Carpe Diem #970 Italy

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Europe is an awesome continent I think and therefore its a pleasure to be on this month's ginko straight through Europe. Today our next stop is Italy, also one of the co-founders of the EU (these co-founder countries are known as the Inner Six).
Italy home-country of one of our CDHK family-members, Georgia (a.k.a. Bastet), and the country were the European Haiku Society (EHS) is based. The EHS started in 2015 and this year the EHS celebrates its 1st anniversary. As you can see in the right of our Kai, I am a member of the EHS and there were already several haiku created by me published in our weekly newsletter Akisame. The EHS also has a seasonly magazine named Makoto, but this magzine is only for members.

Italian Flag (referred to as "Il Tricolore"

All that I know of Italy I know from reading, the Internet, movies and so on. I have never been to that country, but as I think about Italy than I think of the Maffia, Pizza, the Pope, haute couture, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.

However ... all nice things and persons to talk about, but I love to take you on a trip to Tuscany, in the middle part of Italy, close to the Alps.

Tuscany

Tuscany is a region in central Italy with an area of about 23,000 square kilometers (8,900 square miles) and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants (2013). The regional capital is Florence (Firenze).
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, traditions, history, artistic legacy and its influence on high culture. It is regarded as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and has been home to many figures influential in the history of art and science, and contains well-known museums such as the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace. Tuscany produces wines, including Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano and Brunello di Montalcino. Having a strong linguistic and cultural identity, it is sometimes considered "a nation within a nation".

Flag of Tuscany
 

Tuscany has a unique artistic legacy, and Florence is one of the world's most important water-colour centres, even so that it is often nicknamed the "art palace of Italy" (the city is also believed to have the largest concentration of Renaissance art and architecture in the world). Painters such as Cimabue and Giotto, the fathers of Italian painting, lived in Florence and Tuscany, as well as Arnolfo and Andrea Pisano, renewers of architecture and sculpture; Brunelleschi, Donatello and Masaccio, forefathers of the Renaissance; Ghiberti and the Della Robbias, Filippo Lippi and Angelico; Botticelli, Paolo Uccello, and the universal genius of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

Several famous writers and poets are from Tuscany, most notably Florentine author Dante Alighieri. Tuscany's literary scene particularly thrived in the 13th century and the Renaissance.

In the 13th century, there were several major allegorical poems. One of these is by Brunetto Latini, who was a close friend of Dante. His Tesoretto is a short poem, in seven-syllable verses, rhyming in couplets, in which the author professes to be lost in a wilderness and to meet with a lady, who represents Nature, from whom he receives much instruction.

 

Brunetto-Latini

 

I was surprized to read about Brunetto Latini's "Tesoretto" in which he used seven (7) syllables verses, rhyming in couplets. I immediately thought about our own haiku (and tanka) in which we also use lines with 7 syllables. Just a nice "link" between Italy and haiku.

I found a nice series of Italian haiku. I couldn't retrieve an emailaddress to ask permission, so I publish them, but if you know one of the haiku poets used, please ask them if it's okay to use their haiku here at CDHK. Of course the rights of the used work stays with the authors. By the way the following three Italian Haijin won prizes in "The Basho Award" contest, which takes place once a year organized by the Italian Haiku Association (IHA).

Daniele Brancati

Brezza serale
i girasoli esausti
chinano il capo

Evening breeze
the exhausted sunflowers
bow their heads 

Sunflowers in Tuscany

Donatella Nardin

Fiori notturni -–
ne immortalo in un selfie
la caducita’

Night flowers
I catch their transiency
in a selfie

Maurizio Petruccioli

Stelle cadenti –
cercando un quadrifoglio
mi scordo il cielo

Falling stars
looking for a clover
I forget the sky

And on Daily Haiku I found a nice article in which the well known haiku poetess Antonella Filippi from Italy writes haiku about the seasons. An example of her work will follow hereafter. I couldn't retrieve an emailaddress or something to ask Antonella for permission. Of course the rights of the published work stays with her.

 

Antonella Filippi

ESTATE / SUMMER

luce del falò
la mia ombra danza
a mia insaputa

the light of a bonfire
my shadow dances
unknown to me

un guscio vuoto
consumato dal canto
rossa cicala

empty shell
consumed by its chirping
a red cicada

© Antonella Filippi

 

A wonderful episode this was to create, sorry for being this late with publishing. This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 10th at noon (CET). I will publish our new episode, our first CD-Special by Joyce Lorenson, our "New Life"-kukai winner, later on. For now ... I hope I have inspired you to create haiku.

