FROM THE CONVERSATION WITH HIRO SATO

FROM THE CONVERSATION WITH HIRO SATO - Recently Hiroaki Sato, a known translator from Japanese and retired columnist of Japan Times, and I, tried to have a talk about situation in contemporary haiku but soon it appeared that my questions are "beyond his capacities" as he answered many of them. One example:

DIMITAR: You, Hiro-san, are both American and Japanese and as such perhaps ideal person to answer what authority in teaching haiku needs to follow small nations like all nations in the Balkans: Japanese or American? Growing political influence of English language completely changed the landscape of haiku. Nearly any American haikuist is bigger authority than recognized Japanese poet. When I started editing Haiku Novine (Haiku Newspapers, /HN/) in 1993. the most of poets in Serbo-Croatian were writing haiku following the pattern of 5-7-5. Now, 25 years later, when you open the HN you can hardly find one or two poems among hundred that follows 5-7-5. Haiku in the Balkans lost the form under American influence. What will be your suggestion to the readers of Haiku Novine?

HIRO-SAN: I am in no position to tell anybody what to do, how to do it, etc. I simply describe what has been done, is being done, and so forth.

Comment by Dimitar: Not giving an answer is also answer, is not it?
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