Chen-ou Liu's Translation Project: First English-Chinese Haiku and Tanka Blog

Sunday, February 6, 2011

A haiku

reading Günter Grass...
I see a boy scurrying
backward and forward


World Kigo Database (Grass Gunter)

Note: Ls 2&3 allude to Günter Grass's 2002 novel, Crabwalk. The book is a compelling account of the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff in January of 1945, the deadliest maritime disaster in history. The title, described by Grass as "scuttling backward to move forward, refers to both the necessary reference to various events, some occurring at the same time, the same events that would lead to the eventual disaster."