22. haikai no renga ~ a new approach

“I know there is strength in the differences between us and I know there is comfort where we overlap.”
—Ani DiFranco

Community has been the blueprint of confluence since its creation, from the selection of a small group of Fellows to monthly Fellow meetings to collaborative events. This year, the editorial team decided to take a new approach to the collective writing process by adding the opportunity to participate in a renku. Historically called haikai no renga, renku is a traditional Japanese collaborative writing activity that involves participants taking turns to write haikai links, some which have a specific seasonal reference. In each round of 36 links (kasen), alternating 3, then 2, then 3 lines, the participants compete by sending their links to the sabaki, or group leader, who selects one of the submitted links as the next piece of the poem.

Traditionally completed in one sitting and by one sabaki, our confluence renku was held virtually, led by two sabaki (editors Matt Snyder and Rowan Beckett Minor), and was open to former and current confluence Fellows. This renku occurred over six different countries and three different sessions to accommodate the various time zones of those participating, and took place March 7 - April 12.

This experience was educational, enriching, insightful, rewarding, and allowed participants to truly experience a community that extends beyond the computer screen. We are ecstatic for the opportunity to share this new adventure with you!

Rowan Beckett Minor, confluence associate editor

Tourist Season
note: the authors' initials are in parenthesis beside each link

first picnic
the blanket's frowns
erased by petals (DG)

snowmelt everywhere
mud from my clogs (VP)

butterfly lovers
complimenting the old lady
for her garden (DKB)

white hair
a crown of braids (MW)

bone moon -
the distant call
of jackals (SR)

Samhain howl
bare branches and my banshee (CMF)

growing chill
tourist season
for the ghosts (CB)

punched train ticket
and other memories (SR)

spiked soda
my prom date leans
closer (CMF)

matching her daughter’s
love language (AQR)

dead girl
all her Facebook friends
suddenly alive (VP)

animal tracks disappearing
into the fog (DKB)

veiled moon
another
wildfire burns (CMF)

family reunion
the scent of mesquite (DG)

worn teddy bear
in the basket
the grandfather clock ticks (NG)

vacation tanning
on the widow's walk (DG)

hatless weeding
am I pinker
than the impatiens? (CB)

black patent mary janes
reflect my Easter dress (MW)

jam-packed
stubborn curls
under a graduation cap (CB)

five star restaurant
she orders butter noodles (DG)

her lips
against the spoon
make the bill worth it (CB)

saying goodbye
garlic breath passed between us (NG)

kept
for all these years
the scarf he left behind (MW)

first snow
the trouble of saying no (NG)

tiny tantrum
tipping her dish
from the highchair (DG)

teacups flying
cat in the dollhouse (CB)

praying lauds
the whisps
of incense (NG)

the tumble of flames
another ceasefire (CMF)

harvest moon
the reaper comes
for the leaves (CB)

Dia de Los Muertos
only one sugar skull (NG)

fierce wind
the maple begins to show
its bones (DG)

museum hall
do whales gawk at our remains? (CB)

pet store
yet again
a new goldfish (DG)

bar room brawl
always the same fight (CMF)

columbine
the shots
forgotten (MW)

empty chrysalis
of a monarch (NG)

Authors (in order of appearance): David Green (USA), Vandana Parashar (India), Deborah Karl-Brandt (Germany), Margaret Walker (USA), Sam Renda (South Africa), Colleen M. Farrelly (USA), Cynthia Bale (Canada), Anthony Q. Rabang (the Philippines), Nicky Gutierrez (USA)

Sabaki: Matt Snyder (USA) and Rowan Beckett Minor (USA)