renga

Adventure 339 ~ The Big Renga Project [Day 5]

/ intrepidjane

Betsy really raised the renga temperature yesterday with a smokin’ hot second verse on the theme of love. The options for today’s renju, Kate Gold, remained alluringly wide for today’s verse 😛 . Kate could have written a third ,and final, 5-7-5 verse on the theme of love. She could have invoked the Moon Rule and started of the theme of autumn. She could have written a verse about summer, winter, shores, mountains, dwellings of travel.

Kate plumped for the Moon Rule and this is what she came up with :

Strength of waxing moon
pulls the tide ever higher
as distant peaks glow

To invoke autumn, you must use the kigo word “moon”. Kate shows a link with Betsy’s by mirroring the swell of hearts with the swell and pull of tides. She shows contrast within the verse by inviting us to compare an image of the sea with an image of mountains. She shows a shift in direction by pulling us back into nature.

So, what does this mean for tomorrow? Well, it means one thing : autumn. Once autumn has been started, at least another two verses on the them must follow.

Oh – and I almost forgot. Something brilliant happened yesterday : one of our poets (Caroline) was interview on BBC Radio 3 about the Big Renga Project. How brilliant is that!

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 338 ~ The Big Renga Project [Day 4]

/ intrepidjane

After Flemming’s invocation of the Love Rule yesterday, today’s renju, Betsy Anderson, has very limited options! Betsy must continue the theme of love (the Love Rule has an attached continuity rule : when love is mentioned at least one more consecutive verse on the theme must be created) but she cannot mention the word love. She must also show a shift in direction.

Here’s how she got on with her 7-7 verse :

A longed-for kiss, light and chaste :
heart swells, and colour rises.

Pretty impressive , right? We’re in no doubt that we’re still on the subject of love – and she turned up the temperature too. We’ve gone from crystal coldness to the heat of passion (“colour rises”), and that’s a clever change of direction too 🙂 .

Hmmm. So what does this mean for tomorrow’s verse? Well it means that there could be a third and final verse on love. Or, the Moon Rule (autumn) could get invoked. Or it might mean a return to winter or a visit to summer, dwellings, mountains or shores!

You can hear the latest news from today’s episode of The Big Renga Round-Up.

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 336 ~ The Big Renga Project [Day 2]

/ intrepidjane

I posted the hokku (the first verse) of our renga yesterday, and, from now on, it’s my job to be a diligent sōshō . The  sōshō makes sure that the renga is completed and that the renju (renga poets) adhere to the complex rules.

Verse 2 should be in 7-7 format, and Leslie (the second poet) had lots of options. She could have continued with winter, or moved on to autumn, or onto love, or onto some of the minor (but allowable) themes such a summer, travel, mountains and shores. The only topic off-limits today was spring (you can’t mention spring until after the 8th verse!).

She needed to use a kigo word (to identify the season) and not repeat any previous images. She needed to demonstrate some kind of link with verse one, but also a shift in direction.

Leslie stuck with winter and this is what she came up with :

Lone wolf sings a lullaby :
bear dreams the new icy day.

So, there is continuity because we are still in winter, and there is a shift : the temperature just dropped! Leslie also introduces animals into the image and a she alludes to hibernation too.

You can get the full low-down on today’s episode of The Big Renga Round-Up.

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 335 ~ The Big Renga Project [Day 1]

/ intrepidjane

Today sees the launch of the Big Renga Project.  Over the next 25 days, 13 poets will be working together to create 25 linked verses. The first stanza (the hokku) is in and the game is on!

The first stanza was my responsibility, and this is what I wrote :

Prickly ghost blankets
spread out of winter shadows :
butter melts on toast.

I’m running a daily TV show throughout the project to give you the full low-down on all the renga news. Every day, I’ll be explaining the rules and you’ll get to see how the poem is growing (and why it’s growing the way it is!) You can watch today’s show here :

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT