Eileen R. Tabios, who created the fascinating form of poetry called Hay(na)ku, curated this collection of works in tandem with Rebeka Lembo who provides Spanish translations of the works.
Eileen Tabios created this form which can be described as a tercet of three lines, a total of six words (1 in the first line, 2 in the second line, and 3 in the third line - or the reverse of order of the lines/words) with no restriction on syllables or stressed words or rhymes. In this collection Eileen’s poems are translated into Spanish by Rebeka and that transformation is enlightening.
A couple of examples whet the appetite:
WEATHER/WHETHER
…blueness
of sky –
I am breathing
As If
There was un
momento, a
poem
I wrote while
driving the
car.
My ego would
not let
me
pull over to
jot it
down.
“If a poem
is so
powerful
it will return,”
I have
boasted
for a long
time to
other
poets, as if
I possessed
some
knowledge they did
not already
possess.
It feels like
years and
yet
that poem has
not yet
returned.
What I recall
is that,
somehow,
it related to
perfect timing
y
flamenco.
At book's end there is a fascinating history of Hay(na)ku. This is experimental poetry now, but there were days when sonnets and villanelles were considered experimental....Very successful book, this. Grady Harp, June 18
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
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