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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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
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| Carl Larsson (1853-1919), Sweden |
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| Isabel Naftel (1832-1912), U.K. |
disaster awaits
at her grandmother's cottage
deception, disguise
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| Gustave Doré (1832-1883), France |
disguised as grandma
evil enchants, seduces,
takes her in one gulp
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| © 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
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| German social welfare stamp series, 1960 |
both spring forth unharmed
(and certainly clean as well)
from dark into light
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| © 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.
Wow! Very clever! And I love the accompanying artwork.
ReplyDeleteMary Lee has taught me much about blogging. And books. And poetry. And friendship. And life.
What a wonderful compliment to Mary Lee, Carol. I don't doubt it for a moment.
DeleteI love all those artist interpretations of the tale, and, of course, Mary Lee's take on the story! Nice post.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it, Diane. I was also amazed at the number of different countries that the artists represented.
DeleteLove 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'!
ReplyDeleteYes, isn't that great how she ties the story together with the repeated word pattern? Thanks Linda.
DeleteThis 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."
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Amy-- tremendous potential here! We'll call it the Hahn form.
DeleteFabulous! 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.
ReplyDeleteGreat observation, Liz! That first stanza really does pack a punch.
DeleteWow, my first hoodku. So creative! Love all the art, too. ML is so multi-talented, always an inspiration. :)
ReplyDeleteMy first too, Jama! But I suspect it won't be the last. :)
DeleteThank 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!
ReplyDeleteThat's what you get for being such an inspiration, Mary Lee! You can come back anytime. :)
DeleteGreat description of Mary Lee! My favorite hoodku:
ReplyDeleteforget your true path
even in the name of beauty
invite disaster
Love how deflated the wolf is in the Gorey illo.
I agree, Tabatha-- I love how beauty and foreboding walk hand in hand in that one.
DeleteTerrific "hoodkus" and terrific illustrations. I love the way the haikus are linked with repeating words--each a new step in the story.
ReplyDeleteThanks Buffy. As I mentioned in an earlier comment, I think the Hahn form has been born!
DeleteMe 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.
ReplyDeleteAnd 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
Aw thanks, Heidi! What an honor. :)
DeleteThat 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.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Karin. The humor toward the end was priceless. I also liked "both spring forth unharmed/(and certainly clean as well)."
DeleteI love the detail "certainly clean as well" -- a fairy tale indeed. :-) A wonderful collaboration today, you two!
ReplyDeleteThanks 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!
DeleteHi 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.
ReplyDeleteSo 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?
DeleteInteresting way to retell the story...Mary Lee's poetry distills the plot into thoughtful vignettes, and the illustrations match wonderfully!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Matt-- it was fun to explore all the different art possibilities.
DeleteAmazing collection! Thanks so much for sharing Mary Lee's work, Michelle! This haiku captured the wolf perfectly:
ReplyDelete"disguised as grandma
evil enchants, seduces,
takes her in one gulp"
Thanks, Bridget. That's one of my favorite stanzas too!
DeleteThis 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! = )
ReplyDeleteIsn'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