Entry 466 — Basho Makes the Funnies
I’m surprised Geof hasn’t posted this at his blog already, but since he hasn’t, I’ll post it here:
It’s a desecration, hence hilarious. It’s also interesting evidence of the apparent popularity of Basho, although I doubt too many who see this strip will understand it. Although they may still find it amusing.
Meanwhile, I was not feeling too good earlier–tired from running an errand, trying only partly successfully to mow my lawn–because of a malfunctioning mower–and doing my exercises, as well as my usual lack-of-sleep and blahness. Then I noticed an ad I’ve seen before for a poetry contest with a first prize of $5000 in the latest issue of Poetry, which I have a review copy of. I had been disgusted with a poem by David Ferry, winner of the $100,000 Ruth Lilly Poetry prize given by the foundation running Poetry, and featured in this issue of the magazine. Result, I suddenly had a yen to enter the poetry contest–with a poem that could be paraphrased as “mathematics divided into poetry equals genius with a remainder of angrily befuddled Philistines accidentally exposed.”
That only made me briefly happy. What boosted me into a much more durable happiness was my then knocking out good drafts of four new long division poems, three of which I doubt I’ll change but which will need visimages, which will probably be abstract-expressionist. The fourth one won’t need much more, I don’t think. One of the others still voices my hostility toward the morons who will probably be judging this contest with a comparison of superior poetry to “locations miles away from anywhere any certified American Poet has ever visited.”
Rattle, the magazine running the contest, is asking for up to four poems, so it makes sense to enter the maximum. I will probably replace the hostile one with another new one (only new work is allowed), then publish all five when I lose the contest to poets at Ferry’s level (15 of them, each getting $100; one will later get the big prize). One nice thing about the contest is that the finalists will be announced no later than 15 September. I have to get my entries in by 1 August, though.
I have no chance of the big prize but my poems will be quite verbal, so I may, by a fluke, make it into the finals, which would generate some publicity for me.
this has been up for several days on Issa’s Untidy Hut
I am fairly certain it is Watt’s translation of The Frog Poem
which I came away with:
so many frogs
in one pond
croaking
Now make it into a comic strip, Ed!
Thanks for continuing to visit–and for your previous good wishes. I continue to improve–but now my lawn mower won’t work! I should make a haiku about that but won’t.
I got one if I can find your email address will send it to you
meanwhile I just sit out on my huge back deck
&watch the weeds grow and my push-mower rusting.
old push mower
rusting
among the weeds
I wonder how a comic strip like “Mutts” survives. This particular strip is actually funny, while most are not. I think it gets by on appealing to sentimental pet lovers, who just want cute dog and cat pictures, and maybe some on the the strength of its draftsmanship (though this strip is rather weak in that department, and maybe the coloring doesn’t help). And what’sh the deal with that shpeech impediment? Yeesh. Maybe it one all cats have when they learn to talk. On the other hand, i think the artist is a Buddhist, given some of the stuff he quotes in his strips, so he gets some diversity points.
Anyway, here’s my response to that pond/frog poem, in the form of a hay(na)ku, which you can imagine William S. Burroughs reading:
the old pond,
a frog
croaks.
endwar
I think the drawing of Mutts is superior, intentionally reminiscent of Popeye, just right for its kind of comic strip. Much of the humor is simple enough–many puns, for example. Otherwise, I go along with your impressions.
Poop on your debasement of the old pond haiku. Some pipple got no respeck.