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A
haiku is, "a short poem recording the essence of a moment
keenly perceived in which Nature is linked to human nature"
(Haiku Anthology). Cor van den Heuvel (Heuvel) is among one
of the most well known American haiku poets. This paper will
focus on the love for haiku that this veteran of haiku attains.
The Japan Times described Heuvel as "a modern
haiku master" (Takiguchi). After reading Heuvel's work
it is quite obvious that Heuvel enjoys nature and activities
that include the outdoors. As we will see shortly, Heuvel
is also a lover of baseball and many of his well known haiku
are centered around baseball.
Heuvel
was born in Biddeford Maine in 1931. He spent his childhood
in both Maine and New Hampshire. Heuvel was a graduate at
the University of New Hampshire in 1957 and shortly thereafter
became an author. In 1958 Heuvel acquired an acute interest
in poetry and decided to go to San Francisco to hear some
of the Beat poets who sparked his interest. It was in California
that Heuvel was first introduced to the Japanese haiku. As
he returned to New Hampshire in 1959 Heuvel began writing
his own haiku. Heuvel first joined the Haiku Society of America
in 1971 and has since been the recipient of many awards. He
and his wife currently reside in New York and he is still
a contributor to the haiku community.
I
chose to write about Heuvel and provide my perceptions of
some of his haiku because of both my interest of the outdoors
and his ability to keep things so simple yet instantly remove
you from where you are and place you in the middle of the
place he is describing. Heuvel's content seems to be primarily
directed to the outdoors with many of my favorites being centered
around baseball. I found it interesting and feel that it is
noteworthy to mention Heuvel's nickname, "Dutchy"
when he played for a sandlot team in Dover, NH on the Comets
team. Most all of Heuvel's haiku focused on baseball draw
you in and immediately place you in that very spot (whether
it is the pitcher, catcher, batter, or spectator). I too was
an avid baseball player and card collector so these elements
contribute to my appreciation of his haiku collection. Heuvel
includes the seasonal element in almost all of his work. I
am partial to his way of describing the seasonal element.
Although, he sometimes mentions the season, he often includes
it very subtly. He uses very simple and ordinary words, but
utilizes them so well, flawlessly placing them into his work,
painting a lifelike image. I am a very visual oriented individual
and thoroughly enjoyed Heuvel's use of photographs of old-time
baseball players in the background of his book Play Ball.
These images do not by any means take away from his work,
but help tell the story of the haiku, enhancing the reader's
enjoyment and understanding. In the following pages of this
paper I will be introducing you to some of my favorite haiku
written by Cor van den Heuvel and convey the significance
they convey to me as well as my perception of them.
geese
flying north
the pitcher stops his windup
to watch
(Play
Ball, p.3)
This
is a good example of the simplicity that Heuvel uses. There
is nothing particularly special about the wording in this
haiku, but the simplicity of it allows readers to clearly
see the pitcher as he is preparing to hurl another pitch to
the mitt of the catcher. This haiku is also very vague, allowing
the reader to plug in their thoughts and memories. I see this
as an important inning for the pitching team. This is the
top of the ninth inning and they are down one run. The pitcher
is under a lot of pressure and needs to elude from allowing
any more hits. He has a man on first base right now. I picture
him kicking the side of his foot against the mound stirring
up dust which lingers around his ankle. Although there are
thousands of fans in the stands, the ball and the catcher's
glove are the only two objects he is focused on. He nods,
telling the catcher no to the suggested pitch, then as the
catcher suggests another pitch he acknowledges to that pitch.
As he looks to first base, catching a glimpse of the man on
first leading off, he notices a large flock of geese in the
air adjacent to him. He stops his windup and just watches
them for a brief moment as they gracefully fly away. Heuvel
has effectively caught one small moment and painted it with
the use of very few, strategically placed, words.
baseball
cards
spread out on the bed
April rain
(Play
Ball, p.4)
This
is another haiku that brings back memories for me. As mentioned
earlier I once collected and traded baseball cards. My favorite
player was Mark McGuire when he played for the Oakland Athletics.
I would trade almost anything to acquire one of his cards,
whether I had a copy of it or not. This haiku describes in
a few words exactly what my friends and I would do. We would
lay our loose cards and collection books in rows on the bed
and look up the values of each one in the Beckett guide, one
at a time. We would compare and contrast who had the most
expensive card (which I did; two of Mark McGuire's Olympic
Rookie). I remember the excitement of trading for a card that
I did not have yet. We could sit down as hours passed by and
only thought it was minutes. This haiku makes you also think
about other senses, like the smell of the rain and the smell
of the baseball cards and those Topps cards that came with
a stick of bubble gum inside. This haiku is rather enjoyable
and brings back great memories. Heuvel has a unique way of
capturing small moments in time that once were lost in our
memories and brings them back to life.
biking
to the field
under a cloudless sky
my glove on the handlebars
(Play
Ball, p.6)
He
has done it yet again. This memory is one that is fun and
playful, yet had I not read it I very well may have forever
forgotten it. This is another simple haiku, yet powerful and
meaningful. I remember actively doing what Heuvel is describing.
I remember riding my bike everywhere, especially to a ball
practice or game. This childhood memory is now very clear
thanks to Heuvel. I lived two blocks from Sinawik Park and
would ride there each night of practice. The smell of the
spring air, polyester pants and the leather glove permeate
the air with the wind blowing in my face. Bat in hand and
glove hooked on the handlebar by the hand hole, I would race
down to the park with excitement. As I rode my bike I would
foresee how I was going to play that night, envisioning each
play that I would make hoping to receive the applause of my
teammates.
hot
day
listening to the ball game
while washing the car
(Play
Ball, p.13)
I
picture this image in New York with a couple of old buddies.