 

 

Carpe Diem Utabukuro #11 (restarting an old feature) "Wisteria Beans" by Matsuo Basho

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's my pleasure to "restart" an old special feature we have had here at Carpe Diem haiku Kai. Maybe you can remember that special feature or maybe you can remember one of the latest Tokubetsudesu episodes

This feature is based on a haiku by Basho which he wrote when he was around 22 years of age, it's one of his earliest known haiku according to Jane Reichhold. I have called this new feature "Carpe Diem Utabukuro" , which means "poem bag".

The logo above is a bag with a wonderful print of a Japanese woodblock and in the logo you can read the romaji translation of the haiku on which this new feature is based. I will give that haiku here again:

hana ni akanu
nageki ya kochi no
utabukuro

© Basho

Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), my sensei

And this is the translation by Jane Reichhold:

flower buds
sadly spring winds cannot open
a poem bag

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

In her compilation of all Basho's haiku "Basho, the complete haiku" she gives the following description of this haiku:

1667 - spring. Because Basho has used kochi instead of the conventional ware for "my", the verse has two distinct versions. The associative technique is the idea that the flowers are not yet opened and neither is Basho's bag of poems (Utabukuro). The unopened purse of poems is like the flower bud in its potential for beauty.

The goal of this CDHK feature is not difficult, because I just ask you to share a haiku or tanka which you admire. That haiku or tanka can be one of a classical or non-classical haiku poet or one by you. You can choose whatever you like, but it has to be a haiku or tanka. Maybe the haiku brings you sweet (or sad) memories or you just like it. Explain why you have chosen that haiku or tanka to share here "in" CDHK's Utabukuro, poem bag and ... that's the second task for this feature, write/compose an all new haiku inspired on the one you have chosen.

Wisteria

For this "restarting" Utabukuro episode I have chosen a beautiful haiku by my sensei, Matsuo Basho.

fuji no mi wa   haikai ni se n   kana no ato

wisteria beans

let's make that a theme for haikai

a flower fruit 

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

With this haiku came a preface, which was very common in Basho's time:

"A certain Sogyu of Seki visited me when I stayed in Ogaki. I composed this for him in the lingering scent of the flowers which Sogi (1421-1502, a famous renga poet) had called the flowers of Fujishiro (white wisteria) Misaka". When Sogi had passed through this same area, he had seen some white wisteria growing on the slope and had written: 'seki koe te / koko mo fujishiro / misaka kana' (crossing  Seki / there still are the white wisteria / at the town in Misaka).

In this verse the second sentence refers to renga. Haiku which are included in a renga are called haikai. As you (maybe) know Basho was a renga-master and he has written a lot of "hokku" and "haikai".

Waterfall of Flowers

And here is my haiku inspired on this beauty by Basho, my sensei, I hope he will like it.

what a party
writing a renga together -
waterfall of flowers

© Chèvrefeuille

It's a new haiku in which I have tried to draw a picture of a renga session. Writing renga together with friends is a joyfull activity. Try it yourself it will be wonderful to write renga with friends (as we have done twice already here at CDHK).

This Utabukuro episode is open for your submissions at noon (CET) and will remain open until next Saturday at noon (CET). I am looking forward to your favorites and newly written haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form. Have fun!

Carpe Diem Renga Party #3 summer moonlight

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I love to start a new Renga Party together with you, my dear CDHK family. This time I love to create a "kasen-renga", this is a renga with 36 stanza. The startdate of this new Renga Party is June 20th.

For this new Renga Party I have asked Dolores of "Ada's Poetry Alcove" to write the "hokku". Dolores provided me with a wonderful series of "hokku" from which I could choose. For this new Renga Party "summer moonlight", the "hokku" is the following:

summer moonlight
steals my sleep again
I stroll down the lane

© Dolores

summer moonlight

As you maybe remember you had to sign up for participating in the Renga Party. I will prolong that idea here again.

So if you would like to participate in this new edition of our Carpe Diem Renga Party "summer moonlight" than please sign up and let me know it through the comments field of this post.

You can sign up for this Renga Party until June 15th 2016 10.00 PM (CET).

 I hope to see you all participating in this new Renga Party.

After the above mentioned "closing-time" I will create a "line-up" in which I hope to distribute the participants as fairly as possible.

