I am tempted to say something implausible, that I am attracting bells, because bells are appearing to me, in print. The truth is that a bit of Buson has rubbed off on me. I seem to have a heightened awareness of literary references to bells after visiting with Buson's sound-of-the-bell haiku last week.
Tonight, I opened my copy of George Orwell's novel, 1984, to page 88 and found myself reading about bells:
"All the while they were talking the half-remembered rhyme kept running through Winston's head: Oranges and lemons, say the bells of St. Clement's, You owe me three farthings, say the bells of St. Martin's! (George Orwell, 1984, New York, NY: Harcourt Brace, 1949, 1977)"
The main character is astonished to discover that the sing-song rhyme evokes the illusion of pealing church bells.
That is the power of language--it has the capacity to engage the imagination so fully that we see and hear and feel things we might never see or hear or feel otherwise.
My name is Rae Hallstrom, and Ameriku® is my art and my business and my brand.
I hope you'll take a look (move cursor to title and click), and see if Ameriku® art suits your decor, or gift giving needs. And feel free to leave a comment here, if you wish.
Ameriku Ltd produces nature-oriented art prints, posters, greeting cards and other items, based on my original haiku and photography.
Ameriku® is the registered trademark of Ameriku Ltd. When you see the Ameriku® trademark, you can be sure the work meets my high standards of quality.
All rights reserved.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Buson's Snow Globe
Yesterday, after dealing with computer problems and a broken sewing machine and galloping thunder-thigh squirrels---I had left a bowl of raw peanuts out on the deck for them---I popped into a thrift store, hoping to treat myself without overspending.
It is a rare day when I find anything I want, but I enjoy looking around just the same.
So it was strange that the first thing I saw when I walked in the door was a cotton sweater in like-new condition, by a maker I like to wear, in my size, and in colors that appealed to me. I was not sold, but intrigued.
A few steps farther, and I saw a rice bowl in brown tones, decorated with two stringed instruments (I am guessing they are a mandolin and a lute) and two characters that I cannot read, in Japanese or Chinese.
Then I descended the stairs into the shop's basement, and there I found Buson's Snow Globe. Under the glass, I saw a tiny replica of a bonsai garden, down to the raked sand.
On the side of the base, I found this haiku:
Coolness: the sound of the bell as it leaves the bell.
Buson
The globe had no batteries. I bought it, and once home, inserted two silver and green, Fuji brand, double As, and listened.
There is a difference between hearing and listening.
I heard bells. But also, something else, something grating. It was the sort of sound that off switches are made for.
It seemed as if Yosa Buson (1716-1783) might be trying to speak from the grave. Even for one with such a voice, it is difficult to speak without a throat.
I knew at once why Buson's beautiful snow globe had been donated to the thrift shop.
My name is Rae Hallstrom, and Ameriku® is my art and my business and my brand.
I hope you'll take a look (move cursor to title and click), and see if Ameriku® art suits your decor, or gift giving needs. And feel free to leave a comment here, if you wish.
Ameriku Ltd produces nature-oriented art prints, posters, greeting cards and other items, based on my original haiku and photography.
Ameriku® is the registered trademark of Ameriku Ltd. When you see the Ameriku® trademark, you can be sure the work meets my high standards of quality.
All rights reserved.
It is a rare day when I find anything I want, but I enjoy looking around just the same.
So it was strange that the first thing I saw when I walked in the door was a cotton sweater in like-new condition, by a maker I like to wear, in my size, and in colors that appealed to me. I was not sold, but intrigued.
A few steps farther, and I saw a rice bowl in brown tones, decorated with two stringed instruments (I am guessing they are a mandolin and a lute) and two characters that I cannot read, in Japanese or Chinese.
Then I descended the stairs into the shop's basement, and there I found Buson's Snow Globe. Under the glass, I saw a tiny replica of a bonsai garden, down to the raked sand.
On the side of the base, I found this haiku:
Coolness: the sound of the bell as it leaves the bell.
Buson
The globe had no batteries. I bought it, and once home, inserted two silver and green, Fuji brand, double As, and listened.
There is a difference between hearing and listening.
I heard bells. But also, something else, something grating. It was the sort of sound that off switches are made for.
It seemed as if Yosa Buson (1716-1783) might be trying to speak from the grave. Even for one with such a voice, it is difficult to speak without a throat.
I knew at once why Buson's beautiful snow globe had been donated to the thrift shop.
My name is Rae Hallstrom, and Ameriku® is my art and my business and my brand.
