Melanie Hayes   Profile on Bill Pauly

A Haiku Author Study of Bill Pauly Who is Bill Pauly? Bill Pauly was born in Davenport, Iowa, April 20, 1942. He has lived almost his whole life in the Midwest, which he loves. Bill graduated from Loras College in 1964 with a B.A. degree, major in English literature; received his M.A. from the University of Notre Dame (on a Peace Corp Scholarship) in the summer of 1968, in English Literature. Between 1965-67 he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leon, West Africa, as a secondary school teacher of English and French. During the early 1970s he was self-employed as a writer, photographer, and candle maker. Currently he lives in Dubuque, Iowa, with his wife Deb. For the past twenty-four years Bill has taught at Loras College in Dubuque; current course load includes Haiku Writing, Poetry Writing, Advanced Poetry Writing, and Composition. When he finds some free time, Bill enjoys reading, writing, photography, travel, gardening, listening to music, rabble-rousing, and shooting basketball. Bill’s poetry has been published in numerous small magazines and anthologies such as Bonsai, High/Coo, Janus SCTH, Modern Haiku, Seer-Ox, Sun-Lotus Haiku, The Windless Orchard, Thistle, and Tweed. Beyond the haiku published in many haiku magazines and some anthologies, he has two small chapbooks: Wind the Clock by Bittersweet (High/Coo Press, 1977) and Time from His Bones (Juniper Press, 1978). He has won several Haiku awards, most notably three First Prizes in the H.G. Henderson annual competitions. The following three haiku won: First Place: 1991 snowmelt ... she enters the earth on her knees First Place: 1983 heart drawn in dust by the old Indian ... rain First Place: 1981 old woman, rain in the eye of her needle Bill says that he enjoys reading any good haiku or non-haiku poems. He went on to say that there are many enormously talented writers out there. Most of his writing life has been spent becoming his own best critic, so rarely does he get others’ input on his haiku. Sometimes though, he gets a good suggestion from a student that he takes to heart and incorporates into his revisions. The sense of season, he says, is pervasive in his life and his haiku, however, he does not feel compelled or constrained to include a kigo, or season word, in his haiku to make them haiku, nor does he hold his students to that requirement. He has experimented with the "Wordless Poem," as Eric Amann calls it in the title of his book. However, most of Bill’s haiku use words. Sometimes he likes a minimal haiku. Bill says that his "eyeku" (his original term for a concrete haiku) in Higginson and Harter’s Haiku Handbook is not representative of his work at all. In fact, he wishes that he had a "regular" haiku in the book. An example of one of his better concrete poems can be found in his first chapbook, Wind the Clock by Bittersweet. The following is a concrete poem from his book: Concrete cOncrete coNcrete conCrete concRete concrEte concreTe concretE I found Bill’s story of how he was introduced to haiku very amusing and quite interesting. He says that he was introduced to haiku in the most amazing way that he can possibly imagine. In the early 60s at Loras College, he took two creative writing classes from Raymond Roseliep, now widely considered an American haiku master. Raymond was just learning about and trying the form at that time, as many people were. They were all writing 5-7-5s at that time, because that WAS haiku for all they knew in those early pioneering days. If Bill could find and was willing to show me some of his early "haiku," he says that I would see heavy commentary, not too much imagery, and strictly formulaic and awkward attempts to squeeze a sophomoric "message" into the strictures of the form. "Even Raymond wasn’t writing very good haiku then (ZAP!--was that a lightning bolt that just singed my butt?). But we found it fascinating and challenging, and grew to love it even more as we recognized how wonderful it could be when freed from the chains of absolutist rules. So . . . it was a bit like a relationship: it wasn’t love at first sight as much as curiosity and fascination, a getting-to-know-you process through which love for haiku bloomed slowly but deeply. Right now in my life, I can’t IMAGINE ever NOT writing haiku." One of my favorites of Roseliep’s haiku is: never expecting the lilies in November nor the small coffin This haiku is formed like one of Bill Pauly’s. A reader can see the influence Roseliep had over his student’s writing technique. For example, the following is one of Bill Pauly’s haiku: snowmelt . . . she enters the earth on her knees The break in the lines is very similar. As the reader, I sense the words "expecting the lilies" should be on one line, as with the words "she enters the earth". However, they are just the opposite. I have found myself being more conscious of this technique when I am writing my own haiku and editing others’ haiku. I found much interest in this haiku. After reading it, I responded to it with an imaginative response and then asked others to do the same. My response to this haiku was about Mother Earth. The snow is melting on the ground, which I assume is due to the changing season. At this moment in time the person is noticing a beautiful picture of the changing seasons. The snow has not completed melted back into the earth (i.e., entered into the earth). In the same sense, spring has not yet completely arrived. Mother Earth/ Nature is therefore right between seasons. With the lines "she enters/ the earth on her knees", I personified the season. The