Haiku Wisdom: Living the Principles and Philosophies of Kung Fu, Haiku and Nature by Don Baird
(Baltimore: Modern English Tanka Press, 2011).
A Review by David G. Lanoue
Two great waves surge through contemporary discourse about haiku written outside of Japan. One group of poets and critics contends that haiku is bound up in East Asian spiritual principles. The riders of this first wave follow the lead of R. H. Blyth who, through his translations and commentaries on Japanese haiku, stressed their connection to Zen Buddhism and, to a lesser extent, to Taoism. As a result, many readers today turn to haiku journals and haiku collections expecting, as Don Baird puts it, “haiku wisdom.” Often, they are not disappointed.
An opposing group of poets and critics has, in recent years, emphasized haiku as an act of language subject to linguistic rather than to spiritual rules and patterns. Haruo Shirane argues that understanding the literary tradition of haiku is paramount, and Richard Gilbert examines haiku in terms of semantics and cognition. Many poets and critics today reject Blyth’s thesis that Zen provides the necessary “state of mind” for haiku (Haiku 1.154).
The title of Don Baird’s book, Haiku Wisdom: Living the Principles and Philosophies of Kung Fu, Haiku and Nature, suggests that its author is surfing on Blyth’s spiritual wave. He admits, in his introduction, that he has no interest in “mere bantering about structure and form” (10). He offers his work as “a book of messages.” Haiku, he notes, are “often written as clear witnesses of nature and her ways” (7). His goal is for the reader to profit from the contemplation of haiku, uncovering in the process wisdom to “build a stronger, happier life” (11).
In this spiritually flavored self-help book, haiku are presented at times with commentary and, at other times, without. In some cases, the connection between the haiku and the comment is interesting and unpredictable.
humming . . .
the refrigerator’s only
note
. . . is followed by a prose reflection on boredom. Baird goes on to entreat us to embrace boredom; to “Work through boredom: work toward mastery” (20)! This leap from a humming refrigerator to an aphorism about boredom and mastery is pleasant and instructive. On another page, he starts with a short prose reflection on the need for relying on friends, then caps it, haibun-like, with this haiku:
a thousand ants . . .
bits of sugar crossing
the kitchen floor (33)
Again the reader is treated to an unpredicted connection, so that the prose and haiku together resonate more than either one resonates, if considered alone. Connections like these are the highlights of the book.
At times, though, the linkage between haiku and commentary feels forced.
spring gust . . .
a sneeze swirls
with the pollen
Baird follows this poem with the admonition, “It’s important to stay clear of gossip . . .Gossip is like a sneeze and it travels a zillion directions at once” (34). Compared to the “refrigerator’s hum/boredom” or “ants /friendship” links, this one, bringing together a sneeze and gossip, seems artificial. In another example, we wonder if the prose comment is even necessary.
house warming—
the glow of everyone’s
cheeks
This is a superb haiku, but do we need its prose introduction, “The invitation of life . . . to us all” (73)? Or . . .
the lone star
winks a few times . . .
at me
. . . is wonderfully evocative by itself. Does the author need to add, “Yes! You have a one on one relationship with the Universe! Make it a good one!” (53)?
This book is filled with fine haiku that can stand on their own and, without the poet’s commentary, convey many life lessons. For example . . .
skipping steps
the ice straightened
me out
This verse appears tastefully alone on the page, needing no other words to prop it up or to restate its wisdom (25).
In a famous anecdote, a student asked Robert Frost, after the latter recited one of his poems, what the poem meant. Frost simply read it again. In haiku, messages register deeply. In explanatory comments following or preceding a haiku, this depth can be lost—especially when the comment lacks the twist of a surprise. For example, this next bit of advice, while so true, sounds banal when stated in prose: “Remember to take a bit of time to appreciate nature each and every day” (79). However, the haiku on the same page is vibrant and alive:
silvery koi
the moon swims
along too
The lessons in this book are important: to stay in the moment, to learn balance, to avoid bad habits, to improve one’s relationship with the universe, and (amen!) to turn off the TV, which Baird describes as “America’s vodka” (60). I’m all for self-improvement, and I think many readers will enjoy and glean real wisdom from Haiku Wisdom. My only reservation is that often the haiku, if left to speak for themselves, speak louder.
WORKS CITED
Blyth, R. H. Haiku. Haiku. Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982 [reset paperback edition]. 4 vols; A History of Haiku. Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1964; rpt. 1969. 2 vols.
Gilbert, Richard. Poems of Consciousness: Contemporary Japanese & English-Language Haiku in Cross-Cultural Perspective. Winchester, Va.: Red Moon Press, 2008.
Shirane, Haruo. "Beyond the Haiku Moment: Basho, Buson, and Modern Haiku Myths." Modern Haiku 31 (winter-spring 2000), 48-63.
David G. Lanoue is a professor of English at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. He maintains the website, The Haiku of Kobayashi Issa, for which he has translated, with commentary, 10,000 of Issa's haiku. He has published several haiku-related books and numerous essays. His haiku novel, Haiku Guy, now appears in seven languages.