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Raymond Roseliep:
A Biography of an Extraordinary Haiku Poet
Raymond Roseliep, "probably the most widely published
haiku poet in North America," was ordained to priesthood
in 1943, at the Catholic University of America (Rabbit
in the Moon, backflap). Roseliep published over twenty
books, including Rabbit in the Moon,
Step on the Rain, The
Still Point, Light Footsteps,
The Linen Bands and Firefly
in the Eyecup.
Two major haiku awards that Roseliep has received were the
Shugyo Takaha Award from the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society of
the United States and Canada and the Harold G. Henderson Award
from the Haiku Society of America (Dayton, backflap), which
he won for the following haiku:
horizon
wild swan drifting through
the woman’s body
(Rabbit in the Moon
,42)
Roseliep’s love for haiku springs from his initial love
for writing short poetry, which he devoted much of his younger
life to. Always anxious to experiment, Roseliep often tests
the use of alliteration, consonance, rhyme and rhythm in his
haiku, as well as works with form. In his book, The
Still Point, Roseliep states that "American haiku
will cease to be adventuresome if we should suddenly stop
for breath. Like old Bashô’s frog, we must keep
plunging. Eastern and Western frogs do, of course, and not
all of them make the same sound" (preface). The following
haiku exhibits both an experiment with form, as well as, with
alliteration:
frog, be like your cousin
at Basho’s, drop the bassoon
and just p
l
o
p
However, Roseliep’s experimentation does not stop at
style, he also pursues various methods for writing haiku.
For example, he discusses his first encounter with the Japanese
concept of mu in his book The Still
Point. Mu, he states, "means ‘nothing;
none; empty’" (preface). He goes on to say that
he "began exploring the honeycomb and catacomb of mu
as themes for the haiku moment." Even before that, in
his chapbook A Day in the Life of Sobi-Shi,
Roseliep explains how he took on a "haigo, or haiku-name,"
Sobi-Shi, which translates into "’a man of art who
loves the rose,’" and uses this name as the basis
for this short chapbook. An example of a haiku from this chapbook
is as follows:
in Sobi-Shi’s glass
the dark rose
of a love ago
Dr. Bill Pauly, professor of English at Loras College in
Iowa and friend of the late Roseliep, characterizes Roseliep’s
haiku as being full of love. He goes on to discuss Roseliep’s
love for his career as a priest and his compassion for people.
Your death
In the bird loud air
No further word
(Rabbit in the Moon,
83)
In his essay "Devilish Wine," Roseliep confesses
that "I am sometimes asked, ‘Why do you write a
poem?’ and I want to answer, ‘A poem helps me complete
my being,’ but I usually say, ‘To find out what
I’m thinking’" (56). He goes on to state that
"every poet writes for himself; after all he is his own
first audience, and he must please that audience" (56).
This answers the why and for who questions that people wishing
to dive into an author’s poetics asks, but what about
the what aspect of poetics? Well, Roseliep answers, "the
subject matter is everything in the three worlds—man,
nature, and God" (57).
Bibliography
Dayton, David, ed. A Roseliep Retrospecitive.
Ithaca, New York: Alembic Press, 1980.
Judson, John, ed. Voyages to the Inland
Sea. LaCrosse: Center for Contemporary Poetry, Murphy
Library, 1974.
Roseliep, Raymond. A Day in the Life
of Sobi-Shi. Pennsylvania: The Rook Press,
1978.
Roseliep, Raymond. Listen to Light.
Ithaca, New York: Alembic Press, 1980.
Roseliep, Raymond. Rabbit in the Moon.
Plainfield, Indiana: Alembic Press, 1983.
Roseliep, Raymond. Step on the Rain.
Pennsylvania: The Rook Press, 1977.
Roseliep, Raymond. The Still Point.
Menomonie, Wisconsin: UZZANO, 1980.
—Kristin Boryca
For more information about Raymond Roseliep
including reviews of several of his haiku books, see Donna
Bauerly's web site and related works at:
http://web.loras.edu/dbauerly/roseliep.htm
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