Haiga Moments: Pens & Lens

Ignatius Fay
Raymond Belcourt (2008)
ISBN 9780980957204
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views (1/09)

 

The author has presented readers with a form of Japanese poetry called Haiga, which essentially is poetry with illustrations. These illustrations can be drawn or done in photography. Haiga poetry is somewhat limited in the number of syllables one can use, so upon initially beginning this book, readers may have difficulty understanding the musings.

Having been used to reading longer poems and verses in my life, the reviewer had some difficulty understanding this use of Haiga. The verses really seemed more of comments or musings of the author depending on what situation he was in. It appears that through some of these verses the author was hoping that the readers would be able to experience some type of emotion and further contemplate their meanings.

The photographs in this book were exceptionally well done. Their presence gave one peace and a stress-free view of the world. At the end of the book, the author did give explanations as to what he was doing at the time he came up with the verses. He did state that he did not normally give this information out, as he wanted readers to develop their own perception.

The reviewer believes that one has to develop a taste for Haiga poetry. “Haiga Moments: Pens & Lens” by Ignatius Fay is a quick book to read, but difficult to follow if you don’t understand Haiga type of poetry.

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