Erin Osmus • Erin's Haiku •

Contemporary Haiku Poet Lori Laliberte-Carey When I first thought about what I would like to do as a career, I thought I would like to be a writer. Not just any type of writer, I did not want to be a journalist or a documentary writer, oh no I wanted to be a creative writer. I wanted to write poetry and stirring fiction novels. Although my parents were always the supporters of my poetry, I never realized my first love because I lacked the confidence to follow through. I thought that my grasp of grammar, simile, symbolism, and metaphor were too simple to ever create something worth publishing. Right about this time (of letting go of my dream) I came across haiku. I had always heard about haiku, and the bad wrap it got about being simple and without emotion. Now two years later, I realize that definition could not be more wrong. Haiku has given me an opportunity to realize myself as a poet. While haiku is simple, it is incredibly diverse so when we were asked to comment on a certain author's work, it was hard for me to choose. I finally decided on Lori Laliberte-Carey because she utilizes the same themes that I do in my haiku. After researching her work, and communicating with Lori over the Internet, I hope that in this account I can accurately portray Lori's influences in haiku and well as the essence of her writing. To begin, I had to research some of Mrs. Carey's haiku in order to find some common strain or theme in her work. Although Lori is a frequent contributor to many haiku literary works such as Mayfly, Pinecone, and The Heron's Nest, she does not have her own published works collected or a web site to display them on. This made it extremely difficult to organize Lori's work. There is also no detailed biography of Mrs. Carey on the Internet, which made even more difficult to understand where she finds her influences and subjects for her writing. With little to go on, I decided to write Mrs. Carey and receive the answers straight from the poet's mouth. Lori confirmed what I initially believed from reading her haiku; she is very into nature and even calls herself an "amateur naturalist." Nature is one of her most influential subjects be it as general as the current season, or as small as a blade of grass. What I found most interesting about Mrs. Carey's approach to writing was that it was very similar to mine. Lori commented that sometimes she would not write a haiku for days. She attributes this to the fact that her home life is daily routine, and the commonality of each day does not always allow for new, boisterous ideas. She receives her biggest surge to write when she is out of her familiar environment, for instance, "trips to the beach or the mountains." I can agree wholeheartedly with Mrs. Carey's statement. I find it very difficult to write when there is nothing new and spontaneous going on around me. I find my best writing comes from a new emotion or a new setting. However, Mrs. Carey offers a solution to this problem. Obviously, one cannot always be changing the setting when the creative flow is blocked. Lori states that she "adopts a haiku mind," meaning that she tries to be more aware and perceptive to those everyday things that make up her life. Sometimes these haiku pan out, and sometimes they just remain ideas. I think this is an excellent tool to pass on to others. I believe many writers do this, maybe more unconsciously rather than consciously. I know that for this particular class I have had to focus my attention on the most mundane of subjects in order to procure a haiku. Mrs. Carey also states that she likes to come back to her haiku days, months, weeks, even years later. The idea may be old, but sometimes this can allow for a new sense of self or allow for a way to polish up the existing haiku. Lori also belongs to a kukai, which allows her to present her poems to a group of her peers and receive helpful feedback on her work. Mrs. Carey stated that the kukai was one of her largest influences because it allowed her to see which of her haiku were most effective and how others related intimately to her work. I cannot relate as well to this aspect of Mrs. Carey writing, simply because our kukai group is very large. I believe if I were part of a small, intimate group outside of the classroom I would receive better more detailed responses to my work. Also, our kukai's are somewhat competitive, whereas I believe that Mrs. Carey receives feedback on her haiku whether or not it is the group favorite. Now that we have identified those areas that influence Mrs. Carey and help her to create her haiku and continue a poetic mind, let us focus on what she tries to achieve in each haiku. To begin with, Lori states that she "'tries to accurately and effectively communicate what I have experienced." Her haiku go beyond mere description because she learned early on that readers would not always relate to a subject in exactly the same way as the author. Her goal is to bring the reader as near to the subject as possible. Lori still wants the reader to be able to identify with the emotion or situation she is describing, but in his or her own way. Lori's kukai group comes in especially handy in this area. If her group cannot clearly identify with the haiku, then Lori notes that she will need to go back and rework the haiku more. Secondly, Lori notes that she strives for "ah-ha" haiku as opposed to "so what" haiku. I think all writers are guilty of writing something that is really only applicable and significant to them, for Lori that might be a special trip or an intimate moment with her family. However, Mrs. Carey believes that a successful haiku has ""resonance" and that there should be an existing link