Carpe Diem's Kasen Renga Session #2, "On the Seashore"

 

 

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

 

Today our second Kasen Renga Session starts. A Kasen Renga is a Renga of 36 linked verses following the next path 5-7-5, 7-7, 5-7-5, 7-7 .... and so on. Just like the Tan Renga you have to write a stanza through associating on the verse before your turn.

Our beloved haiku originated from this Renga, a chain of verses following the above mentioned structure. The Renga started with the so called Hokku (starting verse) written by a haiku poet. The next poet wrote the next stanza and so on. The poet who writes the last stanza, called Ageku, has to associate on the hokku (and the verse before him/her) so the Kasen Renga is closed properly as a chain or circle.

 

The Kasen Renga follows a structure in which there are themes which you have to use in the stanzas. I will give you the structure later on in this post. First I like to tell you how this is going to work.

I start the Kasen Renga with a Hokku and the next poet writes the following stanza in the comments field. There will be no linking widget and you have to be alert on which stanza you have to write. So e.g. poet A writes the first verse 5-7-5, poet B writes the 7-7 stanza, then poet C writes the following stanza of 5-7-5 ... the most important thing in this is that you have to read the comment before you, so you know which stanza you have to write. (!!!! DON'T FORGET THE NUMBER OF THE STANZA IN YOUR COMMENT !!!!).

Kasen Renga Session #2

1. (3)  (hokku) (starting verse)
2. (2) Spring
3. (3) Spring/sun
4. (2) free verse (*)
5. (3) flower/earth
6. (2) air
7. (3) Spring
8. (2) free/rainbow
9. (3) free/temple-bell
10. (2) leaves
11. (3) Spring/clouds
12. (2) Summer/flowers
13. (3) mountains
14. (2) Autumn/leave
15. (3) free verse
16. (2) free verse
17. (3) garden/moon
18. (2) water
19. (3) water/circles
20. (2) free verse
21. (3) brook/wind
22. (2) free /wind
23. (3) breath/grape
24. (2) breath/crystal
25. (3) New Year
26. (2) free/grass
27. (3) free/wood
28. (2) earth/wood
29. (3) light/dark
30. (2) Autumn/spider
31. (3) draden
32. (2) free verse
33. (3) free verse
34. (2) Summer
35. (3) fire/wood
36. (2) Summer/Autumn (ageku)

(*) In this list free verse means without a theme

For this new Kasen Renga Session I have chosen a re-done haiku written by myself, you can find that original (inspired on a haiku by Basho) at my Basho Revisited Weblog This New Kasen Renga is titled:

  

 

 

 

On the Seashore

 

Starting date: November 3rd 2013
Closing date: January 31th 2014

 

And here is the Hokku (7-5-7) or starting verse:

 

abandoned
the shell of a hermit crab
on the seashore

(c) Chèvrefeuille

 

Well .... have fun, feel free to share your 'stanza' (chained link) with us all here at our haiku community Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. Good Luck.