winter season has not fully left the earth or perhaps entered back into the earth. Therefore it is like a person that is not completely standing. They are on their knees. I know that you are probably very confused right now, so I decided to go straight to the source for a better explanation for this haiku. Over the past few weeks I have interviewed Bill through e-mail. One of my last letters from him was to answer a question about the snowmelt haiku. This haiku consumed my thoughts after my first reading. I asked him about the origin of this haiku and he replied with this descriptive explanation. "This was a real "haiku moment" for me. I was in my garden in early spring, probably getting ready to plant my Good Friday potatoes (a ritual among some old people around here). I was literally on my knees digging in the ground during a time of snowmelt, so things were pretty cool and damp and muddy. The moment was a long one, but the gist of it was that I felt very connected with the earth, literally, by having "entered" it on my knees. The fascinating world of spring rebirth was palpable to me. I, by the way, am the "she" of the poem, a persona I sometimes allow myself as homage to my androgyny, my feminine side, which was very alive that day." He goes on to discuss the revisions he made to it to capture the experience as best as he could. This response more than satisfied my curiosity about the snowmelt haiku. Why did I choose Bill Pauly for my author study? I first heard Bill Pauly’s haiku at the Global Haiku Festival. However, he read very few of his own pieces. Instead he read Raymond Roseliep’s haiku because he had recently passed away. It was a very thoughtful gesture. At the time, I thought him to be a very caring, humble, and modest man. He helped reinforce my thoughts by reading his student’s haiku in the open microphone reading session. Bill was very proud of his student’s accomplishments. Had I been one of his student’s and known that my professor had read my haiku at the festival, I would have been very flattered. Once again, he put another’s work before his own, which made me even more curious of his work and life. Overall, we had a very nice interview through e-mail. Just today, I received three e-mails from him. He answered all of my questions from previous letters and then some. I appreciate being given an extension on this author study paper. I was able to learn so much more about Bill Pauly. He is a very kind and generous man. I am glad that I followed my intuition and chose him for my author study. Here is some of his haiku that was included in one of his three e-mails today. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. the old fisherman mending nets around himself first of the year— sifting through ashes, poking the coals traveling broken monarch wings old woman rain in the eye of her needle the beached whale carries an ocean still in its eye Here is yet another one of his works that I found in my search. It is different from most of his work that I was able to find. It was found on Marlene Mountain’s web site. It is a one-line linked haiku with the help of Elizabeth Lamb and Bill Pauly. They created this in January 1978 to January 1979. old woman's banjo snow falling old woman's banjo slightly out of tune oil cloth crumbs of burnt toast hitchhiker pauses fingers the plastic bag in his boots semi flattens the turtle willows after cleaning his whiskers the long stretch of legs freight train whistle rusty hair pin cold coffee in the waiting room she awakens first l7 red-circled on the calendar faded jeans spread on a laurel she paints herself alone the steam of autumn soup run of apple butter the old reflection in her eyes firelight touches the infant's face Cicada 3:2 1979 Note from Mountain: perhaps the first published one-line linked haiku in English. Before this author study of Bill Pauly’s ends, I must declare some of my favorite haiku by him. The majority of the following haiku were chosen because I somehow related my own life experiences to them, they made me think way too much than needed, or they left me speechless. taking the angel down the wind too heavy for her wings old man mumbling in his dreams what he has lost to the river deaf man at the windowpane touching thunder night dancers’ footprints on the shore filling with stars snowmelt . . . she enters the earth on her knees country field home run rolling past the headstones Bill Pauly’s work will continue to display sensibility and expression. He captures both in almost all of his haiku. A reader cannot help but be moved by his work. He is a talented poet and photographer. I have gained much from my interview with him and I hope that you have too. Bibliography If you want to learn more about Bill Pauly, then talk to Dr. Randy Brooks. He will be able to show you his first chapbook Wind the Clock by Bittersweet. However, after that you’re on your own. There is not much information available about him on the Internet, but there was a little. You will do best in your search if you go straight to the source, e-mail. There have been other helpful sources. They include: bpauly@loras.edu (School e-mail address) Brooks, R., & Swede G. (Eds.). (2000). Global Haiku Twenty-five Poets World-wide. Ontario: Mosaic Press. Higginson W.J., & Harter P. (1985). The Haiku Handbook. Tokyo: First Kodansha International Printing. Mountain, M. (1979). One-line Linked Haiku: Old Woman’s Banjo. Internet: [http://hardtofind.org/hardtofind/marlenemountain.1llh_mmlinks/1llh_mm_lamb&pauly.html]. Pauly, B. (1977). Wind the Clock by Bittersweet. Illinois: High/Coo Press. —Melanie Hayes