Have a great weekend,

Namaste,

Chèvrefeuille, your host.

Carpe Diem #969 France

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I am excited it seems that you like this ginko through Europe and I hope to inspire you this whole month with the beauty of Europe, the continent were I am living. Today we are visiting France, also one of the co-founders of the EU.

France .. best known before its wine, but recently also known through the acts of terror which occurred there last year. France, for us Dutch people the most wanted holiday destination. In fact our oldest son and his family are going to France this summer on a holiday. But ... of course that's not something on which I can fill a complete episode (smiles).

France flag

As I talk about France, the first thing which came in mind is (next to wine) The Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower is a wrought iron-lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Constructed in 1889 as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair, it was initially criticized by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but it has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world; 6.91 million people ascended it in 2015.

The Eiffel Tower in Autumn

steel construction
climbing towards the highest point
autumn leaves swirl

© Chèvrefeuille

I have seen the Eiffeltower for real and climbed it almost to the top. The view is really exciting and breathtaking. I remember that I was there as a student (long time ago) for the study history of Art. Of course I didn't visit only the Eiffeltower, but also the Louvre and the Centre de Pompidou (modern art).

France and wine ... you can not miss that. I am not a big wine drinker, but I like to drink sometimes Cognac and sometimes a glass of white wine. France is one of the biggest wine producing countries and their wine is excellent.

sparkling wine
together with the one I love
in front of the fireplace

© Chèvrefeuille

in front of the fireplace

As I did in the other episodes I love to share one of the most beautiful parts of France. In my opinion that's the Pyrenees. The Pyrenees are the mountains between France and Spain and they have a rich history. One of the most famous stories of the Pyrenees is the story of the war against the Cathars on castle Montségur on the mountain Pon. The Cathars were a Catholic sect.

About this Catholic sect I once started to write a novel, but that novel is still not ready, but .... well that doesn't matter.

Castle Montségur

I like the ideas of the Cathars by the way and their ideas are now known as gnosticism.

like an eagles nest
high up in the mountains
Montségur

save haven
for different thoughts and ideas
Montségur

© Chèvrefeuille

The Pyrenees (haute)

The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain. It separates the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe, and extends for about 491 km (305 mi) from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea.

For the most part, the main crest forms a massive divider between France and Spain, with the micro state of Andorra sandwiched in between. The Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre have historically extended on both sides of the mountain range, with smaller northern portions now in France and larger southern parts now in Spain.

high up in the mountains
I feel lost and confused
in between countries

© Chèvrefeuille

As I promised you I love to introduce haiku poets from the countries we are visiting. So today I have found haiku created by a France haiku poet Jacques Arnold (1912-1995). He has written several haiku, but one of his most famous haiku is the following:

Jasons : Dieu merci
ça sent si bon la forêt
la soupe au persil

Let us chat : thanks God

it smells so nicely like forest
the parsley soup 

© Jacques Arnold 

It was a joy to lead you through France in this part of our Europe ginko and I hope I have inspired you to create haiku, tanka or another Japanese poetry form. Have fun!

This episode is open for for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until June 8th at noon (CET). I will publish our next episode, Italy, later on.

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #101 "first autumn morning" by Murakami Kijo

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new (weekly) Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge. After a whole month of Tan Renga Challenges, we will go on with Tan Renga Challenges on Fridays, as promised. As I started with CDHK I did this every Friday and that's a nice tradition which is worth to be back. So this week I have a nice "hokku" by Murakami Kijo (1865-1938).

I will tell you how this works. You have to add a second stanza of two lines (aprox. 7-7 syllables) associated on the scene in the hokku.

Here is the "hokku" of this Tan Renga Challenge:

First autumn morning
the mirror I stare into
shows my father's face.

© Murakami Kijo*

*) Kijo Murakami (1865-1938). Murakami Kijo, the Haiku poet, was born in Edo in 1865, and moved to Takasaki city in 1873. He was in sympathy with Masaoka Shiki and joined his group to publish the first edition of 'Hototogisu', the famous Haiku magazine. He published the collection of Kijo in 1917. He was a highly esteemed poet both within the prefecture and nationally. He died on September 17th, 1938 at the age of 73.

the mirror I stare in

And now it is up to you to add the second stanza to this "hokku" to create / complete the Tan Renga. Have fun.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday at noon (CET).