between two ideas. Each idea should be able to link back to the other, which will allow the reader to perhaps take something new away each time the haiku is read. Finally, let us look at some of Mrs. Carey's submissions to different literary works and identify how she utilizes her influences and goals. The first published haiku I found was: soft tickle the salamander s lips into the mud Mayfly I find this haiku significant because it reminds me of Basho's famous poem: "Old pond: frog jump-in/water-sound." This classic haiku was viewed as a turning point for Basho because it framed his ""progress towards enlightenment" (Amann, The Wordless Poem, 7). The reason Basho's poem is so significant is because it simply states an occurrence, which is one of essences of Zen. Masters of haiku have been asked to identify Zen, and often times they will state something as simple as a tree in bloom. This is because to explain Zen would be an exercise in futility. Mrs. Carey's haiku parallels this idea of Zen. Her haiku is simply stated. It is an everyday occurrence, yet it contains so much depth or resonance (one of Lori's goals). Also, this haiku is not so defined that others cannot relate to it. One of the hardest areas to take on in haiku is not becoming so descriptive that there is only one way to imagine a given haiku. This haiku is pleasantly open; the reader is free to decide the color and size of the salamander, also where did they feel this soft tickle? Was it the foot, the hand? In relation to Mrs. Carey's goal to have two subjects link together in a sort of push and pull, I have selected another of her published haiku in Mayfly. we say good-bye after the family visit scattered stars Here we see Carey connecting the ideas of her family and the stars. There is the idea of coming together as stated by the second line, but also the linking idea of everyone spreading apart and having their own lives far away from their relatives. This idea is taken even further by comparing it with the stars in the sky. Perhaps even linking to the Big Bang theory, that once the family was together and one large entity, but with time they burst apart to form their own lives away from one another. This gives the haiku a very complex meaning and sophisticated tone, even with its simplicity. This idea of linkage is seen again a submission from the World Haiku Association (http://www.worldhaiku.net): Thanksgiving my daughter levels the flour with my Mother's stroke The linkage here can be seen as more of a tradition. The passing of time is noted by the daughter's ability to level the flour. It is something that has been passed down through the generations, much as the way fathers give their sons heirlooms like pocket watches. Lori's inclusion of a setting (Thanksgiving) only makes the haiku more dramatic. Thanksgiving, like most annual holidays carries with it an idea of family traditions, which reinforces the mother-daughter connection. This haiku is also significant because it involves Lori's idea of creating a haiku that is descriptive but not so much that others cannot relate. The idea of family traditions is applicable to almost everyone in every corner of the world. While it may not be specifically the manner in which we level flour, it can be any number of things and Lori has left the haiku open enough for people to fill in their own memories. Even though the poem is easily identifiable to all, it still holds the right to be special and unique to a moment in Lori's life. Finally the last haiku that should be observed, is the one Mrs. Carey was kind enough to send with her reply to my answers: there should be fairies under this saucer magnolia evening mist I assume this haiku to be Mrs. Carey's signature haiku at the moment. Once again, one can see the linking of two ideas in the first two lines versus the last line. There is almost a child-like mysticism to this haiku. Like an old wives tale about faeries hiding from human eyes and the mischief they cause. This is excellently compared to an evening mist, which could be seen as a magical, or a whimsical moment. This haiku seems to suggest that Carey was trying to do, what she explained as ""adopting a haiku mind." Perhaps Carey had not written in a few days and the simple image of the magnolia combined with evening mist was enough to trigger an idea. Carey has chosen her subjects carefully, all seemingly light in imagination. A faerie, a saucer magnolia, and the mist are all light elements. The juxtaposition of the mist, which is so light, against the vast night is very catching and really completes the haiku. In conclusion, the ability to study Mrs. Carey in depth was a very broadening experience. Although it is a little ambitious to ask the artist about their muse, I believe that it allows the viewer to see the art for what it truly is. I was surprised to learn how similar Mrs. Carey's and my muses were. The idea of family, home, and nature as the three principle themes to writing greatly appeals to me. I think haiku makes these subjects possible because one does not have to go so far in depth in order for the world to relate. There is a real romantic quality about sharing one's most precious moments in the simplest of ways, so that others may fill in the blanks with their own precious moments. Works Cited Laliberte-Carey, Lori. Pinecone. (1999): pg. 1. August 1999 http://kmacqueen. home. mindspring.com/pinecone/essays. htm Laliberte-Carey, Lori. World Haiku Association. (1999): pg.1. http://www.worldhaiku.net/enci/us/l.laliberte-carff.htm Laliberte-Carey, Lori. "'Here and There." Frogpond. (1999): No. 2. http://kmacqueen. home. mindspring.com/pinecone/linked. htm Personal Interview with Mrs. Carey —Erin Osmus