I hope you'll take a look (move cursor to title and click), and see if Ameriku® art suits your decor, or gift giving needs. And feel free to leave a comment here, if you wish.
Ameriku Ltd produces nature-oriented art prints, posters, greeting cards and other items, based on my original haiku and photography.
Ameriku® is the registered trademark of Ameriku Ltd. When you see the Ameriku® trademark, you can be sure the work meets my high standards of quality.
All rights reserved.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
The Hummingbird
This week I am reading Margaret Atwood's book, "Negotiating with the Dead, A Writer on Writing."
During lunch I did not eat, but started the chapter called Nobody to Nobody. One of the things that Atwood says in this chapter, and that I agree with, is that "the thoughts and emotions in a book are not necessarily those of the writer in it."
For me, this holds true whether I am writing poetry or fiction.
While reading, a female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird came to my feeder and inserted her long needle-like beak into the yellow bee guard five or six times.
I returned to the yellowed paperback in my hands, enchanted by her visit.
When I looked up again---her wings must have caught my eye---there she was, on the other side of the window once more. I suspect that she was the same female hummingbird who had visited before, but of course, I cannot know that.
Again she sipped from the same yellow bee guard, one of four spaced evenly around the circumference of the feeder. Again she took five or six dips into the portal for nectar.
I watched the whir of her wings, and realized that next to her, I move in slow motion. If she thinks at all about humans, she might think us inanimate, like rocks, so slowly do our hearts beat, compared to hers.
How do I know that it was a female hummingbird, and not a male? I live in an area where only Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds thrive, and only the males bear the distinctive ruby-colored throats. It is too late in the season for immature birds to be flying about, although the juvenile males wear the plain, white throats of females, and mothers.
My son is grown now, but I remember when his face was as smooth and beardless as my own.
As I write this, not knowing whether another soul will set eyes on it, I am reminded of Margaret Atwood's book for and about writers. It is due back at the library in ten days.
Who am I writing for? Where will this electronic page go, and how will it be received?
silence surrounds me---
startled by the hummingbird
I spill my tea
I leave you with my latest haiku, above, and the hummingbird, who flew into the trees. The level of nectar in the feeder, for all appearances, remains every bit as high as before.
The same cannot be said of my cup.
My name is Rae Hallstrom, and Ameriku® is my art and my business and my brand.
I hope you'll take a look (move cursor to title and click), and see if Ameriku® art suits your decor, or gift giving needs. And feel free to leave a comment here, if you wish.
Ameriku Ltd produces nature-oriented art prints, posters, greeting cards and other items, based on my original haiku and photography.
Ameriku® is the registered trademark of Ameriku Ltd. When you see the Ameriku® trademark, you can be sure the work meets my high standards of quality.
All rights reserved.
During lunch I did not eat, but started the chapter called Nobody to Nobody. One of the things that Atwood says in this chapter, and that I agree with, is that "the thoughts and emotions in a book are not necessarily those of the writer in it."
For me, this holds true whether I am writing poetry or fiction.
While reading, a female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird came to my feeder and inserted her long needle-like beak into the yellow bee guard five or six times.
I returned to the yellowed paperback in my hands, enchanted by her visit.
When I looked up again---her wings must have caught my eye---there she was, on the other side of the window once more. I suspect that she was the same female hummingbird who had visited before, but of course, I cannot know that.
Again she sipped from the same yellow bee guard, one of four spaced evenly around the circumference of the feeder. Again she took five or six dips into the portal for nectar.
I watched the whir of her wings, and realized that next to her, I move in slow motion. If she thinks at all about humans, she might think us inanimate, like rocks, so slowly do our hearts beat, compared to hers.
How do I know that it was a female hummingbird, and not a male? I live in an area where only Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds thrive, and only the males bear the distinctive ruby-colored throats. It is too late in the season for immature birds to be flying about, although the juvenile males wear the plain, white throats of females, and mothers.
My son is grown now, but I remember when his face was as smooth and beardless as my own.
As I write this, not knowing whether another soul will set eyes on it, I am reminded of Margaret Atwood's book for and about writers. It is due back at the library in ten days.
Who am I writing for? Where will this electronic page go, and how will it be received?
silence surrounds me---
startled by the hummingbird
I spill my tea
I leave you with my latest haiku, above, and the hummingbird, who flew into the trees. The level of nectar in the feeder, for all appearances, remains every bit as high as before.
The same cannot be said of my cup.
My name is Rae Hallstrom, and Ameriku® is my art and my business and my brand.
