Her sharp knife quick
to peel, core, slice the red apple
we talk of childhood fears
how I blocked my ears
against the fairy tale
First Prize, 2012 Tanka Society of America International Tanka Contest
Carol Purington
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
她鋒利的刀快速地
將紅蘋果去皮，去核，切片
我們談論童年的恐懼
我如何擋住了耳朵
拒聽童話
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
她锋利的刀快速地
将红苹果去皮，去核，切片
我们谈论童年的恐惧
我如何挡住了耳朵
拒听童话
Bio Sketch
Carol
Purington is at home in the hills of western Massachusetts. She writes
about seasonal and emotional rhythms, exploring connections between the
worlds inside us and the worlds our bodies interpret. Her works have
appeared in English-language haiku/tanka publications, both print and
online, and they have won recognition in international contests. She has
published three books of tanka: The Trees Bleed Sweetness, A Pattern for This Place, and Gathering Peace.
below is the judge's comment, which can be accessed at https://sites.google.com/site/tankasocietyofamerica/tsa-contest/winners-and-judges-comments/2002-tsa-international-tanka-contest-winners
ReplyDeleteIn this tanka, we were drawn to the juxtaposition of a very specific and quite violent action in the present that seems to bring up a discussion of childhood fears and the remembrance of a scary fairy tale. This poem’s power is perhaps an example of how one poet’s image can have archetypal connotations with its universal resonance. Aside from these emotional elements, there is also a pleasing rhythm accented by a subtle rhyme.
In her psychologically effective tanka, Carol skillfully employs the Japanese technique of arasoi, "confrontation," which is based on the Chinese metaphysical concept of Yin and Yang. Eisenstein, circa 1929, replaced Yin with thesis and Yang with antithesis and cast the whole matter in the mold of his peculiar dialectic,
ReplyDelete"By what, then, is montage characterized and, consequently, its cell -- the shot?" he asked himself in "The Cinematographic Principle and the Ideogram." "By collision. By the conflict of two pieces in opposition to each other. By conflict. By collision." ... hence they generated their meaning by a like dynamic process. 47