For
those of us who would rather write poetry than talk about
it, literary critics are an interesting breed about whom
we have ambivalent feelings. They are often intelligent
people who care a great deal about poetry, but too often
what they have to say is of little use to poets main
concern, the writing of better poems. Spending a few hours
with Pensées has done nothing to change that
opinion. The book contains some interesting quotes, suggesting
the author is widely read, as well as some interesting statements
about haiku, but not enough, and not well enough stated
to accomplish the authors goal of provoking
this reader to any important new insights.
The
introduction tells us that dipping in and out of the book
is the best approach, that bits of the introduction are
all over the place. Thats fine if youre the
kind of person who finds it enjoyable to browse the Internet
randomly, for thats about how dipping in and out of
Pensées feels. The author hasnt even
bothered to organize his ramblings with a table of contents
or index.
This reviewer will acknowledge his general bias against
critical writing that does not get clearly and succinctly
to the point. Pensées reminds me of Bob Spiesss
speculations, only with more redundancy, less
insight, and a presentation that lacks the benefit of an
organizational framework. At least Spiess, in A Years
Speculations on Haiku (Modern Haiku Press, 1995), had
the wisdom to suggest that speculations might be best if
taken on a one-a-day basis, and each of his speculations
clearly presented. At that pace, individual speculations
stand a better chance of being contemplated on their own
merits without the reader being bothered by their similarity
to dozens of other speculations. Im the kind of reader
who wishes Spiess had distilled his several hundred haiku
speculations into a dozen or so really powerful statements
and then written an interesting chapter on each them. Had
he done so he might have created a truly memorable book
about haiku.
Pelter
believes his theorizing will advance haiku.
I find that unlikely. How much better it would have been
if he had merely stated a few clear ideas or principles
about haiku and then provided a dozen or so exemplary poems
based on his notions. Such poems could not only be used
to clarify the ideas, they could provide concrete evidence
for the reader that Pelters notions can lead to better,
or even different kinds of haiku. As it is we have a book
of words related to haiku to greater or lesser degrees.
For the curious haiku writer who enjoys encountering the
unanticipated, this book might be a worthwhile read. Also,
for any haiku group looking for comments about haiku which
might generate discussion, this book could prove a useful
resource.
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