BIBLIOTECA DE CARTE
TRAIECTORII FRAGILE *
FRAGILE TRAJECTORIES
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GOGYOHKA
Antologie – Antology
We are pleased to announce the print of the first romanian anthology of Gogyohka poems, the creator of the Nippon genre being Enta Kasukabi . After a long struggle of the group „beyond the retina”, to give „shape” and „structure” to the original form, without omitting the Romanian feeling, by the name „Fragile Trajectories„, its original name given by the poet Gavril Bale, and the honourable sub-title for „Contents”, „The pilgrims of shape”, conferred by our haijin Eugenia Paraschiv. The anthology appears in a bilingual edition, under the guidance and attentive coordination of the poet Maria Oprea, coordinator and administrator of haiku literary circle and other Nippon literary genres, at the publishing house „Grinta„, from Cluj-Napoca, 2018, manager, Gabriel Cojocaru.
THE BOOK appears like a glade of mountain forest, the image of the fresh inspiring Romanian green, represents through the chosen picture, „Sarmizegetusa”, a citadel of chosen pilgrims, like: Alexa Gavril Bale, Mirela Duma Bîlc, Sebastian Ciortea, Cristina Cristea, Ion Cuzuioc, Cristian Ovidiu Dinică, Ana Irina Drobot, Mona Gheorghe, Sandiana Ionela Gheorghe, Andreea Maftei, Mariana Babiuc Marica, Mirela Orban, Eugenia Paraschiv, Carmen Pasat, Lucia Cezara Platică, Ana Urma, Lăcrămioara Văsuianu Apostu, Adina Velcea, Florina Vulpoi, Costel Zăgan, Maria Oprea.
Each of the poets, after the „foreword”, has a few assumed thoughts about the new form of poem chosen in their creation, bringing through the line of the 5 verses, the frame of a moment from life, a thought of a journal, or just a simple expressive notice of the immediate reality, the emotion bursting at each passing row, even between the blank spaces, or with every letter properly chosen.
Not by chance, our coordinator, Maria Oprea, has chosen to bring the poem in Romanian language on the right side, and her own English version, on the left side. When a book is opened our eyes always intend to fall on the right side, just like you turn page after page, to enjoy the beauty of a good volume. The poetry itself is chosen from a multitude of writings and struggles, always under the guidance of the haijin Maria Oprea, to perfect the attributes of the genre, and the understanding of the Nippon poem. With firm steps, with an attentive care of their own verse and authentic emotion, the authors give shape to the new poetry, give strength to the word, through suggestion, through a symbol, revealing what it seems, at a first read, a simple saying. There, from its deepness, the word brings a double meaning to the surface, that is born from the expression of an unspoken interrogation, in the presence of one moment, of the ephemeral, or of nothingness.
But isn’t this what poetic language is all about? All the feelings written down are an assumption of the subjective,”me”. A five line poem means a strong impact and emotion. The routine, the common, the major point of interest, the observant and successive contemplation, the swallowed sorrow, or on the contrary, the chanted ballads in our native language, brings the version of an artistic act even in the modern contemporaneity, „under the dome of acacia branches” in „a pulsing light” of the mystery of night, „in the rustle taken by the wind” (Alexa Gavril Bâle).
„Through these poetries I return from the crowded every day landscape of time, to another one, in which life has a different meaning: more peaceful, gentle and clean.” a thought transmitted to us from the poet herself, Mirela Duma Bîlc, through the word of her poetry: „I wanted to write / beautiful and just words/about myself / and I drew lines/”.
In a peaceful atmosphere, simplicity is a tangible reality: „the wind brings/leaves and dandelions/on my table/I open my eyes/I see the bird.”(Sebastian Ciortea) If there is no spark of emotion, in the breeze of the wind, no matter how gentle, the poetry doesn’t grow wings, doesn’t fly.
„Gogyohka is an attempt to stop for a moment the wing beat of a runaway thought, to transmit in a few words, feelings of a unique intensity, like a photo camera”, is explaining to us, Cristina Cristea: „flowing / between two reeds/the moon/dreaming she is a bride/for eternity.”
Things have to be said exact and coherent, because they are a part of a concrete elaboration.
