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Alan
Pizzarelli is a coyote—a gifted trickster.
By all outside appearances, Senryu Magazine looks like a
small press periodical. There is a table of contents, numerous
authors, award winners, sequences, haibun, translations,
book reviews, and a list of books received. The form and
format look like a magazine, that is, until reading:
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Surgeon
General’s Warning:
Senryu
Magazine Causes An Interior Convulsion, Producing
A Distortion Of The Features And Accompanied By Inarticulate
Noises. It Is Infectious And, Though Intermittent,
Incurable.
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The
tongue remains firmly in cheek throughout the whole book.
There are senryu by Orin Snurd, Sydell Oglethorpe, Tula
Mushnick, Dag Applecore, and Redmond Rosehip. There are
the H.R. Blight Memorial Senryu Contest winners. The translated
“Battle of Kyushi” sequence by Akira Kazuke which
includes:
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charging
into battle
how annoying
the clatter of swords
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There
is a small collection of translated Eskimo Hokum by Yuk
Patoo. And there is much more, including parodies of some
of the “masters” of English-language haiku. It’s
not until the acknowledgments on the last page when it is
clearly stated that Pizzarelli is responsible for all content
within.
Pizzarelli’s book is really quite impressive on a number
of fronts. It is fun to read and masterfully produced. The
tone is consistent throughout. The senryu range from pure
buffoonery to exquisitely executed; but they all seem to
work and contribute to the enjoyment of the book. Considering
how easy it would be to fail at what Pizzarelli has attempted,
it makes it all the more commendable that he succeeds.
A few from my many favorites:
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at
the animal hospital
a dog-eared copy
of a pet care book
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•
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Wearing
her
“Worlds Best Mom” T-shirt,
She wallops the whining kid.
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•
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on
the road
a possum
not playing possum
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•
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“Dance,
snail dance!
Or you’re escargot!
Shouts the chef
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