Carpe Diem #968 Germany

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new stage in our journey through Europe. Today we are visiting Germany, also one of the co-founders of the EU back in 1957, than it was by the way only western Germany, because Germany was split into western and eastern Germany, as was shown through the Berlin Wall.

Berlin Wall

In 1989, a series of radical political changes occurred in the Eastern Bloc, associated with the liberalization of the Eastern Bloc's authoritarian systems and the erosion of political power in the pro-Soviet governments in nearby Poland and Hungary. After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government announced on 9 November 1989 that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed onto the Wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, euphoric people and souvenir hunters chipped away parts of the Wall; the governments later used industrial equipment to remove most of what was left. Contrary to popular belief the Wall's actual demolition did not begin until the summer of 1990 and was not completed until 1992. The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, which was formally concluded on 3 October 1990.

 

 

The Berlin Wall I have seen it, I have been there ... after the fall of the wall finally freedom was given.

 

I love the beauty of Germany, but the most beautiful of Germany (I know it's a cliché) is in my opinion the Black Forest.

 

Black Forest

God's creation

the Black Forest
a higlight

© Chèvrefeuille

As I promised you in our first episode of our new CDHK month I hope to introduce haiku poets from every country we are visiting.

 

For this episode I have found two German haiku poets. I will share their haiku here (also in their own language):

 

Gerd Börner

 

autumn sun -
along the trees
skipping shadows

 

Herbstsonne -
an den Bäumen entlang
über Schatten springen

 

© Gerd Börner

And here a haiku by Georges Hartmann:

 

 

Georges Hartmann

 

wild roses
on the abandoned tracks
bloom as every year

 

Heckenrosen
am stillgelegten Bahngleis
blühn wie jedes Jahr

 

© Georges Hartmann

Well ... I think this has become another nice episode. I hope it will inspire you to create new haiku.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 7th at noon (CET). I will try to post our new episode, France, later on.

 



Carpe Diem #967 Belgium

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at our Europe Ginko, a journey straight through the European Union. It will be a wonderful journey I think, but we will say if I am right.

Belgium was one of the countries who established the preliminary European Union, the EEC (European Economic Community). Through the treaty of Rome Belgium was a co-founder of the EU in 1957. Now almost 70 years later the EEC has become the EU in which 28 European Countries are working together.
This month we will visit the most countries that are part of the EU. Of course I hope to prevent falling in political issues, because that's not what I want. I only love to share the beauty of Europe with you this month.

Belgium Flag

Belgium is one of the smallest countries in Europe and together with The Netherlands and Luxembourg Belgium is part of the so called Benelux countries. Our royal house of Orange and the royal families of Belgium and Luxembourg are related, not close but in the far away history.

Belgium is the capital of the European Union, because the European parliament is situated in Brussels. Maybe you remember the act of terror earlier this year. One of the attacks was very close to the European parliament and so that attack was mentioned for Europe and especially the European Union.

Brussels is a very beautiful city and is known for its Burgundian life style and for that little statue of "Manneken Pis" (I don't know how to say that name in English)

Manneken Pis

This little statue is very famous and on several occasions its clothed with several outfits.

Of course there is more to tell about Belgium, but I cannot tell everything, but there is one part of Belgium I just have to mention here, because of its beauty. In the southeastern part of Belgium you can find the  Ardennes.

This part of Belgium I really love, because of its beauty and the silence of its nature. It has to be a great source of inspiration for us haiku poets, so I love to share a few images of the Ardennes.

behind every corner
the landscape changes and changes again
breathtaking beauty

© Chèvrefeuille

Really this part of Belgium is awesome and breathtaking.

This month I will try to find a haiku poet from every country we will visit and today I love to share a haiku by Herman Van Rompuy, the former Prime Minister of Belgium and the first President of the European Council.

Herman Van Rompuy is a honored haiku poet and his haiku are pretty awesome I would say. So here are a few of his haiku:

Birds in concert,
one sings above all others.
I don't know its name

© Herman van Rompuy,

In a nearby ditch
toads mating passionately
inaugurate spring.

© Herman van Rompuy,

Okay a last one to conclude this episode:

The harvest is in
and the trees are already thinning.
Evening nears.

© Herman van Rompuy,

Well ... this was our first stage of our Ginko through Europe. I hope it will inspire you to create haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry forms. have fun!

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 6th at noon (CET). I will try to post our new episode, Germany, later on.