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Mykel Board and His Haiku: A Response Interview
by Gordon Gilmore
May 29, 2008
Mykel Board has lived in all 50 states and 40 countries throughout his lifetime. He lives as a punk journalist, whose infamous article on the 9/11 incident and the collapse of the world trade towers pangs the heart with an awakening that can only come from the blunt honesty that he writes with. The article about 9/11 can be found at his website: <http://www.mykelboard.com>.
In a correspondence with Mykel, I was able to gleam from him the origins of his haiku writing. Here is what he said on the matter:
“I discovered haiku while living in Japan from 1989-1991. My mentor,
Ryo Suzuki <http://homepage2.nifty.com/haiku-eg/> taught me that English language haiku was not any old 7-5-7 thing and had depth in simplicity that took years to understand. He was pen pals with Agnes (L.A. Davidson) a famous haiku poet here in New York. When I came back to New York, I met her and other local haiku poets. We soon formed the Spring Street Haiku Group, and the rest is hist... er... the NOW moment.”
To bring you a sampling of his haiku, I chose a selection of my favorites from a collection of his. I then proceeded to send these haiku to a group of people for their opinions on them and have listed these opinions below so that you might see the myriad of ways in which to view these poems.
One of these people, Christine Zacharski, provided an outside opinion from someone who had not been through this Global Haiku course and had not heard much about it from me. Two of my classmates, Aubrie Cox and Kersten Haile, were also kind enough to give their opinions on the poems, giving me informed opinions on these haiku. I also got opinions from family members of mine: Ursula, my mother, Lauren, my sister, and Donald, my grandfather. Donald gave his opinion in one line responses, which I thought was great and acted in a way that was similar to the Tan-Renga we had written in class. Having not known about haiku, I appreciated his manner of responding. After gathering all of these opinions, I’ve given my personal opinion. And, last but not least, that of the poet himself. I figured this way it would work as a re-evaluation at the end of the list.
hot wind
on a hot day
still hot
Spring Street Haiku Group, Small Umbrella (1995)
-Donald: “Ice water”
-Christine: “For the first, I envision someone parched and needing a drink, perhaps in a desert—everything is dry and flat, needs more texture, if you will. Also, I thought of things being too "hot" as in chaotic or dramatic and the person just wants to relax, in the calming shade.”
-Aubrie: “The first is just blunt truth. There are days, especially around here, where it's muggy and hot and a wind blows through and you feel it coming—you anticipate coolness. Then you realize the wind is really no cooler than the still air to begin with. Usually the appropriate response is ‘Dammit.’”
- Ursula: “Kinda says it all - reminds me of the dog days of summer when it is miserable and moving air is no more comforting than the still oppressive air.”
-Kersten: “I can totally relate to this haiku. In Nebraska the summers, especially toward the end of July and early August are ridiculously heated. It makes me recall the many days that I spent at the baseball park watching my brother play baseball when I was growing up. The metal bleachers scorching your buns every time you moved and every crease in your body created a pool of sweat, all you can do is think about what a relief a simple wind would be, yet when it comes no relief is found. The wind is just as hot, and your crevices continue making pools.”
-Lauren: “Funny...kinda redundant, but I know exactly the feeling. I hate that in the summer when there is a breeze and you expect it to be cool or something and it's just as hot as the air...it seems that is almost mocking you...”
-Me: When I read this haiku, I imagined all the times when I yearned so desperately for a nice breeze to alleviate the torment caused by the oppressive heat of a summer’s day, and when the wind finally reached me only getting blasted in the face by its warmth. The irony of expectation here turns the disappointment of the hot wind on the hot day into a perfect punch-line at the end.
-Mykel: “This is one of the few haiku (rather than senryu) I've written, but there is still a hidden human element in it. Although no person appears, there has to be THE POET, or else who feels the heat? The haiku, though has a season (summer), and a short-long-short form, that I like. Those are standard.
The hidden meaning of this poem is the EXPECTATION OF CLICHE in the reader's mind. OK, you've got heat, you've got wind/breeze so it should be cooling. Other haiku... and TV commercials tell you that. But nope, the reality is that it's still hot. That realization is the haiku moment.”
mountains
— shutting off the radio —
just the mountains
Frogpond 25:3 (2002), 13
-Donald: “Silence is golden.”
- Christine: “’Mountains--shutting off the radio’ meant to me you are shutting out the modern world and technology and just taking time to appreciate the beauty of nature. I see mountains with a sunset, colors displayed that take your breath away.”
-Aubrie: “{This haiku} makes me think of traveling in the Smokey Mountains.”
-Ursula: “I really like the symbolism of the mountains representing the beauty of nature and their existence bringing about circumstances that cause one to admire the wonder and joy of nature.”
-Kersten: “I LOVE this one. When I read it I was just so in the moment of when you first enter the mountains. It's like they smack upside the head with their beauty...and that's kind of what the haiku did for me. The moment that is being described just draws you in, just like it would if you were actually in the mountains. All you want to do is soak up the beauty that is surrounding you, there is no need for outside entertainment like the radio. The mountains hold so much that all you want to do is sit with ‘just the mountains.’ That last line ‘just the mountains,’ says it all. This haiku evokes complete serenity.”
-Lauren: “Clever...it seems that in these simple lines he is able to set a scene. The image that I see is someone driving along somewhere in the west listening to the radio. They see mountains and are taken aback by their beauty and turn off the radio so as not to distract or tarnish the mountains.”
-Me: This haiku made me think about how sometimes focusing too much on enjoying a scene can ruin it for you. It begins with the line “mountains” which becomes “just the mountains” in the last line once the radio is off. With more things being added to the line, it creates an irony in my eyes: the mountains, when viewed without distractions, become cluttered. Sometimes this happens when you try to enjoy a moment and consciously do things to allow yourself to: you can get rid of some things that are adding to the scene without your knowledge.
