1. The winning poem will be published, together with a detailed critique, in the 2013 issue of Journal of Renga & Renku. All entries will be considered as content for inclusion in the journal.
2. A small (and yet to be selected) prize will be sent by way of congratulation to the sabaki or one designated participant of the winning poem.
I hereby confirm that I have obtained consent from all of the participating poets to enter this poem in the 2012 JRR Renku Contest, and to offer it for publication by JRR.
4. There is no need to list the names or number of poets who contributed to the poem. We’ll contact you later for this information if we decide to publish.
1. Evidence of serious literary intent and imaginative daring.
2. Evidence of familiarity with renku and with the kasen form. Sites such as renkureckoner.co.uk are good places for review or for gaining basic knowledge, and translations of traditional kasen as well as EL kasen are recommended.
3. Success in achieving multivalent linking. Above all, verses must work as 1) a single verse and also as a new, transformed verse in relation to 2) the previous verse and 3) the following verse. Readers need be able to concretely feel the way identical words have different nuances or mean different things in relation to different verses.
4. Success in using moon, blossom, seasonal, love, and other non-seasonal verses to create an overall sequence rhythm and tone. Variations for standard images will be accepted. The moon, for example, may be replaced by other celestial objects if the change is stated in a note.
5. Success in creating an introduction in verses 1-6, full-bodied, dynamic development in 7–30, and a smooth, quick return to the material world in 31-36.
6. A kasen is long enough to create its own world. If successful, it affects the way a reader returns to and experiences his or her own daily world.
7. Traditional monotheme kasen on a single topic (blossoms, love, Amida Buddha, etc.) will be accepted, though monotony must be avoided.
8. Both group and solo (dokugin) kasen will be accepted. Solo kasen should show evidence of the writer’s ability to hear otherness in her or his own voices.
Why a one-form renku contest?
b) encourage poets to explore more fully the possibilities of one form, and to appreciate what others do with it.
The name Kasen means ‘Poetic Immortals’ and refers to the Chinese and Japanese practice of creating ideal groups of thirty six artistic forbears. Prior to the establishment of the Basho school formalised linked verse was generally written as one hundred or fifty verse sequences. By the time of Basho’s death the majority of haikai sequences were Kasen.
Though he is known as the father of haiku the Kasen renku and haibun [mixed poetry and prose] were Matsuo Basho’s preferred vehicles for expression. It therefore comes as no surprise that the Kasen is rather good.
Seasons recur. [The major seasons of spring and autumn] may appear for up to five verses in a row. There are two spring blossom verses. There are three moon verses, two of which are generally autumn. Love appears as a fixed topic twice, potentially for an extended run. The structure of the Kasen clearly demonstrates that fine writing has more to do with periodicity and interlocking cycles, with tonal control, evolution and recontextualisation.
Without clear vision and leadership the twelve verses of a development side can rapidly become amorphous. The Kasen too takes time to complete. But the Kasen was and remains essential to the development of all aspects of excellence in renku. A person who limits themselves always to the shorter contemporary forms is unlikely to develop the highest level of artistry that the genre permits.
Want to learn more about renku and kasen?