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Basho's poems reign near top of haiku genre "Abide by rules, then throw them out! — only then may you achieve true freedom." — Matsuo Basho My column this week serves a dual purpose. Last winter, I was enrolled in Japanese 425, a literature course on haiku poetry taught by Professor Stephen Kohl. We read and discussed Matsuo Basho's classic "Oku-no-Ho somichi" ("The Narrow Road to the Deep North"). Our final project was to write a 15-20 page paper related to Basho's poetry. I never wrote it, and have had a glaring "I" on my winter 2002 grades ever since. So, nearly a year later, and after numerous false starts, I have finally begun. So part of this goes out to Professor Kohl to say I haven't forgotten about my paper and, furthermore, I never stopped reading Basho. For the rest of you, en joy the column. Matsuo Basho was not the first haiku poet, but he is arguably one of the most influential. He mas tered the now familiar five-seven five syllable form more than 300 years ago, which remains immense ly predominant in Japan and is of ten fetishistically adhered to by American haiku writers and transla tors of Japanese haiku. The haiku form evolved out of a longer, 31-syllable Japanese form called "tanka." In Yoel Hoffmann's compilation "Japanese Death Po ems," he writes the following: "The tanka poet may be likened to a person holding two mirrors in his hands, one reflecting a scene from nature, the other reflecting himself as he holds the first mirror." Hoffmann notes that haiku poems drop the reflection of the poet and leave only the mirror re flecting nature. Another important form here is "renku," "renga" or linked verse that would be composed by numerous people. According to Jane Reichhold (writings on the subject available on the Web site http://www.ahapoet ry.com/renga.htm), renga has an 800 year history. Other sources claim it's more than a thousand years old. Re gardless, Basho composed linked verse throughout his life, and many of his earliest poems were anthologies of linked verse written with other poets of his day. Basho was born in 1644 in Ueno, Iga Province, and was originally Aaron Shakra The poet’s tree named Matsuo Munefusa. He served in a samurai household of his master, Yoshitada. Once Yoshi tada died, Basho left behind his samurai name and position. In 1672, he reappeared as an editor of the poetry anthology "Kai Oi" ("The Seashell Game"). In 1687, he left for Edo (modern-day Tokyo), and there he took a job at a waterworks company in order to care for his nephew, Toin. He continued estab lishing a name for himself in haiku contests and with collaboration of other poets. Before long, Basho had gained a following and disciples of his poetics. Although he wrote haiku, Basho's most famous writings mix haiku and prose in a form called "haibun." His first of these was "Nozaraishi Kiko" ("Travelogue of Weather-Beaten Bones"), which was composed from a journey Basho took between 1684 and 1685. Buddhism, Confucianism, Shinto ism and Zen informed Basho's writ ing. He claimed he always carried around a copy of the Taoist writings of Chuang Tzu. He studied Chinese poetry and took to the works of Tu Fu and Li Po. Sam Hamill, one of Basho's recent translators, notes that while Basho's earlier poems were clearly derivative of these influences, Basho began to come into his own as he entered his forties. He attracted students, who built him a small hut on the Sumida River in 1680 or 1681 that was eventually named Basho-an after a plantain tree was planted in its yard. This is the name which the poet eventually took for himself. Note that while there are various translations of Basho's work, not all are equal. In Kohl's class last year, we read from the most common and prevalent "Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches," translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa sometime in the 1960s and so-named after Basho's most famous haibun. Last summer, I picked up a copy of the aforementioned Hamill's translation of his works. The edition of this currently in print is called "Narrow Road to the Interior: And Other Writings." It contains the same haibun that Yuasa selected, plus adds 200 selected haiku with the Roman ized Japanese translations. While I am not familiar with the Japanese language, in my opinion, Hamill's translations are superior. This is because he seems to take into account the SOUND — ono matopoeia, rhyme and slant rhyme — when translating Basho's poetry into English. However, I wouldn't have been able to make this discern ment had I not been able to com pare and contrast. For those looking for a greater selection, Professor^ Kohl maintains a Web site at http://www.uoregon.edu/~kohl/bas ho that contains numerous transla tions of the poet. For me, a few questions about the poet still remain. In Hamill's after ward to his translation of Basho's work, he mentions the poet wrote Turn to SHAKRA, page 12 Reno isn't lots of gambling fun when you're under 21 Winter break was a time of exotic destinations for some travelers. My roommate went to sunny Mexico. My boyfriend and his family went to trop ical Hawaii. I took off for (drumroll, please) Reno, Nev. The closest 1 got to a warm shore was when I heard my cell phone chime its beach tune. The billboard displayed on Reno's "strip" reads, "The Biggest Little City in the World." Well, it really should read, "The Biggest Little Bore in the World." My father, who enjoys a game or two of keno, has been taking nongambling Mom and I