Lishanu • an interlingual haikai journal Contents: by genre • by
language • by author
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Lishanu Lishanu is a new online haikai journal, presenting work across the haikai range - haiku and renku, haibun and haiga - with a significant difference: the journal is interlingual. This means that every item is published bilingually - in English and at least one other language. At a time when freedom of expression is under threat from more than one quarter, it is increasingly important to foster the voice of the 'other': to take a step outside our own parochial boundaries (regardless of how big our parish), and breathe in the heady air of foreign, even conflicting, approaches to haikai poetry, art and life. In this issue, we present work in some 18 languages, from Latin and Hebrew to Irish and Tagalog; pieces translated into English, pieces translated from English, and truly interlingual works composed simultaneously in two languages. Poets who are well-known among their own language group but little-known outside it are here waiting to be read and enjoyed. Lishanu means 'tongue' in the language of ancient Babylon, where, according to the story of the Tower of Babel, all humanity once 'spoke with one tongue'. Among the journal's chief goals is to foster intercommunal understanding and communication among haikai poets and readers from differing linguistic backgrounds. It is a space for us to read and share haikai from divergent environments, breaching linguistic and cultural barriers. Lishanu can be a place where we all learn from each other, as every exposure to new approaches and styles can only serve to stimulate us, as poets and readers, and to increase our understanding of each other. It is our hope that Lishanu can be a vehicle promoting haikai in a truly international way. I would like to take this opportunity to thank not only the other members of the editorial board for their hard work, but also those fellow-poets and friends to whom I found I could readily turn for advice and assistance in the preparation of this issue. Norman Darlington
* * *
What some people have said about Lishanu:
Contents: by genre
• by language • by
author
|