I hope you'll take a look (move cursor to title and click), and see if Ameriku® art suits your decor, or gift giving needs. And feel free to leave a comment here, if you wish.
Ameriku Ltd produces nature-oriented art prints, posters, greeting cards and other items, based on my original haiku and photography.
Ameriku® is the registered trademark of Ameriku Ltd. When you see the Ameriku® trademark, you can be sure the work meets my high standards of quality.
All rights reserved.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Writing for your Life
Have you ever picked up a dictionary and said to yourself, I know the word I want is in there? Have you written and rewritten a single sentence five times? Flipped through a thesaurus and then had the word you want come to you, all by itself, like a gentle poltergeist with delusions of Daniel Webster?
That's because you're a writer. I know, you knew that. You did. You really did.
But why didn't that last freelance piece sell? Why didn't your story win the contest? Why can't you research the history of Englewood, New Jersey in 30 minutes and whip out a web piece in time to make the soccer match, bearing the children's halftime snacks? Could it mean you are not the language lover you thought you were? Could it mean you should hang it up and sell shoes instead?
No.
Not that there's anything wrong with selling shoes.
Especially heels, in forty different colors, and nine kinds of stripes. Or athletic lace-ups that take the torture out of step aerobics. And those smooth-bottomed swing dancing treads. No, nothing wrong with shoes, or selling shoes, at all.
It's just that writing is what you do best. It defines you. It's who you are. And what you are experiencing is what all writers go through, the ones who care about their craft and keep on trying, that is.
Sure, it's hard to put yourself out there. You take it on the chin, all those rejections, all those pregnant essays floating about unpublished. But the simple fact is that nobody sells anything they don't send out. And nobody improves their work by slacking off.
You just have to pick yourself up, sit yourself down, and put a keyboard or a pen in your hand. You have to face the blank page and forge ahead. You have to be fearless. It's do or die. No choice. You have a Jones for the published word.
Besides, you can't be as bad as me. I have got to stop telling my friends the lame joke that the dictionary is my favorite book. But it's true, I'm hooked. I love the dictionary. I do. I have 12 of them, not counting the version on my word processor. OK, they're not all in English, but still. Twelve.
So I ask you, what's not to love? The dictionary has all the words in it, and they're spelled right. I can check five definitions and etymology and archaic uses. All the words I could ever want, in easy peasy alphabetical squeegee.
All I have to do is rearrange them. Jumble them up, like socks in the silverware. It's rather humbling, isn't it?
You'd think I could write as fast as I could say apple pie with cheddar cheese, now wouldn't you?
My name is Rae Hallstrom, and Ameriku® is my art and my business and my brand.
I hope you'll take a look (move cursor to title and click), and see if Ameriku® art suits your decor, or gift giving needs. And feel free to leave a comment here, if you wish.
Ameriku Ltd produces nature-oriented art prints, posters, greeting cards and other items, based on my original haiku and photography.
Ameriku® is the registered trademark of Ameriku Ltd. When you see the Ameriku® trademark, you can be sure the work meets my high standards of quality.
All rights reserved.
That's because you're a writer. I know, you knew that. You did. You really did.
But why didn't that last freelance piece sell? Why didn't your story win the contest? Why can't you research the history of Englewood, New Jersey in 30 minutes and whip out a web piece in time to make the soccer match, bearing the children's halftime snacks? Could it mean you are not the language lover you thought you were? Could it mean you should hang it up and sell shoes instead?
No.
Not that there's anything wrong with selling shoes.
Especially heels, in forty different colors, and nine kinds of stripes. Or athletic lace-ups that take the torture out of step aerobics. And those smooth-bottomed swing dancing treads. No, nothing wrong with shoes, or selling shoes, at all.
It's just that writing is what you do best. It defines you. It's who you are. And what you are experiencing is what all writers go through, the ones who care about their craft and keep on trying, that is.
Sure, it's hard to put yourself out there. You take it on the chin, all those rejections, all those pregnant essays floating about unpublished. But the simple fact is that nobody sells anything they don't send out. And nobody improves their work by slacking off.
You just have to pick yourself up, sit yourself down, and put a keyboard or a pen in your hand. You have to face the blank page and forge ahead. You have to be fearless. It's do or die. No choice. You have a Jones for the published word.
Besides, you can't be as bad as me. I have got to stop telling my friends the lame joke that the dictionary is my favorite book. But it's true, I'm hooked. I love the dictionary. I do. I have 12 of them, not counting the version on my word processor. OK, they're not all in English, but still. Twelve.