to Reno every few years. While there we filled our time strolling the dirty sidewalks and have since memorized every pawn shop selling the old watches of unlucky gamblers among Reno's desert landscape. Going to Reno in December 2003 left out a large chunk of activity options for me because I turn 21 in May. 1 don't long to bet my hard-earned money, but walking in casinos with Dad is always inevitable. However, I chose to avoid the casinos this time because I always seem to get kicked out by some grumpy old security officer. I really wasn't in the mood for being accused of attempting to illegally throw away my money. You know, being interrogated about some thing I have no desire to do really makes me feel left out! I didn't want to gamble anyway. So I decided to find fun away from the gaming rooms. One delight in Reno that can be ac cessed easily by bus is the Meadowood Mall. Mom and I went during our first day, but since it was Dec. 21 and our wallets were already drained from Christmas shopping, window shop ping was our only option. We walked and looked, and when it was time for a hot drink to help us brave the cold out side, we realized the mall had no Natasha Chilingerian Nat goes to town espresso bar. I stood in line for 30 min utes at Cinnabon to get a hot tea, and when I finally ordered, the Cinnabon boy seemed very appalled that I want ed milk in my tea. Not so delightful. On the second day, Mom, Dad and I decided to bus it to Carson City, which we heard was a "cute Western town." When we stepped off the bus, we could n't believe our eyes. I had imagined streets of saddle shops, museums and shops selling cowboy paraphernalia, but instead, the town consisted of sev eral blocks of stores and one casino. The gray sky seemed to be closing in on us. I longed for my hotel room. Never theless, we went exploring. "Scary Western people" would have been a more accurate description of Carson City. In one smoky tavern, we spotted a woman in a puffy-sleeved dress from the 1800s, and another in a giant fur ensemble. The city's per sonnel looked like the cast of "Blazing Saddles." At first glance, Reno makes Las Vegas look like the pinnacle of glamour, but Carson City did the same justice for Reno. I felt very civi lized back in Reno, dining at a restau rant in the bustling Eldorado hotel. My trip ended on a pathetically hap py note. Mom and I discovered there was a Walgreens within walking dis tance from our hotel, so we spent our last morning in Reno there. It was wonderful. There were rows of perfume and soap, aisles of makeup and hair products, piles of magazines and shelves of glittering accessories. We went on a mini shopping spree with a portion of Dad's keno winnings, and pathetic or not, it ieallywas the highlight of mytrip. It's amazing how extraordinary everyday things can look in bleak settings. After going in gift shops full of plastic frogs and cigarette lighters, Walgreens looked like Saks Fifth Avenue Reno may be a drag, but at least I found joy at the end. One of my Wal greens purchases was a body mist that smells like the tropics. When I took the first whiff, I dreamed of traveling to a sunny destination with plenty of beaches. Oh well, maybe next year. Contact the Pulse reporter at natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com. Her opinions do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald. HEINL continued from page 8 karaokes over the songs, only occa sionally actually playing an instru ment or showing that he had any thing to do with the music itself. This might seem like an artistically dubious thing to do, but it works. The album is made up of the kind of 1950s or 1960s country-western songs that are often performed in karaoke bars. The second half of the album consists of a karaoke version of the first half, so listeners can perform their own in the privacy of their homes. "With or Without Me" also works as a throwback to a particular style of country music from 30 or 40 years ago. Right down to the font on the front cov er of the disc, this album looks like it could have been put out by George Jones or Patsy Cline. I would almost expert it to find in buried in the vinyl rack of a St. Vincent DePaul's. But other than being built around an interesting concept, the album is above all else funny. Heinl mixes a great eye for the low points of mod ern society with a country artist's panache for the pathetic. Songs like "Half Day Vacation" and "Trailer Fever" are ballads about the lifestyle of those with severe income defi ciencies, while "IHOP" could be the I AU BOOKS. Longer hours. Lower prices. UNIVERSITY OF OREGON S2S—u""’ o'*’°n theme song for anyone who has found themselves hungry and ine briated at 2 a.m. While there are few outlets for comedic performers in the music in dustry these days, Heinl is an artist who deserves an audience. Let's wish him some luck in finding one. Contact the senior pulse reporter at ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com. WITH OR ? WITHOUT ME ■ THREE-WM *.■ EMPTY CRXlSTldSSTREE 0» Los Angeles $175 New York $280 Frankfurt $291 London $360 Paris $415 Mexico City $349 Lima $619 Rio de Janeiro $715 Tokyo $547 Hong Kong $489 Bangkok $609 Bali $719 Sydney $984 Delhi $1029 Fares are roundtrip from Portland. Restrictions apply. Taxes not included. Fares subject to change. Eurailpass issued On-The-Spot 1430 S.W. Park Ave. niRAVELCUIS See the world your way Portland, OR 97201 503-274-2323 800-592-CUTS (2887) portland@travelcuts.com ASK US ABOUT OUR EXCLUSIVE FLEXIBLE FARES www.travelcuts.com
