...a special feature consisting of one-on-one interviews of Magnapoets by Magnapoets. Five simple questions can reveal so much. Read on to find out more.
Visit
Notice:
- All work is copyrighted by each individual author unless noted otherwise. Do not reproduce without the author's written permission.
Keiko Izawa
Magna On Magna Poet Speak interview with Keiko Izawa, who lives in Yokohama, Japan, a port city known for its exotic atmosphere. Keiko has worked for a variety of companies as a technical translator. She started writing haiku in November 2004. Before then, she had never written a single haiku, not even a haiku in Japanese. Writing haiku in English is more comfortable for Keiko than writing haiku in Japanese. However, she deeply admires the haiku written by the old masters and modern poets in Japan. Her work has been published in Haiku Harvest, Simply Haiku, Mainichi Daily News, Roadrunner, Heron's Nest, Birmingham Words, Haiku Presence, Bottle Rockets, and Red Moon Anthology.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Question: There's a lot of talk about what is (or what isn't) English haiku and in the last decade the haiku seems to have blossomed in several countries around the world. For a Japanese writer like you wherein does the Japanese haiku differ from English haiku?
Answer: This is a very good but difficult question for me, because I often ask myself how they are different and always end up without any decisive answer.
First, I must confess I haven't read so many Japanese haiku by the old masters or modern poets, nor have I tried to study Japanese haiku academically; I only learn from the Japanese poets' haiku in a weekly TV kukai program and Japanese newspapers occasionally. So I may not be a good commentator here. However, one obvious difference between the English haiku and Japanese haiku I see is the process of perception. To be more specific, difference in the character formation - for instance, in spite of the basic 5-7-5 three line form common to both haiku, in Japanese haiku usually kanji*(Chinese character)*, hiragana* and sometimes katakana* are mixed together, enabling it to create a nice blend of image and music with its unique layers, whereas in English haiku only one style of character is used, which in my view makes the 3 lines more simple and dynamic. The hieroglyphic nature of kanji also allows us to picture the scene more easily in each haiku, and sometimes even the Japanese phrase alone sounds beautiful enough to our Japanese ear. So if we try to translate Japanese haiku into English, it tends to be flat.
* http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2047.html
On the other hand, in my personal opinion, there are at least two points that English haiku could merit attention: one is the aforementioned dynamism with sharp waveforms and instantaneous force, and the other is the rather playful visual form that is hard to adopt in Japanese haiku style.
Another different and controversial point between the two haiku might be this question - does Japanese haiku require "Aha moment"? Sadly I cannot answer this question satisfactorily, but I don't feel so in most cases, and basically Japanese haiku does not need to be innovative or philosophical.
When I showed an English haiku book to my Japanese friend who also writes haiku, she said, "These are more like poems, not haiku." Although I found her remark very interesting, I personally think English haiku should advance in its own style that best fits the culture so that the people there can enjoy it in the most effective way.
L. Ward Abel
Magna On Magna Poet Speaks feature interview with L. Ward Abel, poet, composer of music (Max Able / Abel, Rawls & Hayes) and spoken-word performer (Scapeweavel). L. Ward Abel lives in rural Georgia, and has been widely published in the U.S., Europe and Asia, including White Pelican Review, The Pedestal, Versal (Netherlands), Juked, Angel Face, OpenWide (UK) , Ink Pot, Texas Poetry Journal, Kritya (India), Words-Myth, others. His chapbook, Peach Box and Verge, has been recently published by Little Poem Press (Virginia, USA). Twenty of his poems are featured, along with an interview, in a recent print issue of erbacce (UK). His new full book of poems, Jonesing For Byzantium, has just been published at UK Authors Press (London).
________________________________________________________________________________________
Question: Purpose or absurdity, Ward? Is there “a love supreme” or a determinist sneer? A little of both? Do you think post-Darwinian tendency to reduce or compare humanity to mere beasts is progress or detriment? Joy Davidman, sharp wit and later wife of C.S. Lewis recalled her former intellectual dark age thus: “Men, I said, were only apes. Virtue is only custom. Life is only an electrochemical reaction. Mind is only a set of conditioned reflexes…Love, art, and altruism are only sex. The universe is only matter. Matter is only energy. I forget what I said energy only was…”
Thoughts?
