Sunday, April 17, 2016

One Man's Maple Moon: Linden blossoms Tanka by Steliana Cristina Voicu

English Original

linden blossoms
softly falling between
our silences --
we are but two strangers
sitting on the same bench

First Prize, 2015 UHTS Fleeting Words Contest

Steliana Cristina Voicu


Chinese Translation (Traditional)

在我們沉默之際
椴樹花瓣
輕輕地飄落 --
我們只不過是兩位陌生人
坐在同一個板凳上

Chinese Translation (Simplified)

在我们沉默之际
椴树花瓣
轻轻地飘落 --
我们只不过是两位陌生人
坐在同一个板凳上


Bio Sketch

Steliana Cristina Voicu lives in Ploieşti, Romania and loves painting, poetry, Japanese culture, photography and astronomy. She has recently won two Honorable Mentions in the 2015  Betty Drevniok Award , First Prize in the 2015 Wild Plum Haiku Contest, First Prize in the 2015 Fleeting Words Tanka Contest, and other prizes. Her haiku, haiga and tanka have been published in numerous print and online journals, including Asahi Haikuist Network, The Mainichi, Daily Haiga, and A Hundred Gourds.

4 comments:

  1. For First Place I've selected this lovely tanka by Steliana Voicu from Romania which is full of tension, and leaves an open-ended feeling for her readers. In Japanese court poetry, there was and still is, a popular poetic device which creates an anticipatory illusion after glimpsing another person, that they might ultimately become a lover, and with whom waka/tanka may some day be exchanged. Either this concept applies to Steliana's tanka, or possibly these two strangers sitting on the same "metaphoric" bench are not strangers at all, but already share a secret love.

    -- excerpted from the judge's comment, which can be accessed at http://www.unitedhaikuandtankasociety.com/contestwinners153.html

    For First Place I've selected this lovely tanka by Steliana Voicu from Romania which is "full of tension," and leaves an open-ended feeling for her readers....a popular "poetic device which creates an anticipatory illusion" after glimpsing another person, that they might ultimately become a lover,...

    The judge's comment reminds me of the following remark:

    A haiku or a tanka without "rhetoric" was likely to be no more than a brief observation without poetic tension or illumination.

    -- Donald Keene, The Winter Sun Shines in: A Life of Masaoka Shiki, p 57.

    For more information about how to effectively employ rhetorical/poetic devices, see http://neverendingstoryhaikutanka.blogspot.ca/search/label/Rhetorical%20Anomaly

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Chen-ou Liu,

      Thank you so much for translations and for your comment!

      Have a beautiful evening!

      Steliana

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