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Biblio:The Book of Renku.Pdf Read Me bits and bats The Book of Renku Terms and Conditions This book represents fifteen years work. All the material contained in it is copyright. The book is provided free of charge to private individuals on the understanding that • you use it • you forward a copy to at least two other people interested in poetry • funds permitting, you give a couple of £, $ or € directly to someone in need This book may be held on any form of retrieval system on the condition that its content and structural integrity is unaltered. Beyond the citation of extracts for review or scholarly purposes, any person wishing to reproduce, publish or otherwise distribute all or any portion of this book in any other form, context or medium is asked to secure the appropriate permissions. Be in no doubt: theft of copyright is theft. Pdf Reader Settings This is a locked pdf file. It will not allow copy and paste functions. Your pdf reader will display chapter headings as bookmarks. Your pdf reader will have Page Display options. Altering these may make it easier to follow the schematic diagrams. Dedication This book is dedicated to all the sincere people that it gratuitously mocks. Myself included. Above all it is dedicated to my wife, my son, and my daughter for keeping that sense of mockery alive. cob-web fingers fitting the 11,001st angel on a pinhead Johannes S. H. Bjerg Author's Introduction call that an apologia? The Book of Renku The Book The book is a haikai manifesto. It is not an academic treatise. There are no citations. And no footnotes. The book advances a series of arguments - purely by assertion - on the basis that if you don't like the assertions you will make some of your own. The book contains schematic layouts, narrative descriptions, and personal appraisals of some of the renku patterns current in English. Or else plucked out of the air. The book uses the word English to describe a language, not a nationality. The Type of Renku • Renku is different to the high style of medieval Japanese linked verse called ushin renga. • Renku is different to the comedic style of medieval Japanese linked verse called mushin renga. • Renku is unrelated to the experimental English forms which incorporate ren or enga in their names. • Renku is sometimes misapplied to trivial forms of Edo period haikai no renga. This book deals solely with haikai no renga as written by the Shomon - the immediate Basho school - later close disciples, and those of the renku revival who further that approach. It is therefore limited to Shofu renku - linked verse written in the Basho style. The Author The author is a wholly decrepit individual who will shortly be composting back into the more anonymous parts of Lancashire. A former musician and professional liar, the latter part of his life has been spent crouched over the paraffin stove in his garden shed, plotting revenge. During this time he claims to have led hundreds of linked verse sequences. Translated or co-translated a significant number of Edo period kasen. Swapped secrets on prosody with enemy agents via short wave radio. And scoured the pages of Health and Efficiency Magazine for the key terms renga and renku. Until they hurt. The Hidden Agenda • Renku is not a Japanese art form. It is an art form that has arisen in Japan. • Art transcends time and space. • There is no absolute distinction to be drawn between Japanese and non-Japanese renku. • There is no absolute distinction to be drawn between Edo period and modern renku. • All aspects of Shofu renku aesthetics may be understood in any cultural context. • All aspects of Shofu renku technique may be emulated in any human language. How to Read the Schemas sticking to the plan The Book of Renku Caveat Lector The use of schematic guides has been a feature of the spread of renku worldwide. They are not a new phenomenon, and are still used in Japan. However, though they are often called circles, Japanese renku groups tend to be run along traditional lines. Authority is organised vertically and composition is likely to be directed by a person of acknowledged seniority who will vary the outline at will. There are few such specialists elsewhere. And there is perhaps less appetite for what is perceived as hierarchy. Who needs to be told what to do, when a glance at a crib sheet will suffice? Schematic guides are a boon. They give rapid access to an unfamiliar format, and they empower all present in the decision making process. But they are limited. And therefore, ultimately, they are limiting. By their very nature the schematic guides presented here are as flawed as any others. They are optimised. They are idealised. Though hopefully not entirely neutered. The reader is respectfully reminded that these layouts are illustrative only and represent a fraction of those possible. Anyone with the patience to read the rest of this book will be able to modify them at will. At a minimum it is advisable to skim the description and appraisal that accompany each guide. The Book of Renku is dedicated to the contemporary exercise of Shofu renku in English. Shofu means in the manner or style of Basho. This is not a question of layouts or schematics but of aesthetics and techniques. There is absolutely no reason why poets with a little experience should not go beyond the present guides and come up with fresh ideas. Header, Description and Appraisal For each type of sequence, the first line of the page header is the name of the format. The second carries a strap line. Where the name is a romaji rendering of the Japanese, the strap line is generally a free translation. The third line details the originator or populariser of the format plus an approximate date for its emergence. There follows an overall verse count and a description of the principal structural features. In the main this section is limited to form and function. However, where the originator considered particular aspects of the architecture to have a bearing on technique, related injunctions, and their consequences, are outlined. An appraisal appears below the chart and its respective key. This is more subjective. It discusses the aesthetic choices implicit in a format and may compare one type of sequence with another. It also ascribes a stylistic tendency, varying from the classical to the avante garde. These latter are offered as a rule of thumb. The reader may choose to ignore them. More certain are the references to later chapters that appear in both the description and appraisal. They point to further reading that will illuminate specific points of contention, particularly those which are most frequently misunderstood. It is not recommended to attempt composition of any sort in the absence of a working knowledge of the basic generative mechanism of renku described in the chapter Link & Shift - An Overview. The Chart Where the sequence divides formally into parts, movements or sides, the chart is likewise divided into sections. These are either named for the traditional folio divisions (see The Kasen, A Description) or numbered. If applicable, each section also carries an indication of its dynamic phase drawn from the jo-ha- kyu pacing paradigm (see A Dynamic Pattern). The chart is otherwise arranged vertically. The first column at left gives the name or number of each verse position followed by its status as a long or short verse. The named verses have special compositional characteristics (see Beginnings and Endings). In so far as long and short are fluid concepts in much English haikai the reader might wish to refer to the chapter Know Yourself. In some sources generic verse positions are numbered according to their place on the side of a writing sheet - be it real or notional. This is particularly the case for the kasen and those sequences such as the tankako and nijuin which are thought to resemble it. However, given that not all renku sequences divide in this way, and those that do vary from authority to authority, for the sake of consistency the present diagrams number them sequentially from start to finish. All but the most experimental work starts from the season in which composition is begun. Accordingly the remainder of the columns are headed autumn, spring, summer or winter. Sequences follow down. In order to give some indication of the flexibility available, autumn and spring have two layouts each. Some sources, particularly those dealing with historic or Japanese practice only, will give distributions for a fifth season - new year. As an entity in its own right new year has become increasingly marginal. For our present purposes it is discarded (see The Seasons of Renku). The Symbols All verse positions carry a season/non-season designation. The seasons are coded sp - spring, su - summer, au - autumn, and wi - winter. Non-season verses, otherwise known as miscellaneous verses, are coded ns. In rare cases the reader will encounter an all-season position - sn. This permits any of the four seasons to appear, but does not allow a treatment as non-season. Almost invariably season verses appear in groups of two or more. Should a season be brought forward or delayed, the verses move as a group. Some verse positions may also feature traditional fixed topics. These are coded bl - blossom, mn - moon, and lv - love. A modern alternative to blossom, the more generic flower, is coded fl whilst the rokku adds the quirk of asserting a rock position - rk. The positions shown for the love verses are indicative only. If brought forward or delayed, they also move as a group.
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