Answer: Certainly humans can become beasts, as we see every day in the news, with murder, terrorism, abuse of children and the elderly, and we have seen this throughout history. How else can one describe a Hitler, Stalin, Mao or a Bin Laden? But I am a naive person, and proudly so. I have the view that there are universal choices given us all, and we make decisions based on how we see the world and others. Now, admittedly the decisions we make may be the result of a bad childhood, trauma, even illness. I have some patience with these “reasons,” but my patience is limited depending on the severity of the behavior. That said, virtue is more than custom, it is indeed (to me) the product of choosing “a love supreme” as Coltrane would call it, something larger than we are, a blessing bestowed. I’ll not give you my own religious beliefs here, but I will say that these beliefs are deeply held, and they effect my work as a writer and my relations with others. I feel there is a good and there is an evil. And there is a reason for all of this. Dichotomies in nature (cold, hot / day, night) are reflections of larger ones that are unseen. Energy is indestructible. Why? Why indeed.
David Herrle
Magna On Magna feature interview with David Herrle, Editor of SubtleTea.com and scribbler.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Question: What do you see as the major problem in today’s poetry scene?
Answer: Too much. In the unminced words of D. Boon (Google him if you’re not familiar), “I’m f**king overwhelmed!” Part of me considers being human alone to be cosmic poesy; we are living metaphors of the highest (and therefore most corruptible) order. Another part winces at cacophony. Everyone’s a poet and poetry is everywhere. I help feed the bull market by producing SubtleTea. I don’t say this to be cynical or lofty. I’m just being honest. I deal in poetry and poets among other artists, but I rarely read poetry otherwise. I like it for ten minutes or so at a time, and I dig a small group of poets rather than poetry in general. (Robert Graves is one of the few.)
“Too much” in this case is more blessing than blight, however. It’s a blessing I can appreciate without binging. You poets, keep it up! This is a good boom, all in all. It’s like too much sex: it’s not necessarily bad though it can be exhausting.
Janet Lynn Davis
Magna on Magna feature interview with Janet Lynn Davis, a writer who has lived in Texas for most of her life, with brief stints also on the U.S. East Coast and in England. Janet has written for enjoyment ever since she was a child. Professionally, she has worked extensively in the fields of communications, advertising, and publications. She took up poetry as a serious creative outlet only a few years ago, however. Her free verse can be found in a number of familiar Internet-based journals as well as in print; her tanka have appeared in many of the publications currently associated with that genre.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Question: Why do you write poetry?
Answer: I wonder sometimes. Because I “must” write—and everyone who writes knows what I mean by that—and I enjoy the beauty and musicality of poetry, specifically, as well as the challenge of expressing myself in a such a compressed form. Or who knows, maybe I write poetry because I have too short of an attention span, as well as limited patience, to write lengthy prose instead. Actually, I’m rather surprised I fell into it.
I dabbled with poetry writing when I was much younger—you know, came up with some pretty sappy stuff—and then didn’t touch it again for years. I began writing it with more interest and focus only a few years ago, first, at a health-related internet forum, of all places. Three of us posted some off-the-cuff verse in an attempt to reach out to a desperate member of the group; at the same time, I received a fair amount of encouragement, so I continued. After writing free verse for two or three years, I decided to try my pen at tanka, and that’s what I write exclusively. . . for now, that is.
Joseph Armstead
Magna on Magna Feature interview with Joseph Armstead, a poet and horror/dark fantasy writer living in Oakland, California, where he works as a computer technologist. He is a member of the International Order of Horror Professionals, a member of the Speculative Literature Foundation and a member of the American Mathematical Society. He is the author of nine novels:
* Nocturnes and Neon, A Novel of the Vampiric [ISBN: 0595201733]
* Painmaker, First Tale in the Book of Dark Memory [ISBN: 0738851965]
* Bleeding Twilight, A Tale of Quinn & The Moon-Chosen [ISBN: 1931391394]
* Darkness Fears [ISBN: 0-595-26315-1]
* The Screaming Season [ISBN: 1-59088-213-X]
* The Demogorgon Agenda (ebook) [ISBN: 1-55404-137-6]
* Nightflesh, Volume 1 of The Porphyrricon [ISBN: 0-595-86261-6]
* Red Benediction, A Tale from the Book of Dark Memory [ISBN: 0-595-41584-9]
* Endless Nocturnes, A Tale of Quinn & The Moon-Chosen [ISBN: 0-595-45634-0]
These books are available at Barnes & Noble Online, Amazon.com, WINGS ePRESS INC. Online, and at Double Dragon eBooks.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Question: You seem like a modest, also perhaps mysterious person, yet you are multitalented and accomplished as a poet, novelist (of nine published books), writer of short fiction, and illustrator. Which artistic endeavor came first (please elaborate a little), and do you have a personal preference for one over another?
