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Welcome to Poetix 9/2010

 

COVER STORY

By Richard Modiano

 

 

 

Collaborative Poetry

In the European tradition, collaborative poetry is generally associated with Surrealism’s exquisite corpse, but its antecedents can be found in the 17th century Japanese verse form known as renga.

A renga is a series of short verses linked into one long poem, composed collaboratively by a group. The simplest version is the nijuuin. Nijuuin means a 20-verse renga.

Each constituent verse must make sense independently. It should also connect in some way with the verses that follow and precede. The verses alternate between 3-line and 2-lines throughout. The opening verse of a renga is called the hokku. It takes the same form as haiku -three short lines, preferably with some reference to the season of composition. The haiku owes its origin to the opening verse of a renga when it was detached from that form to become a complete poem in itself.

Like the haiku, the renga communicates emotion through the use of concrete images, and generally avoids abstraction and conceptualization. Renga practice and haiku practice go hand-in-hand. To learn haiku there is no substitute for practice. This means, before writing, reading whatever you can in translation from the Japanese and original work done in English.

Also like haiku, renga opens with some reference to the season of composition and moves - not necessarily in orderly sequence - through all four seasons, generally ending with a spring verse. Seasonal themes are generally sustained for at least a couple of verses, and the passage from one season to the next is often broken by one or more non-seasonal verses.

Seasonal reference is made through the use of a season-word, which may be obvious, like “autumn rain” or “snow,” or more subtly, “watermelon” for summer. Season words include cultural as well as natural references; for instance, you might use April Fool's Day for spring. The two key principles of renga are link and shift. Link means that each verse should connect in some way with its immediate predecessor. Shift means that, with the exception of the link just noted, each verse should move on, drawing on imagery, which is new (for that particular renga). That is, repetition is to be avoided. Even when linking, although there will be some implicit connection, actual words and phrases should not be repeated.

A nijuuin renga is divided into three phases of 4, 12 and 4 verses respectively. As a beginner it is not necessary to have any further knowledge of how these phases relate since an understanding will develop through experience.

Certain images are expected to appear in every renga. In a nijuin, a moon reference usually appears in the third verse, and a flower reference in the penultimate verse (verse 19). The theme of love should also appear somewhere, although it has no set position, and is generally sustained for two or three verses.

The overall effect of a renga is a scattered mosaic of images covering a broad spectrum of atmosphere and mood. Although narrative connection is one means of linking, there is no sustained narrative or logical thread. In this respect it somewhat resembles the exquisite corpse.

To take part, it isn't necessary to remember all this. The template of seasons and images only exists to provide a rough structure. The important point is to follow the spirit of the specific occasion, rather than be tied to the template. The only two indispensable requirements are to respect the dynamic of link and shift; and write with haiku-like texture and economy, making for an open text that is indeterminate precisely because it can always be written anew. And therein lies the pleasure of writing and reading renga.

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