So I ask you, what's not to love? The dictionary has all the words in it, and they're spelled right. I can check five definitions and etymology and archaic uses. All the words I could ever want, in easy peasy alphabetical squeegee.
All I have to do is rearrange them. Jumble them up, like socks in the silverware. It's rather humbling, isn't it?
You'd think I could write as fast as I could say apple pie with cheddar cheese, now wouldn't you?
My name is Rae Hallstrom, and Ameriku® is my art and my business and my brand.
I hope you'll take a look (move cursor to title and click), and see if Ameriku® art suits your decor, or gift giving needs. And feel free to leave a comment here, if you wish.
Ameriku Ltd produces nature-oriented art prints, posters, greeting cards and other items, based on my original haiku and photography.
Ameriku® is the registered trademark of Ameriku Ltd. When you see the Ameriku® trademark, you can be sure the work meets my high standards of quality.
All rights reserved.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Dare to Acquire?
This week I am reading a collection of translations of Haiku Master Yosa Buson (1717-1783), and I am struck by this quotation, from a piece called "New Flower Picking":
"What you want to acquire, you should dare to acquire by any means. What you want to see, even though it is with difficulty, you should see. You should not let it pass, thinking there will be another chance to see it or to acquire it. It is quite unusual to have a second chance to materialize your desire."
After reading the haiku presented in the book, I do not think Buson is talking about the acquisition of material goods.
I think he is saying, look around you, take it all in. Life is short, but shorter still for those who live with blinders on. Here is one of his spring haiku:
The pond and the river
have joined together as one
in the spring rain.
---Buson
Buson challenges us to fulfill our own, deepest desires--to go blossom-viewing, or moon-viewing, as the Japanese love to do, or to sit quietly by a pond in the presence of a frog.
My name is Rae Hallstrom, and Ameriku® is my art and my business and my brand.
I hope you'll take a look (move cursor to title and click), and see if Ameriku® art suits your decor, or gift giving needs. And feel free to leave a comment here, if you wish.
Ameriku Ltd produces nature-oriented art prints, posters, greeting cards and other items, based on my original haiku and photography.
Ameriku® is the registered trademark of Ameriku Ltd. When you see the Ameriku® trademark, you can be sure the work meets my high standards of quality.
All rights reserved.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Chili Bugs
There are days that I don't want to write anything, let alone haiku, which is blessedly short but not necessarily easy to pull off. There are days when everything goes wrong, when I'm editing a story for the umpteenth time, when I would rather not stub my fingers on a keyboard or risk paper cuts clearing a jammed printer.
Exaggeration? A bit. I don't stub my fingers or suffer many paper cuts. But maybe you have had days that screamed ouch at you, too.
Yesterday was one of those days for me, and this is the haiku that I wrote:
bugs in the cumin
tossing out spice in the snow
no chili tonight
This is not the sort of haiku to inspire romance or hope or sweet dreams. But it is real, and being real is one of the things that makes it haiku.
There is no room to describe the white larvae burrowed against the clear plastic side of the spice container. There is no extra-syllabic allowance for the tiny brown bodies of the adults, scuttling across the surface, then playing dead in not-behind-the-cupboard-door daylight.
You may have imagined these things. You may not have. But it is not up to haiku to spell them out.
Today I've written one that does not follow classic form, because it flows as one thought, one sentence:
can the ear of corn
left out for the squirrels
be called stolen?
Here I am questioning my interpretation of events. When I give something away, whether it is an ear of critter corn that I leave out on the deck for the squirrels, or pillows and candlesticks that I take to Goodwill, do I have the right to criticize what is done with my gift? Why is it so hard to relinquish control? Yes, the squirrels made off with the corn, instead of allowing me the pleasure of watching them eat, but a gift is a gift, isn't it?
Neither of these haiku is suitable for my Ameriku art, but they are my haiku, just the same. They come from personal experience. They are grounded in nature. And they are short. Painfully short.
My name is Rae Hallstrom, and Ameriku is my art and my business and my brand.
I hope you'll take a look (move cursor to title and click), and see if Ameriku art suits your decor, or gift giving needs. And feel free to leave a comment here, if you wish.
Ameriku Ltd produces nature-oriented art prints, posters, greeting cards and other items, based on my original haiku and photography.
Ameriku® is the registered trademark of Ameriku Ltd. When you see the Ameriku trademark, you can be sure the work meets my high standards of quality.
All rights reserved.
Exaggeration? A bit. I don't stub my fingers or suffer many paper cuts. But maybe you have had days that screamed ouch at you, too.