Answer: Thank you, Janet, for saying such kind things...
Modest? Mysterious? No, uh-uhn, not me. I honestly don't think of myself as anything or anyone even remotely extraordinary. Old-fashioned, private, intolerant of superficiality, not egocentric? More likely. I don't blog. I don't "journal." I have a blog, but I only use it to try out new story ideas.
Petar Tchouhov
Magna on Magna Feature interview with Bulgarian writer Petar Tchouhov, who holds a B.A. in Library Science and an M.A. in Social Sciences, and is currently working for the Bulgarian National Library. He has published six books of verse, including Pedro’s Mule (1999), Provinces (2000), and Small Days (2002). Tchouhov has been published in Bulgarian and international collections of verse and has won poetry awards, as well as the “Agatha” prize for the best detective story. He is the winner of the 2004 MTel text-message poetry contest, as well as the recipient of the Development Group special award for the best manuscript for his novel Snowmen (2003). His haiku and related forms have been published in big sky: The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku 2006, Frogpond, Contemporary Haibun, Haiku Presence, Ginyu, World Haiku 2006 and 2007, Simply Haiku, The Heron’s Nest, Full Moon, Roadrunner, Mainichi Daily News, and tinywords. New works are due to be published in A New Resonance: Emerging Voices in English-Language Haiku 5, Modern Haiku and bottle rockets. Tchouhov has played guitar and written music and lyrics for various rock bands and is currently playing with the ethno-rock band Gologan. He is a member of the Association of Bulgarian Writers, the Bulgarian Haiku Club, the Sofia Haiku Club, the Haiku Circle 17th floor, the World Haiku Association and Musicautor.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Question: Petar, you are the author of six books of poetry, including Pedro's Mule (1999), Provinces (2000), and Small Days (2002). You’ve been published internationally and won many poetry awards, as well as the Agatha award for the best detective story. To what do you credit your success as a writer?
Answer: For me a successful writer is one who can win and especially maintain the interest of readers and his/her colleagues. There are many authors who repeat their successful formulas again and again, creating decent and even very good works, but who become a bit boring with their repetitiveness. I try to be different every time, which of course is impossible, but at least keeps you alert, because you can’t fully rely on your old skills. You need to learn, which makes you a novice and a professional at the same time. This way you both widen your audience and keep your fans interested.
Elisha Porat
Magna on Magna Feature Interview with Elisha Porat, the 1996 winner of Israel's Prime Minister's Prize for Literature, an Hebrew poet and writer, who has published 21 volumes of fiction and poetry, in Hebrew, since 1973. Elisha Porat was born in Kibbutz Ein Hahoresh in 1938. His works have appeared in translation in Israel, the United States, Canada and England. The English translation of his short stories collection "The Messiah of LaGuardia", Mosaic Press, was released in 1997. The English translation of his second stories collection "PAYBACK", was published 2002 at Wind River Press. His new novel "EPISODE", a biographical novel, just released by "Y&H" Publishers, Israel, 2006.His works, poetry and fiction, were translated from Hebrew into English, and were published, in print and online, in selected literary stage. Elisha Porat's works were published at Midstream, Tikkun, Ariel,War Literature and Arts, Rattle, Porcupine, Oyster Boy Review, Another Chicago Magazine, Boston Review, Snake Nation Review, The Paumanok Review, The Pedestal Magazine, Poetry Magazine, Jewish Quarterly, Deep South, and others.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Question: Elisha, you are an internationally-acclaimed poet, the author of twenty-one volumes of poetry and fiction, and the winner of Israel’s Prime Minister’s Prize for Literature. Do you ever tire of poetry and the written word?
Answer: First let me correct you concerning being an internationally-acclaimed poet. Perhaps I and my poems are known over internet, due to the wide translation of my work to English. But in reality, I am not so known among the readers of Hebrew poetry in Israel. I have always lived in my kibbutz, Ein Hahoresh, which is a small village in the periphery. The literary life in Israel is concentrated in Tel Aviv, a big city and the only real cultural center of Israel. In order to be really known and famous, Israeli poets must live in Tel Aviv or its closed neighborhood.
