Thursday, February 27, 2014

Haiku Garden: Mary Lee Hahn


Albert Anker (1831-1910), Switzerland

 I hope your mom packed you a snack...

It's story time at the Haiku Garden!  


Make yourself comfortable while our special guest, Mary Lee Hahn, spins her magic-- a retelling of a common fairy tale in 17-syllable morsels: a Little Red Riding Hoodku.


Walter Crane (1845-1915), England



impudent mother
sending your daughter alone
into the forest

forest has safe paths
but evil lurks in shadows
deceives innocence


Carl Offtendinger (1829-1889), Germany




innocence sees sun
hears birds' sweet trilling
leaves path for flowers

flowers lead the girl 
into the heart of darkness
cause her to forget

forget your true path
even in the name of beauty
invite disaster 

Carl Larsson (1853-1919), Sweden
 
Isabel Naftel (1832-1912), U.K.

  disaster awaits
  at her grandmother's cottage
  deception, disguise












Gustave Doré (1832-1883), France

disguised as grandma
evil enchants, seduces,
takes her in one gulp

© Marjolaine Leray, 2005.  All rights reserved.

gulp! one wolf belly -
two humans inside still whole -
quite improbable

improbably, too:
the power of good triumphs
huntsman saves them both

German social welfare stamp series, 1960

both spring forth unharmed
(and certainly clean as well)
from dark into light

© The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust.  All rights reserved.

© 2014 Mary Lee Hahn.  All rights reserved


Mary Lee came up with this brilliant not-so-little ditty as part of January's Month of Poetry challenge, organized by Australian poet and children's author, Kathryn Apel.  Many thanks, Mary Lee, for bringing it with you to the Haiku Garden today!

It's said that the best teachers are also the best learners.  Mary Lee is certainly proof of that theory.  I have so much respect for Mary Lee, not only because she is able to wear teacher, blogger, and poet hats simultaneously (and wear them well), but because, for her, that is never enough.  She makes it a priority to seek out new ways to develop her skills and talents in all of these areas.  It seems like she's always doing one kind of challenge or another in order to stretch her limits, expand her horizons, or somehow better herself.  Fortunately for the rest of us, we often benefit too! 

Take the safe path to Mary Lee at A Year of Reading, and then to Poet! Poet!, where former Haiku Garden guest, Anastasia Suen, is hosting today's Poetry Friday Roundup. 


32 comments:

  1. Wow! Very clever! And I love the accompanying artwork.

    Mary Lee has taught me much about blogging. And books. And poetry. And friendship. And life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What a wonderful compliment to Mary Lee, Carol. I don't doubt it for a moment.

      Delete
  2. I love all those artist interpretations of the tale, and, of course, Mary Lee's take on the story! Nice post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you liked it, Diane. I was also amazed at the number of different countries that the artists represented.

      Delete
  3. Love the repeated word/thread that Mary Lee uses in her poems. Thanks both of you for sharing this 'new' story. The art is fantastic too-that 'wolf-full'!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, isn't that great how she ties the story together with the repeated word pattern? Thanks Linda.

      Delete
  4. This is so neat! I am now imagining picture books of fairy tales retold in series of haiku like this. What a clever and well-done project. As for Mary Lee, I, too, deeply admire her talent, her work ethic, and her generosity. She has taught much to many - "...the power of good triumphs."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right, Amy-- tremendous potential here! We'll call it the Hahn form.

      Delete
  5. Fabulous! I love the poems and the gorgeous pictures. In a way I think the first one tells the whole story. Though I wouldn't want to miss--disguised as grandma/evil enchants, seduces/takes her in one gulp.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great observation, Liz! That first stanza really does pack a punch.

      Delete
  6. Wow, my first hoodku. So creative! Love all the art, too. ML is so multi-talented, always an inspiration. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My first too, Jama! But I suspect it won't be the last. :)

      Delete
  7. Thank you all for your kind words. Thank YOU most of all, Michelle, for honoring my words with such beautiful illustrations! They really make the poem come to life in a new way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's what you get for being such an inspiration, Mary Lee! You can come back anytime. :)

      Delete
  8. Great description of Mary Lee! My favorite hoodku:

    forget your true path
    even in the name of beauty
    invite disaster

    Love how deflated the wolf is in the Gorey illo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, Tabatha-- I love how beauty and foreboding walk hand in hand in that one.

      Delete
  9. Terrific "hoodkus" and terrific illustrations. I love the way the haikus are linked with repeating words--each a new step in the story.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Buffy. As I mentioned in an earlier comment, I think the Hahn form has been born!

      Delete
  10. Me too me too me too! The haiku take shifts the pace of the story and changes the landscape we thought we knew. The variety of illustrations is absolutely fascinating.

    And this, Michelle, is why you (and ML) deserve the Sunshine Award! I have nominated you and you can read about how it works at my post today: http://myjuicylittleuniverse.blogspot.com/2014/02/sunshine-part-2.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. That was so fun! I like how each haiku stands alone, and they tell the story together, too. "gulp! one wolf belly/two humans inside still whole/quite improbable" made me laugh. The pictures were wonderful accompaniment. Thank you Michelle and Mary for sharing this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, Karin. The humor toward the end was priceless. I also liked "both spring forth unharmed/(and certainly clean as well)."

      Delete
  12. I love the detail "certainly clean as well" -- a fairy tale indeed. :-) A wonderful collaboration today, you two!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Keri. I think Mary Lee and Edward Gorey must have been on the same wavelength. Grandma and Red are looking rather pristine in that last picture!

      Delete
  13. Hi there Michelle thank you for sharing Mary Lee's poetry. Love Edward Gorey's and Walter Crane's version of Red Riding Hood. I was fascinated by both the imagery and the poetry and reminded me of Arthur Rackham's very eerie and disturbing artwork of Red Riding Hood. Have you seen that one yet? I have just written a review of the Grimm and Rackham collaboration published in 1909. The Rackham artwork ould make for a wonderful addition to your list here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So true, Myra. Rackham's artwork is wonderfully eerie! There were a few others I wish I could have included as well. It's amazing how much Red has inspired artists around the world. Have you already posted your review? Can you leave a link?

      Delete
  14. Interesting way to retell the story...Mary Lee's poetry distills the plot into thoughtful vignettes, and the illustrations match wonderfully!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Matt-- it was fun to explore all the different art possibilities.

      Delete
  15. Amazing collection! Thanks so much for sharing Mary Lee's work, Michelle! This haiku captured the wolf perfectly:
    "disguised as grandma
    evil enchants, seduces,
    takes her in one gulp"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Bridget. That's one of my favorite stanzas too!

      Delete
  16. This is lovely, Mary Lee and Michelle! And the accompanying illustrations are wonderful, too. I especially love the German stamp! Thanks so much for sharing these! = )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't that stamp great? It's the only image I found of the hunter posed with his pair of scissors... can't imagine why. ;)

      Delete