Every time I compile an edition of the Wales Haiku Journal, I learn things. As well as entering into the unique moment of every haiku, each something new in and of itself, each submission period brings shiny new words, concepts, ideas, and deeply personal stories behind the poems written by our global community of contributors.
Whether it be learning about the 'Harmattan', the cool, dry, dusty desert wind that seasonally blows from the east into the Sahara; or 'petrichor', that pleasant, earthy smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather; or 'thin places', those locales where the veil between this world and the otherworld is porous, where there is mystery in the landscapes, I'm hooked. Basically, every submission period yields ideas that get me googling.
This journal has always been a space that encourages both new and experienced writers. What the WHJ wants to do is create a community that shares information and insights together, contributing to the development of each individual on their journey with haiku. This is the single driving force of everything the journal does: to encourage being in the moment, appreciating it, and preserving it in precious words. I hope that this new blog serves to strengthen this idea. This inclusivity and innovation in the now is what we want more and more people to sign up to in their lives.
To kick off the blog, I have pre-loaded three articles ready to read. The first is a deep dive into those Celtic ‘thin places’, by our immensely talented regular contributor Alan Peat. The second is a fascinating, in-depth exploration of monoku by Pravat Kumar Padhy. The third is an absorbing, very personal explanation of the haiku process in translation, or transcreation, by Earl Livings. I hope they provide a welcome stop off on your haiku journey.
These things fascinate me, and I hope they fascinate you too.
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Thank you, Joe, for posting spectacular articles in the Wales Haiku Journal Blog. Indeed it is an innovative endeavor for the cause of haiku literature. The article, “Finding Thin Places in Haiku by Alan Peat is an interesting one. Alan Summers says, “Essential components of haiku are literally what is not said in text, using a judicial amount of negative space, also known as whitespace, and MA : a void in the poem that produces something in-between the two parts of a haiku...” Horst Hammitzsch opines: “The white—‘empty’—space in the [Japanese] ink-painting, yohaku, is symbolic of ‘that which is unexpressed’, that ‘perfect imperfection’. And within that ‘emptiness’ is concealed the ‘resonance’ that plays an equally important role in Japanese poetry.”