Escutamentos de Bernardo: sobre o haiku japonês e O livro de Bernardo

Abstract

It’s been a long time since the Western Poetry, as well as other arts, surrendered itself to the charms and exoticism of Eastern philosophy and aesthetics, through what became known as "japonism". This trend has influenced even the Brazilian modernist poets, and throughout the twentieth century the "haiku" was practiced among them, coming up to the present day. This article makes a connection between the poetry of Manoel de Barros, and this traditional Japanese poetic form. Therefore, the second part of Tratado geral das grandezas do ínfimo (2001), entitled "O livro de Bernardo", is used. In order to allow the reader an understanding of the essential elements of haiku, Octavio Paz’s “A tradição do haiku” (1954) and “A Poesia de Matsuo Bashô” (1970) are utilized. The Mexican poet and diplomat was a great responsible for the divulgation of this kind of poetry in the West.