frQg
     pQnd
     plQp

There was a reference to bpNichol’s interpretations of Basho’s haiku
(Poem #23) in a Karl Young commentary that Thomas quoted when he ran “Landscape I” (Poem #497) ages and ages ago, and that is why, when I came upon this quirky little poem a few days back without an author name under it, I guessed that it was possibly by bpNichol. Some fairly strenuous googling later, I found that this was indeed the case. (Thanks to Minstrels, I can now identify poets automagically! Whoo!)

On a more serious note, I think this is one of the best examples of visual poetry that I have seen. The first thing it reminded me of was an I-Ching hexagram, an association that is somehow appropriate but not obvious outside the context of this poem. It is a fine tribute to Nichol’s skill that he makes this association possible – any improvisation that triggers a new association is really a work of literature in itself, and bpNichol adds substantially to Basho’s original haiku when he arranges it this way visually. I think.

As an aside, it is my opinion that when a poet tries to experiment dramatically with form (like bpNichol or E. E. Cummings often do), an additionally radical choice of content as well can often confuse the reader and rend an otherwise brilliant poem somewhat incomprehensible. Others may disagree, but my own humble opinion is that I probably wouldn’t have been as impressed with this poem if it hadn’t been a variant on that most famous haiku of all time, Basho’s ‘Old Pond…’. With the possible exception of Lewis Carroll’s masterworks, parodies are nicer when they’re parodies of well-known themes.

This poem also holds a certain amount of personal significance for me, having gone through five years of college at IIT Madras with the nickname ‘Q’, as a result of which it is now a name that more people know me by now than my real one. Hmmm… maybe I’ll make this poem the theme song of my life :).

- AjitQ