Revised 21 vi 2016
On the Kigo as an Image of Desire
Haiku is a hinged form. The single line — Japanese kigo– is often spoken of as a cultural given, a seasonal word everybody in the language community understands, a sort of fixed point. That is perhaps too univocal (see below) and suggests some otherworldly independence of the term. I’d rather say it is an index of the DESIRE for transcendence, a need that cannot die (as William Desmond puts it).
On the Ethos of Haiku
One reason — perhaps the most “rational” among many — I love the art of haiku is that it “models” ethical thinking in general. That is, the two-part asymmetrical structure of haiku brings into relation the concept of community –the self’s basic desire for transcendence– and the concept of moving between the self and the other, which informs narrative, story, allegory. The narrative, usually…
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