Unravelling – Anthology of the Redthread Haiku Sangha 1997–2019

A Book review

Of the art forms that are associated with Zen the writing of haiku is the most accessible. Surely anyone can write a brief three-line verse which pointedly does not rhyme. But it is not as easy as that; it requires a motivation to express what is arising and a self at ease to allow the clarity of that expression. The Redthread Sangha is a group of Zen practitioners who between themselves have shared their writing of haiku and haibuns, with our own sangha providing a number of members. After many years of joint practice they have now produced this anthology in which, rather than ‘unravelling’, they pull together the best of their work.

In haiku there is a ‘showing’ – a ‘showing’ in which there is absence – of what? Of the writer? Of the reader? Of the object? Of the intention? And then after its reading just nothing is required. In this anthology the different authors, as one would expect, offer differing styles and foci of their showing. Consequently, in its reading, there is no journey to follow, only the intimate meeting of several people in their expressive endeavours. But, as one would anticipate in a collection of haiku by meditators, there is the quiet simplicity that is a feature of the contemplative perspective, with many of the pieces referring to retreat and other contexts familiar to New Chan Forum readers:

 Faded moths
hang in cobwebs
– North barn ghosts
Jane Spray

Amongst the appendices is an excellent piece by the late Ken Jones on guidelines for writing haiku and, given this instruction and the variety of work that can be consulted in this volume, in its own way the book offers an opportunity to try out a composition and take inspiration from its authors. It is indeed a volume that induces thoughtfulness and reflection. And the title: well it comes from a verse in the contribution from Noragh Jones entitled Death Haiku – For Ken:

funeral tea
Ken’s ghost flitting, knitting up
our unravelling selves
Noragh Jones

And there is a contribution from Ken himself:

Small noise in the empty house
something shifting
to how it needs to be
Ken Jones

Unravelling: Anthology of the Redthread Haiku Sangha 1997–2019, Edited by Jim Norton. The book can be obtained by contacting the publishers: info@albapublishing.com