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Timothy
Russell and Gene Doty:
A Comparison of Haiku
I
am studying the haiku author Timothy Russell, and in looking
for some haiku to compare to his works, I picked Nose to
Nose by the author Gene Doty. Reading this small book
I found that Doty’s stile is very similar to Russell’s
and I picked three haiku of Doty’s that are very similar
to three of Russell’s haiku.
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rising
from the ground
in the town cemetery
so many fireflies
Russell,
Black Bough
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fireflies
rising from newly cut grass
the heat
Doty,
Nose to Nose
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Both
of these haiku create a beautiful, peaceful image of fireflies
rising from the ground. Doty’s begins with the word “firefly”
which gives us that visual of the glowing light right off
the bat. Then it fallows with “rising from the newly
cut grass” which is a great line. Doty and Russell both
use the word ‘rising’ to describe the fireflies
coming up form the ground. I can almost see, and smell the
fresh cut grass, which is why this line is so good. Russell
begins with “rising from the ground” and leaves
the fireflies for the end of the haiku, which works very well.
This works well because with the middle line being “in
the town cemetery”, I read the first two lines I think
of the dead rising from the cemetery ground. This is kind
of humorous, and dark. When the last line is read, I get this
beautiful image of many fireflies rising up with their lights
glowing in the dark.
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firefly
in the spiderweb
blinking
Russell,
Dreams Wander
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glow
in the cat’s mouth—
first firefly
Doty,
Nose to Nose
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Another
set of firefly haiku by Gene Doty and Timothy Russell. This
time it is not as pleasant, at least not for the fireflies.
In Doty’s haiku, he begins with “glow”. I like
this because immediately I get an image of something glowing
in my head. Unlike the previous set, this time Russell begins
with firefly and ends with “blinking” which is very
similar to Doty’s “glow” and has the same effect.
Both of these haiku convey the demise of a firefly, but Doty’s
“in the cat’s mouthi—“ is more on the
humorous side whereas Russell’s “in the spiderweb”
is more somber. Both haiku are great, but I really enjoy Doty’s.
I can just see the cat opening up its mouth and seeing the
yellow glowing juice on its tongue and teeth. That can’t
be very tasty. It was the cat’s first firefly, and probably
its last.
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sliver
of moon
reminding me
to trim my nails
Russell,
Brussels Sprout 10:3
September 1993
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clean-shaven
I go out
to trim the hedge
Doty,
Nose to Nose
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Both
of these are great and humorous haiku, or senryu. Both relate
hygiene with something from nature. I like the way Doty’s
begins with “clean-shaven” “I go out.”
At
first you think this person has shaved to go out on the town
or out on a date. Then you read the last line “to trim
the hedge” which is very clever. Like in Russell’s
haiku, where the sliver of moon reminds the person of the
white crescent moon shapes on his/her long fingernails, it
seems as if this person shaving his face reminded him that
he needed to trim, or “shave”, the hedges. Russell’s
is very clever too. I like the phrase “sliver of moon.”
The word sliver is just a great word to use in this haiku
and it works so well in describing the moon and relating it
to the tips of fingernails.
Both
Timothy Russel and Gene Doty have a similar approach to writing
haiku. They both write haiku that deal with seasons, nature,
and humor. Most of all, both authors write haiku about everyday
life, and the irony and humorous actions that occur.xxx
—Jared
Stahl
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