Welcome. My intent is to show examples and to discuss contemporary English-language haibun and haiga which necessitate also exploring haiku (haibun prose's and haiga image's little partner). Haibun: A mix of Title, prose and haiku. Akin to short memoirs and personal essays. Typically non-fiction.Haibun: A mix of image and haiku. Images including paintings of any … Continue reading Exploring Haibun, Haiga and Haiku
Haibun Commentaries: Exploring the Work of Exemplary Writers
If you want to learn about poetry — if you want to “access” it — what you need to do is find great poems you like, figure out which are worth rereading and then reread them. ~ Robert Pinsky Pinsky goes on to suggest that you learn what they’re doing and bring what you’ve learned … Continue reading Haibun Commentaries: Exploring the Work of Exemplary Writers
A Commentary on Basho’s Hiraizumi
"Haraizumi" is single passage (aka chapter/haibun) from Basho's The Narrow Road to the Deep North (Ono no Hosomichi) "Poetry is the revelation of a feeling that the poet believes to be interior and personal which the reader recognizes as his own." ~Salvatore Quasimodo Part I: Commentary Bashō's travel journals are some of the earliest examples … Continue reading A Commentary on Basho’s Hiraizumi
Red Licorice
. . . if they fail to express what is in their own minds, what is the use, no matter how many poems they compose! ~ Ryokan The doorbell rings. On the porch, standing in a downpour, is a very wet girl in baggy clothes. Her hair is mouse-brown with red and green streaks, her … Continue reading Red Licorice
Conversations with Issa: A Haibun
I’ve resided in a remote Ontario cottage for several weeks. Yesterday, a blizzard was blowing and so I stayed in and enjoyed conversing with Issa via the medium of his translators' books. As I read and write notes, I notice a particularly ominous spider web and remember that Issa offers this haiku for consideration . … Continue reading Conversations with Issa: A Haibun
Close Encounters of an Italian Kind
Strapped into a too-narrow, no leg-room Air Canada seat, I’m editing a manuscript, and the distinguished-looking fellow beside me looks over and, in a strong Italian accent, says, “Are you a writer or editor?” “I’m revising some of my writing,” I reply, and hand him a copy of my last haibun collection, hoping it will … Continue reading Close Encounters of an Italian Kind
Chin Down
My daughter’s ashes are now spread in places she loved, although I have a hard time remembering when she loved anything but drugs, and lived anywhere but on the streets. We did our best, I’ve often thought to myself and even said aloud as we spread her ashes in a mountain meadow. You could have … Continue reading Chin Down
What Are You Up To?
The sun’s rays filter through a stand of spruce where twenty horses are hitched. As we unpack them, Dave, a lanky outfitter, and I chat about the grizzly we spotted earlier in the day and how the horses are holding up. men’s talk – the smell of sweat and manure Dave asks, “Ray, what are … Continue reading What Are You Up To?
Haiga Galleries: haiga – a mix of image and haiku
Haigaonline Journal: Daily Haiga Journal: an'ya: Haiga Gallery Pamela A. Babusci: Haiga Gallery Ron Moss: Haiga Gallery Nicole Hague-Andrews’ Haiga pages Maria Tomczak: Haiga Gallery Ray Rasmussen: A Covid Summer, 2020 [other haiga themes along with examples by other haiga practitioners will be added from time to time] About Haiga As is the case with … Continue reading Haiga Galleries: haiga – a mix of image and haiku
Best Intentions
| Recently Published Haibun by Ray Rasmussen | image credit: unknown Hell isn't merely paved with good intentions: it's walled and roofed with them. Yes, and furnished too. ~ Aldous Huxley We’re dining on ginger beef and cod in black bean sauce, flavored with catch-up chat. My friend Kathy, leans toward me and says, “I … Continue reading Best Intentions
Ray Rasmussen: All Things Haibun Blog 