Concerning your question: creativity in literature, and I assume it is the same with creativity in other arts, is an integral part of the life of the creator. For me to live means, among other things, also to create. But, exactly as in life, there are periods when the intensive engagement in creativity is disturbed and delayed by additional string factors, such as physical or spiritual health, family affairs, etc. There are necessary breaks in the creative life of every creator. But in my opinion they do not result from being tired. As long as I live, I sing, I write poetry, I see the world, I imagine it, I interpret it. And of course, all these are performed by my tool of expression, the tool of the written word.
Nick Zegarac
Magna on Magna Feature interview with Nick Zegarac,a freelance writer/editor and graphics artist. He holds a Masters in Communications and an Honors B.A in Creative Lit from the University of Windsor. He’s been a contributing editor for Black Moss Press and has had two screenplays under consideration in Hollywood. He’s also a regular contributing writer for various online publications, including Mediascreen.com, Subtletea and Banks of the Little Miami. At present he's searching for an agent to represent him. Contact him via email at movieman@sympatico.ca . Nick's other blogs can be accessed here and here. _________________________________________________________________________________________
Magnapoets: George Prince said, "Another word for creativity is courage". Do you agree?
Nick Zegarac: Absolutely! It takes a lot of guts to put your art ‘out there’, whether it’s a song, a poem, a sculpture, a performance, and pensively wait for either the tomatoes or the accolades to be hurled.
In my opinion, no artist is ever a coward. He might be a bad artist, but there’s a certain percentage allotted for gumption and that first spark of get-up-and-go that made him decide whatever he had to offer in the first place was worth all that effort and energy.
Yoav J. Tenembaum
Magna on Magna Feature Interview with Yoav J. Tenembaum, who born in Argentina. He has lived in Argentina, Israel, the United States, and Britain. Tenembaum has pursued his academic studies at Tel Aviv University (BA in History), Cambridge University (Masters in International Relations) and Oxford University( Doctorate in Modern History). He served in the past as director of a historical exhibition on Columbus and the Jewish contribution to the voyages of discovery (Spain and Israel). He's the author of The Planet of Mendaoor, a book for children, published by Minerva Press, London. He is also a journalist and political analyst.
Magnapoets: Yoav, you are a journalist, political analyst, among many other things. Please tell us about yourself. And please tell us how you reconcile all the different roles you hold, including that of poet.
Yoav: I am an Argentinian Jew. I have lived in various countries, including Argentina, Israel, the United States and Britain, where I pursued most of my academic studies. Having completed a doctorate in History, I decided nevertheless to work in a family-related investment business , something I have enjoyed very much doing. On a voluntary basis, I serve as the vice president of an international Non Governmental Organization called the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation(IRWF). I also lecture and write on political and historical topics .
David Matthews
Magnapoets Feature Interview with David Matthews, a native of the South Carolina Midlands who now resides in Portland, Oregon. His poems have appeared in Abbey, Chattahoochee Review, Meander: The Journal, Ouroborus, Quill and Parchment, Red River Review, Tryst, and elsewhere. Matthews writes about literature, film, politics and current affairs, and other topics, including from time to time sports, on his blog Memo from the Fringes.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Magnapoets: What are your influences?
David Matthews: The usual litany goes something like this: the European tradition that ran from Baudelaire through Rimbaud, Verlaine, Apollinaire, and culminated in surrealism; the Beats, Gregory Corso in particular; Bob Dylan. These were my influences in the early years, and they remain important. More recently, over the past 15 years or so, I feel greater kinship with the English Romantics, Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, and the two great American poets Whitman and Dickinson. These are the ones who speak most to me.
Aurora Antonovic
Magna on Magna feature interview with Aurora Antonovic, a Canadian writer, editor, and visual artist whose work has appeared over six thousand times in publications spanning twelve countries and five continents. Aurora is a recent Pushcart Prize nominee, and the illustrator of Marie Lecrivain's latest chapbook, The Painter, available through Lummox Press. She currently acts as haiga editor for Simply Haiku.
______________________________________________________________________________
Magnapoets: In your recent past, you have frequently donned the garb of an editor to fulfill duties and obligations on the other side of the artistic realm. Do you feel that the experiences earned from your editorial seat have strengthened your craft as a writer? What are your thoughts about what it takes to be a good editor?
Aurora Antonovic: Editing takes up a lot of time and mental energy, which sometimes leaves little for one’s own writing. I’ve found that the more I take on editorial responsibilities (I’m currently editing three publications), the less I create my own work, but that’s okay. In order for ground to remain fertile, it has to rest every so often. So, too, is it with the creative mind. I consider editing as rest from my own art while enjoying the work of others.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
