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| omnipoetics:li-po [2025/02/19 07:24] – [The French Influence on the Spread of Haiku Worldwide] rachel | omnipoetics:li-po [2025/04/09 20:27] (current) – admin |
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| ====== "Li-Po" by José Juan Tablada ====== | ====== Li-Po by José Juan Tablada ====== |
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| <WRAP center round info 60%> | <WRAP center round info 60%> |
| Higginson and Harter explain that, "Haiku in the West begins at the beginning of the twentieth century, with attempts to write haiku in French during a visit to Japan by Julien Vocance, Paul-Louis Couchoud, and others. They published a book of their efforts in 1905" (49). This was followed by a "decent anthology of Japanese literature in French translation" that was published in 1910, in Paris. \\ | Higginson and Harter explain that, "Haiku in the West begins at the beginning of the twentieth century, with attempts to write haiku in French during a visit to Japan by Julien Vocance, Paul-Louis Couchoud, and others. They published a book of their efforts in 1905" (49). This was followed by a "decent anthology of Japanese literature in French translation" that was published in 1910, in Paris. \\ |
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| It is easy to see how Tablada fit into this timeline of discovery and cross-cultural creative pollination. Higginson and Harter devote a page and a half to him, clarifying that he was a, "Mexican poet and diplomat who visited Japan in 1900 and was much impresssed with its art and poetry, but seems to hae discovered the haikai [sic] in Paris during 1911 and 1912" (53). They further identify him as "a major figure in //modernismo//" (54) and describe his style of haiku as using "vivid metaphors to capture some essential characteristic of an animal or object" (54) and "approach[ing] the ecstacy of experience that joins an especially Spanish quality to the emotionalism of some Japanese haiku" (54). They reprint three of his haiku -- two in Spanish and one written in French. | It is easy to see how Tablada fit into this timeline of discovery and cross-cultural creative pollination. Higginson and Harter devote a page and a half to him, clarifying that he was a, "Mexican poet and diplomat who visited Japan in 1900 and was much impresssed with its art and poetry, but seems to have discovered the haikai [sic] in Paris during 1911 and 1912" (53). They further identify him as "a major figure in //modernismo//" (54) and describe his style of haiku as using "vivid metaphors to capture some essential characteristic of an animal or object" (54) and "approach[ing] the ecstacy of experience that joins an especially Spanish quality to the emotionalism of some Japanese haiku" (54). They reprint three of his haiku -- two in Spanish and one written in French. |
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| Matsuo Bashō (1644 - 1694) is credited as the originator of the haiku form. He "is considered The First Great Master of Haiku, or simply The Master" (Higginson & Harter, 12). Bashō was influenced by 7th - 9th centrury (T'ang dynasty) Chinese poets, including Li-Po (who is called Rihaku in Japanese). <fs small>What follows in this section is more speculative than the rest of our wiki post.</fs> Japanese court poetry (specifically the form of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waka_(poetry) |waka]]) may have been the an important intermediary between these styles, but we would need to read more on this topic, perhaps starting with [[https://blog.bierfaristo.com/node/775 | An Introduction to Court Poetry by Earl Miner.]]\\ | Matsuo Bashō (1644 - 1694) is credited as the originator of the haiku form. He "is considered The First Great Master of Haiku, or simply The Master" (Higginson & Harter, 12). Bashō was influenced by 7th - 9th centrury (T'ang dynasty) Chinese poets, including Li-Po (who is called Rihaku in Japanese). <fs small>What follows in this section is more speculative than the rest of our wiki post.</fs> Japanese court poetry (specifically the form of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waka_(poetry) |waka]]) may have been the an important intermediary between these styles, but we would need to read more on this topic, perhaps starting with [[https://blog.bierfaristo.com/node/775 | An Introduction to Court Poetry by Earl Miner.]]\\ |
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| It is also possible that we should be looking at the French for the source of the connection or confusion. Judith Gautier's (mis)translated of Chinese poetry "Le livre de jade" (Book of Jade) was first published in 1867 [[https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/46828/pg46828-images.html|original available on Project Gutenberg]], but it was expanded and reissued in 1902 and edited again for a 1908 version [[https://www.jstor.org/stable/4599060|Yu 2007]]). ([[https://archive.org/details/bookofjade00gautiala/mode/2up |A 1901, English translation of Gautier's translation is available through Internet Archive]]) [[https://www.jstor.org/stable/4599060 |Yu argues that despite Gautier's lack of accuracy in translating, her book had an immense cultural impact]]. It seems possible that Tablada may have encountered some Chinese poetry through her or through the zeitgeist that she inspired. <fs small>The preceding section was speculative.</fs> | It is also possible that we should be looking at the French for the source of the connection or confusion. Judith Gautier's (mis)translated of Chinese poetry "Le livre de jade" (Book of Jade) was first published in 1867 [[https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/46828/pg46828-images.html|(original available on Project Gutenberg)]], but it was expanded and reissued in 1902 and edited again for a 1908 version [[https://www.jstor.org/stable/4599060|(Yu 2007).]] ([[https://archive.org/details/bookofjade00gautiala/mode/2up |A 1901, English translation of Gautier's translation]] is also available through Internet Archive. [[https://www.jstor.org/stable/4599060 |Yu argues that despite Gautier's lack of accuracy in translating, her book had an immense cultural impact]]. It seems possible that Tablada may have encountered some Chinese poetry through her or through the zeitgeist that she inspired. <fs small>The preceding section was speculative.</fs> |
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| ==== Who was Li-Po? ==== | ==== Who was Li-Po? ==== |
| === Drinking in Moonlight === | === Drinking in Moonlight === |
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| José Juan Tablada's poem pays homage to Li Po through an extended use of language and imagery found in Li Po's poem "Drinking in Moonlight" (also known by various other titles such as "Drinking Alone with the Moon"). This poem has numerous translations, and forty one of them can be found at this [[https://clatterymachinery.wordpress.com/2007/01/26/li-bai-drinking-alone-with-the-moon-his-shadow-32-translators/|site]]. For comparison, two translations are included below: | José Juan Tablada's poem pays homage to Li Po through an extended use of language and imagery found in Li Po's poetry and mythologized history. Tablada's "Li-Po" ends on his own translation of Li Po's "Drinking in Moonlight" (also known by various other titles such as "Drinking Alone with the Moon"). This poem has numerous translations, and forty one of them can be found at this [[https://clatterymachinery.wordpress.com/2007/01/26/li-bai-drinking-alone-with-the-moon-his-shadow-32-translators/|site]]. For comparison, two translations are included below: |
| == Drinking in Moonlight== | == Drinking in Moonlight== |
| {{ :omnipoetics:yuexia.jpg?500|}} | {{ :omnipoetics:yuexia.jpg?500|}} |
| - Young, David. //Five T'ang Poets//. Oberlin College Press, 1990. | - Young, David. //Five T'ang Poets//. Oberlin College Press, 1990. |
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| | {{tag>Spanish Mexico Modernism Avant-Garde Experimental Tribute Haiku}} |
