Walking With the Wind: Poems (Voices and Visions in Film, 2)

Rating:
Summary: Not haiku ... acute visual perception translated into verse
Review: The translators of this work provide a very astute introduction to the poetry placing it in perspective with regards to Kiarostami's cinematography, the Persian poetic tradition and 20th century innovation. Through this they guide the reader to listen for the space between objects compared, to observe the "grand scheme" implied in the particular, to note how the "obvious" is unobserved and surprising.

An example from the introduction of this last point: "... a sycamore leaf / falls softly / and rests / on its own shadow"

The poems are like haiku in that they are minimalist and nature based. However, the sensibility of the cosmic purpose present in these poems differs from the sensibility of cosmic nowness of the (Zen) haiku tradition.

An example: "... the clock /reads seven minutes to seven" reads in these poems as "seven" intentionally invoking cultural connotations. In haiku, it would more likely read as factual observation ... enlightened observation, perhaps, but observation.

The book is beautifully printed, Persian and English side by side, one poem per page. The poems must be read slowly, allowing the visual image time to form in your mind... but what perfect visual images ... images to savour and explore. My one regret ... I cannot read the Persian in this bilingual edition.