Haiku
Authors Comparison:
John Dunphy and George Swede
John
Dunphy and George Swede are both masters of haiku, and many
of their haiku can easily be offered for comparison as some
tend to deal with the same subject matter. However, though
the subject matter is similar, Dunphy and Swede present some
of the matters in different ways.
For
instance, look at this haiku by John Dunphy:
a
flickering candle
on the sidewalk
outside the abortion clinic Frogpond
18.3, 1995
Now
look at George Swede’s:
after
the abortion
she weeds
the garden Almost
Unseen, p 54
Obviously
I paired these two up because they both dealt with the topic
of abortion, though the writers seemed to have different takes
on the subject. Dunphy’s haiku is definitely one I saw
sadness in. It’s almost a haunting image. Generally you
light a candle for someone you’re praying for. In this
instance, the candle symbolizes the prayers for the lost—the
babies that will never be born because of the abortions that
were performed.
Swede’s
haiku leaves me with a different feeling. It’s almost
as if he wrote it from a totally objective viewpoint. My feeling
on this haiku was that it was more of a moment of quiet reflection
than one of mourning. I think it has a sad feel to it, but
I think it’s more because weeding the garden is a very
quiet task and when paired up with "after the abortion"
the haiku has more of a "life goes on" feeling to
it than one of sadness.
Some
of the haiku by John Dunphy and George Swede present similar
ideas. For example, look at the following haiku by Dunphy:
dawn
the hooker goes to bed
with her teddy bear Frogpond
19.3, 1996
Now
look at the George Swede haiku:
on
the bus
the teenager pulls out a mirror
and adjusts her pout Almost
Unseen, p 19
I
think these two haiku are comparable because they are both
about people who put on facades for the benefit of other people.
In John Dunphy’s, it is certainly a surprise to read
that the hooker is going to bed with a stuffed animal. Obviously,
despite the fact that she is a hooker, there is something
about her that other people don’t see. When I think of
someone who sleeps with a stuffed animal, I think of a child,
or possibly someone who is very insecure. Perhaps the hooker
is only a teenager, and has to prostitute herself in order
to survive. It suggests to me that it’s not who she really
is; that she is forced to hide who she really is to be what
she has to be (a hooker) in order to survive in the world.
The
George Swede haiku is similar, because the girl in it, at
least in my opinion, is putting on a show to make herself
look older, cooler, in order to be accepted. She hides who
she really is because she doesn’t think she is okay the
way she is. If she doesn’t pretend to be cooler and more
mature, perhaps she will not be accepted by her peers.
The
third set of haiku I chose deal with similar subject matter,
but a different aspect of the topic. This is the Dunphy one:
pinwheel
frozen still
on the child’s grave Modern
Haiku 31.3, 2000
Swede’s
haiku:
a
cold wind
dead child’s horse
rocks by itself Almost
Unseen, p 36
These
two haiku deal with similar subject matter as well: the death
of a child, and movement (or non-movement in the case of Dunphy’s
haiku). In Dunphy’s, I think the frozen pinwheel is symbolic
of what happens to parents when they lose a child. A pinwheel
is generally a bright and colorful object that spins in the
wind; however, the one in this haiku is frozen, perhaps suggesting
that all the joy the parents once felt is gone, or halted.
In
Swede’s haiku, the rocking horse isn’t as symbolic
as it is a haunting reminder that the child that once played
there is gone. The horse rocks from the cold wind (and the
fact that the wind is cold has a particular haunting feeling
attached to it, as well) because the child is no longer there
to rock on the horse himself/herself.
Another
pair of haiku I found similar was this one by John Dunphy:
the
mechanic’s grin
slowly broadening
as he peers under my hood Modern
Haiku 30.3, 1999
And
this one by George Swede:
one
button undone
in the clerk’s blouse I let her
steal my change Almost
Unseen, p 97
I
think these two haiku are an interesting pair because they’re
both about manipulation—or at least that’s how I
interpret them. The first one is one that I can relate to
because every time I have ever taken my car in to get the
oil changed, the guy working on it always tells me about all
these other problems my car has, and how he can fix them for
some really large amount of money. I’m the first to admit
that I don’t know much about cars and how they function;
however, I also generally know when someone’s trying
to pull a fast one on me. I think John Dunphy’s done
a swell job of capturing that moment of truth: will you allow
yourself to be manipulated or not?
The
George Swede haiku is similar, but a bit more subtle. At first
read, I rolled my eyes in disgust and thought, "Pervert."
However. After having read the John Dunphy haiku I paired
this one with, I re-read the Swede haiku. I don’t think
he was trying to be perverted. I think he was trying to illustrate
that when it comes to women, men can be just as easily manipulated
like women can when it comes to cars. Perhaps that’s
an over-generalization. I’m not saying that all women
have a complete lack of knowledge when it comes to cars, nor
am I saying that all men have the inability to look away from
an attractive female’s cleavage. I’m simply stating,
that in my experience, both men and women can be masters of
manipulation and it can be really easy to be taken in for
a fool. Both Dunphy and Swede have illustrated this truth
through their individual haiku.
While
both Dunphy and Swede are talented haiku writers who take
on some intense issues, such as the death of a child, they
have very different approaches to the writing. Most of Dunphy’s
haiku are tinged with a heavy feeling of melancholia, as where
Swede’s tend to be more bittersweet and leave the reader
with a sense of hope. I think it is very interesting to read
haiku about the same, or similar topics by two different writers
because when you put them side-by-side you realize that though
the subject matter is comparable, the feeling that each haiku
gives you is different. It illustrates the varied approaches
that writers like Dunphy and Swede use in their work.
—Angela
Williams
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