But the poetry has her destiny to belong to one nation. The writer Ion Cuzuioc affirms to us: „Gogyohka it’s both a creative concentration of an author, and a benefit for the reader that has a thirst for a refreshing poetry, with metaphors, epithets, imaginations, and why not with old sayings and proverbs of our kin, something that cannot be left unknown to Nippon poetry „– „kneeling / in front/of the candle / I came out/into the world.” The idea continues to flow under the signature of Cristian Ovidiu Dinică, first, any kind of skill is acquired in a collective wisdom, even from the ancient times: „Romanian people have at their disposal proverbs that are the spiritual quintessence of wisdom and tradition. They exist through the included metaphors a synthesis of life experience. Gogyohka resumes in five verses rich in spiritual experiences with a specific approach of each author of whose common purpose is emotion and wisdom.”–„angelic rain / like an end of a century/untainted in believes of God / tailored from paper / in the handmade classes.”
Thereby, we express freely our impressions, like something natural. Literature is the path to another life, lived in the same time with the reality of life.
„When I return to the Gogyohka poems written by me, it’s like I see a photo album of emotions I wrote in that moment.”, says Ana Irina Drobot. The haijin is coloring her writing with fragments of daylight, under the frame of a photo camera: „i could learn / so many things / from nature / so many colours / i have not imagined”.
„Although Gogyohka forgets to count syllables, the Nippon breathing is there to the fullest. From the Japanese I have learned about that ”ikigai” of theirs, like a secret of a creative and prolific longevity.”, as Mona Gheorghe confirms it, and her own poem might be a good exemple: „to sit naked, opened, / without demands / like a beach / waiting fora gift / from the sea.”
Gratitude, love and blessings are discovered by Diana Ionela Gheorghe in her poematic of five lines: „the glow in your eyes / unforgettable / it brings me in astral words / from where I wouldn’t return / the irises are/ forget-me-not flowers.” We find her under the pseudonym, Sandiana, in the pages of the anthology.
Under the careful guidance of Maria Oprea, from editing, to page layout, and until the final correction, the anthology, Fragile Trajectories, deserves its name, and imposes a clean and beautiful debut in literature. Often, it had a struggling battle against all odds, then it started from the beginning again, because, as far as I know Maria, she is an ambitious person, an innovator, a perfectionist.
Maybe the sleepless hours have measured the value, a short time in which every page grew into a journal of poetry. And it did earn its value. Through writing you can heal anything and, therefore, Maria invites her authors to write „as the saying goes, all has already been written a long time ago” – she feels and writes: „the little girl called / by a window / for the „Land of Sunshine”/ my feet / and the white daisies”. By her side, I also write, like the other 20 talented romanian authors, and I say to myself: „through the closed gate, through the wall / grass blades of green / you, life, how are you passing / through moments / to my eyes you give hope?” (Andreea Maftei).
Mariana Babiuc Marica is assuming the poem, as being a part of „ourselves”, „a Omni comprehensive haiku”– „you could / learn the alphabet / with which time is writing / continuously on my hand/ his poem.” While, the poet Mirela Orban is listening to her „silence”, she draws it in the peace of a poem, that surrounds its existence: „the fog swallows / the colors of the earth / in the white peace / an echo hits / the egg walls”. Even our friend Eugénia Paraschiv is caught by the amazement of existentialism, „how the shape, how the fate.” „What is the form? / I asked the tea / what do you have and what you don’t? / O, wordless tea / but you, cherry tree… / but the heart seeks; „slippage during sleep / drops / sounds of footsteps/ and turning green/ shadows bodies”. The five lines embrace the outline of the world, they share it in five senses, the sixth being the poetry, without taking in consideration the geographic appurtenance.
Maybe Eugenia’s idea of „pilgrimage” of shape was not far from us. Maybe this idea exists in us. We didn’t need another spirit. But we are continuing our literary path towards the knowledge of a new horizon, for an imposing modernity in the haiku literature. The path of the Japanese is always guided and inspired by their free spirit that lies in the gardens of sakura, in the pink petals that are perfuming all the senses. Only the eyes take a picture of this solemn beauty, breathing its poetry. The mind reaches infinity and places it in an ephemeral moment. We deserve to feel this way.” It is hard to write gogyohka, but it is a challenging and pleasant experience, that you can’t resist and once it’s in your blood, you can’t live without it.” Carmen Pasat – „I saw / a whole world / but I didn’t notice / the blade of gras / in front of my gate.” The poem of Carmen Pasat is a „Art of poetry” of this genre, approached by all of us, a jewel of this form. And since I’m referring to a jewel, I want to thank Dumitru Velea for the beautiful, designated name, a kind of acronym , of the rubric, literary circle, „Beyond the retina” , in his journal, „The Banquet”. Behold, „the Japanese poems” that we treasure, are in an honourable place.
