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VIII.  Book Reviews: A Haiku Menagerie
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_A Haiku Menagerie:  Living Creatures in Poems and Prints_
By Stephen Addiss with Fumiko and Akira Yamamoto
1992 Weatherhill of NewYork and Tokyo
ISBN 0-8348-0248-1
Reviewed by: Gary Warner   (glwarner@samford.bitnet)

_A Haiku Menagerie_ is an attempt by the editors to remind us of
our link to the world around us, which, as they point out, is a
link more and more often obscured by our enclosure in "concrete
jungles" of our own design.  Haiku is stressed as being an
appropriate medium for this reestablishment of recognition
between ourselves and our coinhabitants of this world from the
animal kingdom.  The book is divided into "Walkers" "Crawlers"
"Fliers" and "Swimmers" and each section is populated by
appropriately themed haiku.  The editors have tried to show that
haiku did not focus on the grandeur or nobility of its subjects,
as did the earlier *waka*, with its emphasis on the "nobler
animals", such as the unicorn and dragon.  In order to support
this assertion, the works of Issa, most known for his "insect"
haiku, as well as works on snails, sparrows, and even sea slugs
are used.

While Issa does a great job of supporting their hypothesis, the
haiku they have selected would be considered "questionable" by
the standards often reflected in today's English haiku movement,
which are quick to judge poems as being too anthropocentric,
or too filled with self-reference instead of focusing on the
scene at hand.  The argument that is commonly heard, is that
by allowing self-reference or personification of the subject,
the author does not allow the reader to approach the scene on
his own, but rather is forced to see the scene through the
eyes of the author.

The editors address just such concerns in their introduction
where they argue that what is commonly called "anthropocentric"
could be viewed in another light.  Discussing the following
poem of Issa:

   Challenging me
to a staring game --
  a giant frog

the editors say:  "Here the poet's view is still anthropocentric,
but the relationship between him and the frog does not allow
human sentiment to override animal existence.  It is instead
a personification, in which creatures and humans become fellow
members of the same world, with equal rights.  Empathy is
perfected."

Most of the poems selected reflect the extreme anthropomorphism
for which Issa was famous, as well as self-reference, which is
looked down upon by many in today's western haiku circles:

The cricket
proudly pricks up its whiskers
and sings


            Like some of us
            he looks very important --
            this snail


Don't hit me!
The fly wrings its hands
and wrings its feet


            Mosquito larvae
            dancing a Buddhist chant
            in the water by the grave


Wild geese murmuring--
are they spreading
  rumors about me?

(all by Issa)

Issa wrote a full quarter of the 120 haiku selected,
while more noted authors, such as Basho have only nine poems, and
Buson and Shiki appear less frequently than such lesser known
poets as Kikaku and Kyorai.  While this has the benefit of
introducing many deserving yet lesser known poets, the overall
effect on this reader was to believe that the masters' works did
not fulfill the tenant put forth by the editors, and so they
turned to lesser poets.

Still, some classic poems appear to redeem the day, such as this
by Basho:

Tranquility --
the voice of the cicada
seeps into the rocks

and this reader is grateful for the introduction to several of the
less translated poets such as this poem by Kikaku:

The pond reflects
a flying squirrel
over the wisteria


In order to support the thesis of the book, many poems of
questionable quality were included.  The quality of the
selections is greatly redeemed by two factors: documentation and
art.  Each page of the book is dominated by beautiful ukiyo-e
(woodblock prints) and the artwork is wonderfully paired with its
surrounding haiku to make both more impressive by their
juxtaposition.  The attractive arrangement of the poems, all
listed in English and in kanji, also helps make the book
attractive.  For documentation, a brief biographical sketch of
each author and artist is included, showing their major
contributions and influences, and serving as an excellent tool
for further investigation of those whose style is found to be
appealing.  The essay on "Japanese Woodblock Books" is very
enlightening, and with the bibliography showing the sources of
the ukiyo-e selected for this book, serves as an excellent
introduction to those interested in further study.  The inclusion
of works from most of Basho's ten chief disciples, as well as
major students of Shiki and others is a rare treat, as these
poets often fade into obscurity in the shadow of their
greater-known instructors.

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