Ray Rasmussen, Encore Editor
Encore: The Final Curtain
Since launching in December 2020, cho‘s Encore section has “returned to the stage” 18 previously published articles about English-language haibun, tanka prose, and haiga. As the section’s editor, I aimed to present pieces by both academics and fellow writers that I believed were extra worthy of your (our readers’) attention.
Why this dedication to critical literature, you might ask. Two immediate responses come to mind:
- In contrast to English-language haiku, which has been well established for many decades, English-language haibun, tanka prose, and haiga are relatively recent developments. Consequently, there is a very little critical literature related to the how and what of their creation.
- Critical literature helps writers and artists understand the characteristics of their selected genre and how to improve their work, and even to create highly notable work.
And who are the literary and artistic critics who get to say what makes for a good haibun, tanka prose piece, or haiga? For the most part, they’re active artists and writers who have published a body of work and, even more important, have taken the time to understand the “what and how” of their chosen genres, to substantiate their opinions—not just whether something is good, bad, ho-hum, or wow, but why—and to explain what they view as the key features of their genres. They are pioneers, laying the critical foundation for the future of these forms.
When I say “they,” I’m really talking about “us.” All of us actively read and look at art. We read not just haiku, tanka prose, and haibun, but a wide gamut of all written genres—fiction and non-fiction alike—through books, magazines, and newspapers. We have all viewed art throughout our lives in the forms of painting, photography, illustration, advertisements even the graphics in comics. These experiences have influenced our intuitive feel for what works and what doesn’t. All of us could write critical articles if we took the the time to explain, clearly and thoughtfully, what we believe makes for a good piece of writing or art.
Related to this, everything we read and look at in our genres and elsewhere tends to follow well-known and long-established traditions. The art in haiga follows the same basic principles taught to any painter, photographer, or illustrator—the placement, balance and framing of subjects, the interplay of light and shadow, of color and composition. In the case of those who write haibun and tanka prose, Strunk and White are alive and well, as is the advice of such mentors as Stephen Wilbers, who writes in his book The Keys to Great Writing,
“If I could teach only five elements of style, I would select these:
- Economy of language. Treat every word as precious. …
- Precise word choice and colorful vocabulary. …
- Specific, concrete, vivid detail. …
- Pleasing sound, rhythm, and variety. …
- Discernible voice, tone, or point of view.”
Does that sound familiar? Many of these are the same precepts that are offered up in the literary criticism of haibun and tanka prose. For the most part, they’re sufficient guidelines that, if followed, would give the writer a good chance of being published in cho or similar journals.
But they’re not totally sufficient. Haibun tanka prose are different from traditional short stories and memoirs and journalism, just as haiga has its own set of rules. How different are they? If you don’t know, that’s a good reason to read our critical literature.
I do hope you’ve found these Encore articles of value—links to them are below. All will continue to be available in cho’s Resources section, which offers an extensive collection of articles, interviews, and commentaries. The cho editors will continue to build on this legacy, encouraging new voices and viewpoints. I sincerely hope that you’ll continue to read them and, if you’ve not done so already, consider offering your contributions to the critical studies. Only in that way will these forms continue to evolve.
Encore Articles: The Full Review
Haibun: Narratives of the Heart
By Bruce Ross
TRoss—he 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.”