In Review: Encore Selections
Editor: Ray Rasmussen
Classic Articles about Haibun, Tanka Prose & Haiga
Below are all 18 articles selected by Ray Rasmussen for cho’s Encore section from 2020 through 2024.
Haibun: Narratives of the Heart
By Bruce Ross
Ross—the author of the first non-Japanese haibun anthology, Journey to the Interior: American Versions of Haibun (1998)—offers his perspective on the origins of English-language haibun and haiku.
Haibun Speak: An Interview with Paresh Tiwari and Raamesh Gowri Raghavan
By Dr Brijesh Raj.
Two well-known writers speak about haibun composition.
Haiga: A Successful Meeting of Image and Text
by Emma Cortellessa
The origins of haiga with examples of early work by the Japanese masters.
Haibun: Definitions of Light
by Michael Dylan Welch
A history of the origins of Japanese-language prose and the evolution of English-language haibun.
Characteristics of Contemporary English-Language Haibun
By Ray Rasmussen
Explorations into subject matter, style, and possibilities for further development.
The Role of Modeling in Haibun
By Ray Rasmussen
We all have favorite pieces of writing; this essay offers a way to use them to enrich your own work.
A Title Is a Title Is a Title, or Is It?
By Ray Rasmussen
Delving into the oft-neglected role of the title in haibun, and the types of titles for consideration in creating haibun and tanka prose.
Ken Jones on Haibun: An Interview
Interviewer: Jeffrey Woodward
Jones, a master of English-language who passed way in 2015, has much to say about the “what is” and “how to” of haibun composition.
Make Haibun New through the Chinese Poetic Past:
Basho’s Transformation of Haikai Prose
By Chen-ou Liu
An exploration into how “Basho re-established and refined a mixed genre of verse and prose called haibun (haikai prose), which is exemplified, through his incorporation and recontextualization of the Chinese poetic past in his masterpiece, The Narrow Road to the Interior.”
Looking and Seeing: How Haiga Works
By Jim Kacian
An exploration into the history, current practices, and variety of English haiga.
On Haiga
By Ron C. Moss; interviewed by Michael Rehling
The haiga editor of cho, Ron offers his thoughts about the form and examples of his work, including his experiments with video haiga.
Toward a Theory and Practice of Tanka-Prose
By Charles D. Tarlton
A look at tanka prose from the limited perspectives of (1) the nature of the prose passage, the prosaic part; 2) the tanka or verse, the lyrical or rhapsodic portion; and (3) the two in tandem, the dialectical transformation that elevates the prose and the tanka to a new level of perception.
Twenty Five Selections of Tanka Prose & an Editor’s Thoughts about Tanka Prose
By Bob Lucky
TP or not TP? there will always be aesthetic questions about what composes a good tanka and what exactly the prose is supposed to be doing. In the end, a tanka prose piece that connects to readers, however it may do so, will serve as a guide to other writers. Here are 25 guides.
Saying Less to Mean More
By Lew Watts
Watts reminds us that we write, not for ourselves, but for others and that sentimentality and obscurity can be turnoffs for readers.
The Segue in Tanka Prose
By Jeffrey Woodward
Woodward, one of tanka prose’s best known poets, explores how the writer secures a good transition from one mode of writing (prose) to the other (the tanka).
What Haibun Poets Can Learn from Non-haikai Western Poetry Practices
By J. Zimmerman
Zimmerman points out that other English-language genres— short stories, memoirs, personal essays, etc.—employ useful composition practices that can enhance the quality of our haibun and tanka prose.
More than the Sum of Its Parts: Explorations in Contemporary English-language Haibun
By Rich Youmans
Youmans offers a brief review of the history of haibun and addresses a central issue: the relationship of the haiku to the prose.
Some Personal Ideas about Writing Haibun
by David Cobb
Cobb, a master of English-language haibun, raises a number of key issues in composing haibun and tanka prose, and also addresses some “haibun myths.”