Liz Hattan • Liz's Haiku •

Garry Gay’s Haiku & Photography What approach do you take to your own haiku, and in what ways are you creative? The contemporary author Gary Gay has the ability to be creative and capture two different art forms at the same time (which he refers to as his “poetic vision”) with his haiku and the use of his photographs. As an artist myself, I particularly was attracted to his photos, and the use of color and in fact the subject matter. I really enjoy his haiku as well, and how he has worked in the haiku with the photos. Gary’s work has a really great visual quality to it and the way he is able to connect these two different art forms. Long Way Home, a collection of his haiku and photography is available online at the Brooks Books web site. Click on the links to see the photograph with the haiku. Here is the URL: http://www.brooksbookshaiku.com/ggayweb Throughout Gary’s work, he visually brings the reader to his own memories, bringing us through his childhood, friendships, separations, first experiences, and other roads traveled. The creative quality between the words written and the photos taken are really interesting to me, which I feel are shown in most of these haiku. the worn red bench at the end of the orchard . . . apple scent Long Way Home 63 I really enjoyed this haiku and thought the photograph was an excellent image for the haiku. The image is a worn red bench, which looked as if it were used a lot, being used for the same purpose by many people. This looks like a place where one would sit and relax and just take in atmosphere and the scent of apples. I also thought that since it was a worn bench, that is would make it old, and I most often think of apple orchards as being old. So I related the old bench with the old orchard and thought of an apple orchard in Michigan that my family goes to. We go up to Michigan usually a lot, but during the season for picking apples we really enjoy going together as a family. The scent of the apples are so strong and picking them and eating them is so tiring by the end of the day you are just beat. I also like this haiku because it takes you to a specific place and time where in other haiku you aren’t really put in a certain place. Born in 1951 in Glendale California. Gary received his BPA from Brooks Institute of Photography in 1974. Gary is a very skilled photographer currently working with many processes, mostly digital. He is a member of art councils, film art foundations, and other organizations involving the community and the photographic medium. Gary is much more that just a photographer, he has taken a new approach to haiku using photography to illustrate, adding a new element to his poetry. Gary Gay was greatly influenced by Basho’s work, Narrow Road to the Deep North. This was an inspiration for him, which lead to the way he portrays his artistic messages. Gary has been writing haiku since 1975, which has evolved him into the artist he is today. Gary is the proud creator of the Rengay. In writing a Rengay he comes together with fellow poets to create a flowing combination of haiku. Gary currently resides in Windsor, California with his wife, Melinda and his daughter Alissa. the trail forks taking the one with wildflowers Long Way Home 2 Often times in our lives we are brought upon trails or paths that we follow, sometimes having to choose. I feel that this haiku brings us to a place or path that would make us choose. Most likely when choosing people will choose a familiar path or a path that looks better, or easier for them. Most often people don’t want to challenge themselves they would just rather take the easy way out or what looks like the easier way. With this image I imagine two paths that could be chosen. One with an unclear path and the other filled with a field of wildflowers that’s attractive and fun with promise. I also like this haiku because of the way it makes me feel. It brings me to a happy place along with Gary’s photo image he gives us. It makes me feel that I could run and jump and frolic in the field and be part of the outdoors. Gary Gay is a contemporary haiku author and photographer. He is very creative in the way he uses his photos and writings to complement each other. Gary states in his artist statement that, “The dream quality of painted words let the imagination drift to special moments we all have. The challenge photographically is to be visually suggestive and not undermine the beauty of a few carefully chosen words. Both the haiku and the photograph must let you enjoy the moment of crossing the threshold.” An example of this is one of my favorite haiku nicely illustrated with the following photo. yellow lily; in the water in the rain Long Way Home 13 Looking at this photograph I feel my self-surrounded by nature, almost being a part of this pond or place where the lily sits. The image of the yellow lily on the contrasting green lily pads really pops the photograph and makes it a really nice composition. The photo and the haiku work really well together making it seem as if you are at this destination and involved with what is going on in the haiku. Feeling the overcast and the dampness of the water and the rain together with the lily sitting in the middle of it all makes you feel that you are almost the lily siting in the water in the rain. The combination of reading his haiku and seeing the photograph together takes you to a whole other element pleasing more than just one of your senses. The compatibility from haiku to illustration completes the puzzle; where one form ends the other begins. Gary speaks the language of both art forms. moving day . . . cherry blossoms fall into unpacked boxes Long Way Home 55 Gary talks about how a quality haiku awakens an old emotion or memory. An often time I read a haiku that takes me to a certain place or brings out a memory from my own life. This particular haiku brings me to some special moments in my life from childhood to present day. As a child this haiku brings me to a particular time that I moved from Michigan to North Carolina at the age of six. I remember packing up the car and watching the movers packing up the big trucks. I don’t really remember leaving my friends, but I remember the trees that were in bloom and the scent in the air. I remember seeing the blossom swirling in the air and then to the ground. This haiku also brought me to the present and made me think of the time coming up in my life just a few weeks away where I’ll be packing up boxes and moving home after graduation. I relate the haiku more than the image for this memory; although there are beautiful trees in bloom right now they do not however remind me of the cherry blossom tree. The whole thought of moving day brings sadness to me, for I will be leaving this familiar and fun place to go home to my family away from my college friends where my life will be just beginning. a light mist we skip to the playground my daughter and I Long Way Home 10 As I picture a light mist I see many images none of which have to do with the photograph that Gary, gives us with this haiku. Most of the time I really enjoy what images Gary uses with his haiku, however I do not feel that this particular haiku fits with this photo. I picture an early morning mist in the future with my daughter hand in hand skipping to the playground. Or I even see a hot summer day with the mist from a sprinkler on a sidewalk hitting our heals as we skip under it hand in hand laughing and making our way to the park to play for hours. This haiku is an example for me where Gary has maybe made this haiku and photo too personal for the reader, for there are many images that I feel or think of instead of a beach scene where there isn’t really a playground in site. In closing I really enjoy Gary Gay’s work and the two art forms that he has brought together. As and artist I enjoy having a visual to follow along with words. It personally helps me visualize what the author is trying to portray to the reader. I also appreciate the way Gary brings his personal experiences into his work yet others still connect with it too.xx —Liz Hattan