There's a lot of baseball going on around here.
My beloved Rice University Owl baseball team is playing at home this weekend
in the NCAA regional tournament as 64 teams reach for the stars
and the right to play for the College World Series in Omaha in late June.
So, I went back to
America Plays Ball: Historical Baseball Photographs from the Library of Congress
published by Pomegranate.
Little boys playing baseball.
The back of the card reads:
US Resettlement Administration project children's baseball game at
Granger (IA) Homesteads, May 1936.
Photograph by Carl Mydans
Prints and Photographs Division LC-USF33-T01-607-M5
Did you know that there is a book titled Baseball Haiku?
I've been following Haiku My Heart in the blog world for awhile.
I haven't tried my hand at writing one, although I feel the urge coming on.
Not too long ago there were comments that some weren't following the *recipe*
for Haiku and therefore *they* were doing something wrong.
Obviously, this well meaning person knew nothing about baseball haiku.
So, here is a little educational post!
the young grass
kids get together
to hit a ball
This haiku was written by Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902)
"The last of the four great pillars of Japanese haiku and the first modern haiku poet, Masaoka Shiki revived the genre of haiku from its stagnant state near the end of the nineteenth century and gave it a new and vibrant life. Influenced by recent Western literature and art, he used common language and new subject matter to move haiku away from the classical vocabulary and conventional themes that had been stifling innovation. He wrote about glass doors, railroad trains, and even a new game -- baseball. In 1890 he created the world's first baseball haiku."*
We learn something new everyday!
Here's to baseball and haiku!
Thank you to our hosts:
and
Long may they flourish!
* From the book Baseball Haiku: The Best Haiku Ever Written About The Game by
Van Den Heuvel and Tamura
26 comments:
And he came along at just the right time as well. Baseball in Japan is a very 'big' thing, with Leagues just as we have them. Some of their greatest players of late have made the move to 'our' game in this country. Great card!
i welcome you to haiku my heart...where i assure you it is all about the sharing..no expectations or syllable counting, just genuine being there for each other and enjoying the growing circle of simplicity.
love your offering and this photograph, ball in mid air, "the young grass"...ahhhh the perfect freshness of childhood!
hope you are bitten hard with the love of haiku!
I stepped in with 'haiku my heart' last week... I did write haikus when I was younger. I 'know' the rules but don't follow them strictly. I like that 'haiku my heart' is all about inspiration and meeting each other without 'picking on the rules'. I never heard of baseball haikus, but then again there isn't much baseball in the Netherlands... I LOVE the haiku and the vintage photo you found. I can almost smell the grass... Enjoy your weekend!
Although baseball is not as popular as basketball and boxing in the Philippines, baseball has a following. We also have little leagues and all. If only our government is not corrupt, we would probably have a good national team. Your cards remind me of the old days when we were little, we used to play outdoors more often. Unlike these days when most of the kids are fond of playing PC games.
Postcards Crossing
I appreciate the photo of the boys playing ball.
I bet those boys in your postcard are using 'ghost runners', jsut like we did when little.
There's something a little Winslow Homer about this photo. Would make a lovely painting.
Baseball and haiku--what a combination! Delicious!
I love the card, it somehow catches the atmosphere perfectly.
Hi Snap! Great research! And I agree that passion is the true impetus for writing haiku. Great post--thanks for sharing this.
We love baseball around here! As a matter of fact, I'm sitting in my recliner watching the Rangers and the Indians right now!
I listened to a high school girls' baseball game last night being broadcast on the internet from Austin, Texas -- the West Lady Trojans (9) vs Sweeney Lady Bulldogs (7). I can hear you saying WTF? I follow a Texas blogger named Yellowdog Granny who is the world's biggest fan and booster of her West, Texas ball team. She clued me in on how to listen to the game. Tomorrow the West Lady Trojans play for the State Championship.
What a pretty li'l card that shows a real american game.
I love Haiku, and I loved baseball, as child. Oddly, watching baseball on TV doesn't interest me at all, but I love to stop and watch kids playing.
I echo Magical Mystical Teacher, baseball & haiku ! A combo I wold not have put together in a million years, yet it does seem a perfect match now that I've seen it.
The old photo reminds me of my childhood baseball games. All we needed were baseball mits and baseballs and a few kids to play.A game for just about anyone.
I think this is great! I played rounders which is similar to baseball and that photo is wonderful! Love all the facts and the actual baseball haiku is fab!
loved your research! I enjoy haiku because we get to play with words . . . pure haiku or not, it is all fun! Love the photo too.
So glad you're here -- and that you added to the dialog about haiku. I did that post in which I quoted a nameless blogger that had done a bit of a rant about faux haiku and how they irritated her. In the post, I summarized what I'd learned in my haiku research and then deliberately put forth a haiku from one of the four most famous Japanese haiku masters that by my analysis violated one of the "rules" of classic haiku form. She thought it was perfection -- since it was by Basho, it was fine if it didn't follow the rules. I started reading a lot of Basho and Issa and so on and found that many of them violated at least one of the so-called rules. And it seems to me that forms evolve and change after almost three hundred years and geographic/cultural movement. Modern American haiku is bound to be different from Japanese haiku of the 1700s. So baseball haiku -- bring it on!
Wonderful postcard... love old photos of children playing... and baseball haiku. Thanks for sharing and Happy PFF!
Love it!
So appropriate
this season.
This is wonderful. I love the image of the children playing ball during a very difficult economic time in American history. It reflects a little on what many people are facing now and that when we connect with one another over a game, cross boundaries, forget old rules that were not set in stone in the first place, we might score a home run! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful card and the haiku. It was a great reflection of history and how cultures change with time. Lovely!
xo,
Noelle
This is a cute image of the boys playing baseball. I love sending and receiving postcards. Mine is up - My PFF Entry. Thanks for sharing and Happy PFF!
Baseball is big here in San Francisco - Giants fans hoping for a repeat of last year's crazy but ultimately successful season!
Welcome here. I'm pretty new myself but Rebecca provides a perfect safe home for us. I love this postcard and I did not know there was a baseball haiku book. Thanks.
Baseball Haiku - who'd a thunk it! I love the sample you included. The young grass says everything - children, spring, free open field, grass stains on little knees...
I would not have thought that baseball and haiku would go together, but they are a great pairing.
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