Re: A form of poetry - "octricle"

In a message dated 11/02/2002 06.57.42 PM, Adrian quotes me & writes:

>> Niceness. Your octricle form vaguely reminds me of Chinese _ch'an_
>> poetry, which influenced Japanese poetry.
>> Interestin' that you have creatively assimilated some Asian
>> sensibilities - consciously and/or sub- (well, afterall you are in
>> Australia, right? & the 20th Century has been called the "Pacific
>> Century"...).
>
>I'm really interested in what you say here.
>
>The only Asian poetry I'm familiar with is haiku (I've written a few),
>and here I agree that it's similar in the sense of being conductive to
>meditative verse about simple, isolated events (a difference is that
>an octricle places more emphasis on movement/progression rather than a
>photographic moment), and also in the sense of utilising rhyme or
=> In a message dated 11/02/2002 07.09.57 PM, Adrian corrects himself:

>NOT utilising, dammit! :-)

>metre yet still having a structure into which the poet must mould the
>thought (by contrast, European poetry tends to *either* emphasise
>rhyme and metre, as in traditional verse, *or* have very little
>structure at all, as in free verse - what we're talking about here is
>structure but a different kind).
    All AFAIK true.

>It's nice to have someone of Asian background confirm that there's a
>connection with Asian poetry (I had, in fact, sort of wondered what
>the great Japanese poets like Basho would have made of it)
    Probably be intrigued by it's creative possibilities... afterall Basho
wasn't exactly a conservative stick-in-the-mud type ;)

>but it sounds like you might be seeing more subtle similarities than I'm able
>to.
>So, starting from what I've described above, please tell me, how
>do you think it resembles and/or differs from Asian poetry?
    Mayhaps cuz a lotta Chinese poetry has many more forms and themes than
Japanese Zen-influenced haiku ;)

>(And what is this _ch'an_?)
    _Ch'an_ , Chinese Taoist-influenced Buddhism, is what later became
Japanese _Zen_ Buddhism.

>> > Good word?
>
>> I can't get my brainie around it too well (the surreal image of a
>> frozen octopus - wearing a surgical mask - impaled on a stick keeps
>> poppin' into my mind's eyeball ;)
>
>I'll keep it as a working title, at least. Then again, if you think
>the Asian resonance is strong enough, then could it use an
>Asian-derived name, perhaps? -- just an idea.
    How about a con/auxlang-ish name?

>(BTW, is your frozen, impaled, surgical octopus prophecising the future as
in >oracle?)

    Oh no, jeepers creepers you ... now I can't get the super-surrealistic
image of a frozen, impaled, surgical octopus tossing Chinese coins to consult
the _I Ching_ outta my poor lil brainies... & it is right before MY BEDTIME,
ya bleedin' Aussie ;P~

Hanuman Zhang
---------------------

    "Those at the top of the social order are apt to preach benevolence and
righteousness to those at the bottom. Yet those at the top have typically
stolen their position from others. They are the greatest thieves, because
they have stolen the greatest amount of land and other property. So words
about benevolence and righteousness are usually the fruit of robbery." -
Chuang Tzu/Zhuangzi

"O wise humanity, terribly wise humanity! Of thee I sing. How inscrutable is
the civilization where men toil and work and worry their hair gray to get a
living and forget to play!" - Lin Yutang, _The Importance of Living_

    "...So what is life for? Life is for beauty and substance and sound and
colour; and even those are often forbidden by law [socio-cultural
conventions]. . . . Why not be free and live your own life? Why follow other
people's rules and live to please others?..." ~Lieh-Tzu/Liezi, Taoist Sage
(c. 450- c. 375 BCE)

    "Logic, organization, government should all be forgotten inasmuch as they
begin themselves by making us forget the essential. ... We should learn to
live without working. That would mean we would have to live creatively."
        ~~~ John Cage, composer/thinker (1912-1992)

    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more
violent.  It takes a touch of genius --- and a lot of courage --- to move in
the opposite direction."
 - E. F. Schumacker

=> To Thine Own Self Be True <=