Haiku in Papiamentu

John Walker is a professor of Spanish studies at Queen’s University.

This slim volume is culturally interesting and delightful for the two
key elements identified in the title, the haiku and the Papiamentu
language. The specific aim of the text as presented by the translator
Hélиne Garrett is to introduce us to the poetry of Elis Juliana,
writer, sculptor, artist, and resident of Curaзгo, which along with
Aruba and Bonaire make up the Caribbean islands known as the Dutch West
Indies or Netherlands Antilles.

Papiamentu, which is the creole language spoken on these islands, was
once ignored as a patois or pidgin language, but has now come to be
taken seriously as an authentic expression of the islands’ cultural
identity and a truly literary medium worthy of being spoken and used for
artistic ends. One of the champions of this language and literary
production is Elis Juliana, author of several collections of poetry and
short stories that capture the unique rhythms and tone of his Antillean
home. A visual artist, he is also an expert on regional folklore and the
oral tradition. The collection translated here captures the poet’s
vitality of language, which he uses to show his resistance to
colonialism and missionary and political influences

The haiku, a Japanese poetic medium dating from the 13th century, is
made up of 17 syllables arranged in three unrhymed lines of five, seven,
and five syllables; it is now the most recognized and popular form of
Japanese verse. This volume, titled Un mushi di Haiku (a dram, a
measure) is made up of “short swift flashes of intense impression and
potent ideas.” The pieces are about nature, animals, birds, the
seasons, human emotions, moods, conditions; they are all well translated
by Garrett.