The more we deepen in the lecture of this book, on one side in Romanian, on the other in English, in a version proposed by the translator, Sebastian Ciortea, we begin to notice more and more, a freedom of expression and a joy brought by a word. Practically, eliding the rule of the syllabic cipher, transforming the Tanka poem, in a free form, the authors become more secure in the poetic language, although the artistic message is allusive, like the Nippon spirit requests. Concrete, Lucia Cezara Platică explains to us that, „this form of Nippon poem…represents the most flexible form to express my deepest thoughts and feelings, thus giving the heart and mind, the nourishment and the freedom that the soul needs, to truly feel free. “And for a lyrical example, we quote the verses of the poet and haijin, Ana Urma, „free in the birdcage / only the song of the bird / through the trellis of thoughts / the words are flying / fulfilling the purpose of a paper”. Followed by Lăcrămioara Văsuianu Apostu, with a poem that measures the poetic force of the minimalism: „the stars are reflecting / on the water shine / and the dance of the swan/is ending/upon the gaze of the moon.”
For the poet, Adina Velcea, „gogyohka is the free union with the Nippon spirit that she enjoys: I write spontaneously, without restraints, I don’t calculate anything; I let the soul to write. Or better said, Gogyohka writes about me. „Her poems bring the necessary clearness for the mind and soul, although, she simply says, the fight with the liberating daemon of emotion and of poetic coherence is not an easy task to entice: „a pointless fight / sprang among the leaves / while from the blue / of the forget-me-not-flower / I was harvesting blood”. Florina Vulpoi, sees actually, in „another window, the peace that waits the capture of a moment through the glances. One more breath – „only the stairways / that are climbing / into my silence /are guiding me / to the blade of grass”. The writer, Costel Zăgan is creating his territory, in „a citadel”, unitary, unbinds himself of any kind of reluctance, or aspect, that could jeopardize his world of authentic poetry, and he identifies himself with nature, and with the natural Romanian word, bringing our culture in blank pages, in a most unnatural way. An extraordinary example is his Gogyohka poem: „wounded vulture/ at the traffic light / spring goes on / and the angels / towards the green”.
Fragile trajectories are opening a road still uncertain, for Romania, in search of an appurtenance to a language not so easy to practice. The Nippon spirit is increasing our sight and hearing, from a concrete of brute emotion, unchiseled by any kind of fiction. But to give it form, image, and context, in only five lines, so easily achieved by the Japanese, with a content of authenticity of a message, decoded by a moment of nothingness, by an ephemeral and austere moment, for a spirit unacquainted with this genre of poetry. The poet is closer to the assumed poetical truth.
We hope that this book will receive a positive feedback from all the readers. We want to congratulate all the collaborators, the writers, all the people who were interested that this volume could be accomplished in the world of literature. Also, we want to express our gratitude to Maria Oprea, the project coordinator, president of the literary circle, „Beyond the retina”, that gathered all of us between the pages of another beautiful beginning, that will last through reading.
Translation by Sebastian Ciortea
https://en.calameo.com/read/0003100515400804ac999
* Recenzie de Andreea Maftei publicată în Revista Banchetul, Revista Fundației Culturale „Ion D. Sîrbu” Petroșani, Anul III, nr. 34-35-36 (octombrie, noiembrie, decembrie), 2018
In ziua de azi si sa-ti faci timp sa citesti e tot o arta. Necesita multa vointa sa te rupi zilnic de la treburi, sa uiti o clipa de toate si sa te afunzi intr-o carte. Candva reciteam o carte pana se rupea... Ce vremuri!
RĂSPUNDEȚIda, cred si eu :) pe vremuri lumea citea mai mult, nu aveau tehnologie atat de avansata si poate ca aveau mai mult timp pentru sufletele si cultura lor...
ooo, am citit biblioteci intregi..acum mai greu...timpul are alta masura :(