"Somewhere Over the Rainbow: The Power of Color in Haiku"
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow: The Power of Color in Haiku"
by Joan C. Fingon and Lee Hudspeth
When we hear Judy Garland sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”1 in The Wizard of Oz, many images of distinct colors come to mind that are often used in haiku. For example, color words in haiku can describe specific things in nature as well as enrich the description of a person, place, or object in haiku (and senryu). Additionally, color can evoke images or moods without using a color word or evoke different kinds of emotions (both positive and negative) based on different culture groups and hemispheres. In this essay we examine how modern-day haikuists convey a description, theme, or mood by using a particular color word, and poems in which the color is implied.
Primary Color Words
Many poets use primary colors (blue, red, and yellow) in their work to describe an image. In her book Clara and Mr. Tiffany, Vreeland describes how artists design and create Tiffany glass, “Red, blue, and yellow cannot be faked or forced. They are for themselves, of themselves. Variable, like moods, yet always themselves.” In the following three sections we present haiku examples that use primary color words.
