Just the title of our new book of haiku – Blue Wolves Are Howling Grapefruit Orange
– alerts the reader to a new reality.
The seventy-seven poems, written by Tyler Pruett, form a narrative, yet we begin to veer into alternate realities. This surrealism in haiku occurs in a form called “gendai.”
In Japanese, “gendai” can literally mean “modern.” In the world of haiku, however, the term refers to experimental forms that tend to be radical and avant-garde.
Sometimes, in my opinion, these poems can leave the reader behind without a frame of reference to share in the poet’s intentions. In some cases, the reader might not be able to gain any other experience than witnessing some word play, though, for the author, there may be much more imbedded in the words.
Sometimes, however, gendai haiku can pierce what we call “reality” and take us deeper into a more expansive vision of what reality might be. This visionary quality is evident in Blue Wolves Are Howling Grapefruit Orange.
Here, the reader is taken on a gradual road from what is known and observed, and in an astonishing fashion,
is led to an interior territory of what might be…
Read more about English gendai haiku:
http://haikuproject.wordpress.com/2010/06/13/gendai-haiku/
http://www.hsa-haiku.org/frogpond/2012-issue35-1/essay.html
Diane Katz, is a book designer, artist and illustrator.
Diane can be reached at 800.723.0336 diane@rosenberrybooks.com
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