poets who have in the main, worked often together. An interesting aspect of the piece is the omission of first and second person verses which seems to me, to create a definite mood or atmosphere for the poem as a whole. Indeed, as I prepared this issue of the column I realised that coincidentally, all three contributions share the same omission. 

 

Junicho: Wisteria Burst

 - of which Diana Webb writes,

"I have just finished doing 5 sessions on haiku and haiku related forms at Cooltan Arts, a centre in south London which exists to promote the creation and dissemination of quality art work by people who suffer or have suffered mental distress. The renku form was introduced in the very last session and this one then done through e-mail by myself and my group's two stalwart members."

 

Junicho: Shadows and the Moon

A solo piece by Jim Wilson which is also sans verses constructed in first or second person - except for a line of the very last verse which is not only a switch to first person, but is also the first in the poem to employ direct speech. To remarkable effect, I think.

 

Essay: The Art of the Solo Renga

In which Jim Wilson presents a case for writing collaborative poetry on one's own.

 

Enjoy the reading and I look forward to hearing from you.

Moira Richards, South Africa, January 2009

 

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