Yesterday was one of those days for me, and this is the haiku that I wrote:
bugs in the cumin
tossing out spice in the snow
no chili tonight
This is not the sort of haiku to inspire romance or hope or sweet dreams. But it is real, and being real is one of the things that makes it haiku.
There is no room to describe the white larvae burrowed against the clear plastic side of the spice container. There is no extra-syllabic allowance for the tiny brown bodies of the adults, scuttling across the surface, then playing dead in not-behind-the-cupboard-door daylight.
You may have imagined these things. You may not have. But it is not up to haiku to spell them out.
Today I've written one that does not follow classic form, because it flows as one thought, one sentence:
can the ear of corn
left out for the squirrels
be called stolen?
Here I am questioning my interpretation of events. When I give something away, whether it is an ear of critter corn that I leave out on the deck for the squirrels, or pillows and candlesticks that I take to Goodwill, do I have the right to criticize what is done with my gift? Why is it so hard to relinquish control? Yes, the squirrels made off with the corn, instead of allowing me the pleasure of watching them eat, but a gift is a gift, isn't it?
Neither of these haiku is suitable for my Ameriku art, but they are my haiku, just the same. They come from personal experience. They are grounded in nature. And they are short. Painfully short.
My name is Rae Hallstrom, and Ameriku is my art and my business and my brand.
I hope you'll take a look (move cursor to title and click), and see if Ameriku art suits your decor, or gift giving needs. And feel free to leave a comment here, if you wish.
Ameriku Ltd produces nature-oriented art prints, posters, greeting cards and other items, based on my original haiku and photography.
Ameriku® is the registered trademark of Ameriku Ltd. When you see the Ameriku trademark, you can be sure the work meets my high standards of quality.
All rights reserved.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Process
I should probably mention that I prefer classic haiku, haiku grounded in first-hand observation of nature, sometimes with a Zen-like bent.
In my Ameriku® brand of art, it might not be clear at first that the verbal art and the visual art were created separately, and fused later. But the poetry was not written with the photo, or artwork, in mind.
Only a very tiny percentage of my haiku qualify to become part of my Ameriku® art. The ones that do are often poems that have taken a great deal of time.
For example, yesterday's spur of the moment haiku:
fresh white snow
something is always growing
cold feet
would be revised today to read:
new star-speckled snow
something is always out there--
cold feet
and could be changed again, and might be.
Normally, I keep this process to myself. It is not easy to expose raw work. It's a bit embarrassing. It's definitely humbling.
So I am being completely honest when I say that, while I would like to create a haiku that I am satisfied with on the first try, most of the time, I can't. Most of the time, it takes a little more effort than that. Sometimes, a lot of effort.
My name is Rae Hallstrom, and Ameriku® is my art and my business and my brand.
I hope you'll take a look (move cursor to title and click), and see if Ameriku® art suits your decor, or gift giving needs. And feel free to leave a comment here, if you wish.
Ameriku Ltd produces nature-oriented art prints, posters, greeting cards and other items, based on my original haiku and photography.
Ameriku® is the registered trademark of Ameriku Ltd. When you see the Ameriku® trademark, you can be sure the work meets my high standards of quality.
All rights reserved.
In my Ameriku® brand of art, it might not be clear at first that the verbal art and the visual art were created separately, and fused later. But the poetry was not written with the photo, or artwork, in mind.
Only a very tiny percentage of my haiku qualify to become part of my Ameriku® art. The ones that do are often poems that have taken a great deal of time.
For example, yesterday's spur of the moment haiku:
fresh white snow
something is always growing
cold feet
would be revised today to read:
new star-speckled snow
something is always out there--
cold feet
and could be changed again, and might be.
Normally, I keep this process to myself. It is not easy to expose raw work. It's a bit embarrassing. It's definitely humbling.
So I am being completely honest when I say that, while I would like to create a haiku that I am satisfied with on the first try, most of the time, I can't. Most of the time, it takes a little more effort than that. Sometimes, a lot of effort.
My name is Rae Hallstrom, and Ameriku® is my art and my business and my brand.
I hope you'll take a look (move cursor to title and click), and see if Ameriku® art suits your decor, or gift giving needs. And feel free to leave a comment here, if you wish.
Ameriku Ltd produces nature-oriented art prints, posters, greeting cards and other items, based on my original haiku and photography.
Ameriku® is the registered trademark of Ameriku Ltd. When you see the Ameriku® trademark, you can be sure the work meets my high standards of quality.
All rights reserved.
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