| I've been fascinated by Japan since I was a teenager. I discovered Zen Buddhism when I was thirteen, and my Zen practice has deepened over the years. Along with that came an interest in Japanese aesthetics - art, architecture, gardens, pottery, and literature. Paradoxically it wasn't until I was retired and living on a pension that I was able to afford to visit Japan. Jane and I went there in late autumn 2003, and it exceeded all my expectations. The scenery, the temples, the gardens, the politeness and friendliness of the people were wonderful. |
| I write in several Japanese verse forms - haiku, senryu, tanka and renga. I've taken part in many 'Renga Platform' events with Alec Finlay, Jayne Wilding, Gerry Loose and others, and I make a pretty good cup of green tea. The biggest renga event I've taken part in was a 100-verse (hyakuin) renga written over 24 hours in summer 2004 at the Hidden gardens in Glasgow's Tramway theatre. A collection of haiku written in West Lothian schools workshops was published as Six hundred lines - two hundred haiku, in 2002. Larry Butler and I led a renga session at the 2005 StAnza Festival. |
Thomas Blake Glover I was privileged to be asked to contribute haiku to a photographic exhibition - In the footsteps of Thomas Blake Gover - with photos by Ken Paterson. The exhibition was in the Lighthouse Museum, Fraserburgh, in 2006. Here's a brief biography of the man. This link will take you to Ken Paterson's photographs, and here are the haiku: stormy sky flashes - gaping fish Glover walks the dog jointed bamboo stem two silent women koi line up last two persimmons cloud-pruned black pine’s old man’s eyes pink leaves – through the window two fingers say “ni” meeting dissolves boat takes shelter water scoop girl with red shoes if you could see Glover’s bust looks down slipway to ship basin maple avenue dressing up tea ceremony etiquette gas tanker lovely girl in the polytunnel origami flowers – sunlight softened Copyright © Colin Will 2006 |
renga My introduction to renga, as is so often the case, came through writing haiku and other Japanese forms, such as tanka and haibun. My haiku have been published since the 1990s, and feature in several collections and anthologies. I love the collective nature of renga, which for me has echoes of jazz improvisation. It’s an experience, a conversation, and always a surprise. I’m exploring the boundaries of schematics, with sequences forming around successions which are not always, or not only, seasonal. List of renga I've taken part in: As master, the following : VAGUE RADIO A CURE FOR SAP BEGUM, WIPE THE DUST COLD BLAST AT COLDINGHAM TENT IN THE ORCHARD HOPE BUDS MAY SWANS IN HARES PUNCH IT OUT Huntly Dunbar As host poet : UNDER TALL TREES THE LITTLE COLTSFOOT A BELL RINGS FEASTING ON MUSHROOMS A FLITTING MURMUR OF BEES COLD DAWN AIR DESTINED FOR THE BELLY As participant: AFTER THE RAIN HIDDEN GARDEN HYAKUIN RENGA
SEVEN HAIKU, A TANKA AND A HAIKU CALLANDER HAIKU WALK Thomas Blake Glover sequence - see above CHINA & TIBET SEQUENCE |