After a long days work the old friends are getting together
for a drink. These men are blue collar workers whom grew up
together and now work at the same foundry. One of them comes
to the others house (a block away) like he does every week
on this weeknight to shoot the bull and listen to the ball
game. I can see kids playing street ball down the road while
the heat rises off of the hot pavement. The two men, although
busy talking, are very receptive to the game and react each
time they here a play made. While the soap suds from the carwash
are running off into the drain the broadcaster excitedly announces
a game winning home run. The two men now have something to
talk about the rest of the evening.
by
the lawns edge
the dog barks at the darkness
then looks back at me
(The
Geese Have Gone, p.10)
This
haiku is obviously different than the other haiku I have presented
because it is not centered around baseball (unless of course
the dog is barking because he lost the ball that he plays
fetch with in the trees and can not see it in the night).
Most people can relate to this haiku. My miniature dachshund,
Jack, frequently does this. As most people know, dogs have
an extremely keen sense of sound, hearing things that we are
not capable of. At night my wife will not take Jack out because
he is always barking at the field that our house backs up
to. It is somewhat eerie. I can remember one night hearing
some rustling in the trees that separate our house from the
field and Jack barks. The hair on the back of my neck stands
straight up as I have a tingling sensation up my spine. Then
as we are walking up the stairs you question in the back of
your mind if someone or something is going to race out of
the trees and chase you as you go up the steps. This is an
awful feeling, especially if you have actually been chased
by an animal like myself (a possum when I was 11). This is
my perception of the haiku by Heuvel. Notice again the simplicity
of the haiku illustrating such a detailed picture. he has
effectively captured many small details into this haiku with
very few words.
November
evening
the wind from a passing truck
ripples a roadside puddle
(The
Haiku Anthology, p.233)
This
haiku paints a very cold and discouraging picture in my mind.
I envision a snowy November night driving home from a long
days work. On the way home from work I am thinking of all
that needs to be done when I get home (laundry, dinner, homework,
etc…). In between the short thoughts of the tasks that
needed to be done I realize that I am going straight when
the road is actually turning. I run my car into a ditch and
am now stuck. What a day this has been, working long hours
and now in a ditch in the freezing weather. Since I am on
the outskirts of town I now have to find a phone, since my
wife said that cell phones are not practical. The nearest
phone is at the gas station a few miles back. I then step
out into the bitter cold bundled up in a jacket without a
hood or gloves. As I am walking many cars pass and I just
continue on, looking down towards the ground as I press on.
As I am looking down a large truck passes and the draft from
the truck creates ripples across a puddle. This is my perception
of this haiku, and it is not an experience that I would like
to encounter.
a
branch
waves in the window
and is gone
(The
Haiku Anthology, p.233)
This
haiku, I would think, is one that everyone can identify with.
On a Spring evening the wind is slightly blowing as a small
thunderstorm is blowing in. Lying in bed with the windows
open I can hear the breeze's monotonous tune. There is a shadow
cast on the wall behind me which appears like a jack-in-the-box.
The smell of the rain is as comforting as the sound of the
rain slowly drizzling down. Just as quickly as the shadow
of that branch appears, it is gone. Sometimes the sudden appearance
of that branch frightens you, forcing you to pull up the covers
up to your nose for comfort. I remember doing this when I
was a young child and now must comfort my boys when they have
this same experience.
Spring
breeze
the woods road is still wet
under the pines
(The
Haiku Anthology, p.234)
shimmering
pines
a taste of the mountain
from your cupped hands
(To
Hear the Rain, p.23)
I
thought it would be interesting to set two haiku from two
different authors side by side to compare the similarities
between them. The haiku on the top is by Heuvel. The haiku
on the bottom is by Peggy Lyles. Both haiku seem to be set
in the spring. Although Lyles does not come out and say, spring,
she subtly implies it by discussing the taste of the mountain
cupped in your hands (spring water). Both of the haiku also
include the pines. Obviously both Lyles and Heuvel felt that
pines are an important element. Both of these haiku impress
upon you wonderful images of illustrious forestry on a cool
Spring day. Reading both of them make you want to lace up
the hiking boots and enjoy an afternoon walk.
As
we have seen Cor van den Heuvel is an extremely talented poet
and a pilgrim of the American haiku. He has been extremely
instrumental in the haiku society and should be commended
for his contributions. As mentioned in the introduction and
illustrated throughout this paper, Heuvel attains the ability
to paint such beautiful and memorable images in the readers
mind with very few strokes of his pen. His ability to utilize
such common words and link them together by strategically
placing them in the haiku is almost miraculous. I hope that
you have gained a greater knowledge and interest for haiku
as a result of this paper. Heuvel is an outstanding poet and
as a direct result of his abilities he has become "a
modern haiku master."
References
Heuvel,
C.V.D. (1999). Play ball baseball haiku. Winchester,
VA: Red Moon Press.
Heuvel,
C.V.D. (1992). The geese have gone. Quebec, Canada:
King's Road Press.
Heuvel,
C.V.D. (1999). The Haiku Anthology. New York,
NY: W.W. Norton & Company Ltd.
Lyles,
P. (2002). To hear the rain. Decatur, IL: Brooks Books
Takiguchi,
S. (N.D.). This is your haiku life. Retrieved June 30, 2004,
from
http://www.worldhaikureview.org/2-2/haikulife_cvh.shtml
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