Basho-ren basora bazoaz... (renkuaz eta haikuaz)

Abstract

This article introduces renku, a traditional Japanese form of linked poetry similar in some respects to Basque oral poetry (bertsolaritza). After a short description, and by translating the initial stanzas of “Winter shower” (1684), written by Bashõ in collaboration with other poets, we provide an example of classical renku composition. Some guidelines are proposed in order to write renku in Basque, in the hope that this exercise will promote both poetic skills and the underlying social practices. We also underline a few features of haiku, a shorter and better known form that originated from renku practice; examples are taken both from Basho and from modern Western writers, some of them Basque, such as J. F. Azkona and J. K. Igerabide. Eventually, we discuss the uses of these Japanese techniques with Debra Kang Dean, an American poet whose books show a strong influence from Eastern poetry.