-Mykel: “The focus here is on the visual as well as the aural (radio). The center line with dashes on both sides, the rising 'h' and 't' and 'd' IS the mountains.
The scene in nature is so overwhelming you don't want to be distracted by the radio. You just want to experience the mountains—for themselves.”
the VD clinic—
waiting for blood test results
I write Valentines
Spring Street Haiku Group, Pink Bulldozer (1999); Blithe Spirit 9:4 (December 1999) (r); Simply Haiku [Web] 4:1 (spring 2006)
-Donald: “Sweating it out.”
-Christine: “the VD clinic--made me think of a couple (mostly the last line)—waiting for test results to see if they have anything because they are making a commitment to be together and want to be safe. While the woman waits, she writes valentines like a school girl to show she is in love. (this may be physically or mentally—thinking of how much she loves him)”
-Ursula: “Not great—but it did conjure up an image of 'Alphie' as played by Jude Law. So, I give credit for making a connection.”
-Lauren: “Hmm...cheeky...Also makes me think of frat boys...I guess it could also reflect the way that we treat sex or women (as I see this being from a male perspective)...slightly offensive.”
-Me: I just thought this was a humorous senryu. In fact, I had a friend that did something similar recently (I won’t disclose names, for I don’t think he would appreciate it.) On Valentine’s day, he decided it was necessary to send a girl who had rejected him a Valentine’s card with contraceptives in it. Cynical, yes. Cheeky, yes. Love it anyway.
-Mykel: “This one is a bit cynical. It's a rogue (my literary personality) who wants to keep the girls on the line, even if he's infected some.”
next to the wanted poster
the man with the goatee
Spring Street Haiku Group, Small Umbrella (1995); van den Heuvel, Haiku Anthology 3 (1999)
-Donald: “Hoping the disguise works.”
-Ursula: “Immediately brought to mind a man with a devilish twinkle in his eye, tempting fate by dallying near his own likeness;-)”
-Lauren: “I like it...because of one word, the article "the", we know it is the guy in the poster...how ironic! I kinda think this one is cute...but what would you do in that situation???”
-Me: I love the implied connection between this man and the poster that is next to him. It seems there is a sort of negative association we have with goatees that makes us think that the person having one is devious, and I didn’t really consciously think of this connection until I read this poem and was like “Oh, hey, that guy’s the guy who’s wanted!” I’m sorry, all those who bear goatees, but I guess it’s the old fashioned films that make me think in this way.
-Mykel: “This requires a leap in the mind of the reader. It's a second of thought where the reader's puzzling leads (should lead) to the pleasure of discovery. Ah hah! The man in the poster also has a goatee!”
I smile
“you buy lady drink?” she asks
then, the missing tooth
Raw NerVZ (1996)
-Donald: “She is still beautiful.”
-Christine: “For some reason with the lady and the drink, i see more of a homeless person, or at least someone very lonely in life, just milling about in a bar. She has a friendly face, but no education or money—her personality allows her to continue on through life and embrace strangers.”
-Aubrie: “For some reason the missing tooth one makes me think of a bar in Singapore.”
-Ursula: “A bit too patronizing and stereotypical—appearance being the focus.”
-Lauren: “I like this too. Without saying anything else about the lady, we know that she is rough around the edges... I also like that he says that he smiled, but because he mentioned the missing tooth we know that she smiled in return without him explicitly stating it.”
-Me: I found this one humorous just because of the exchange. Really, that’s all I have to say for this one.
-Mykel: ”Another ‘rogue’ senryu, but this one is payback. The poet in a bar, smiling at some strange woman. Then she speaks (with an accent, letting you know this might be in another country), and disappoints the poet with her missing tooth, maybe a sign of further ugliness to come.”
by the boiling lake
the tourist snaps a picture
of his wife
Simply Haiku [Web] 4:1 (spring 2006)
-Donald: “as the mist fades away”
-Christine: “{This haiku} took me a bit to think about because there are so many things to come in my head. First of all, I see these people on vacation somewhere. Then, I start to think they have children and this is their chance to get away for a small period of time and just be people, not parents. The man sees the perfect spot and knows he has to get a picture of her before the moment is gone. Though it is boiling outside (like the lake), there is a small breeze that blows her hair and frames her face and for that instant, the man sees her the way he did when he first met her. (call me a hopeless romantic on that one...)”
Ursula: “The only thing I could get out of this one was possibly the male tourist is harboring some ill will toward his wife and the photo captures a sense of what he might ultimately want to do—boil her! Kinda yucky—so, this had to go on the bottom.”
-Lauren: “This one kinda makes me think of the environmental issues going on now...I guess it could just be one of those volcanic lakes or something, but it reminds me of how we always see the big picture in such a distorted way that becomes individually driven. I don't know if that makes sense...but like people that complain about gas prices and blame oil companies because they don't like paying more out of their own pocket...When shouldn't we be blaming ourselves for being so dependent on oil or blaming our society for not having public transportation? We instead find a way to make a global situation personal and in turn become self-righteous...that's where it takes me...probably not meant to though.”
-Me: The setting of this poem created a new meaning for me of “snapped a picture.” The fact that they were next to a boiling lake made me think that there was some tension in their marriage, and so when he snaps a picture it seems like he’s impatient to get it over with, but he still does it to keep up the image that they’re having a good time.
-Mykel: “The tourist attraction is obviously the bubbling lake. But the tourist is more interested in documenting his and his wife's visit, than actually experiencing the lake. It's the society of the spectacle
<http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/debord/>. People cannot experience directly, and not even indirectly (with a camera), but double indirectly with a camera photographing someone else at the location to be seen.”
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