by Paul
O. Williams
From the author’s book, The Nick of
Time: Essays on Haiku Aesthetics, Foster
City, California: Press Here, 2001, edited by Lee Gurga and Michael Dylan Welch.
Essay originally published in Dragonfly
III:2, April 1975. See also “The Question of Articles in Haiku,” “Loafing Alertly: Observation and Haiku,” and the book’s introduction. This essay is shared here for historical purposes. While some readers may feel that the term “Tontoism” is racist in how it depicts Native Americans, another way to look at it is to see it as descriptive of a character who was depicted in a racist way. A more culturally sensitive approach might be to say that such haiku are “telegraphic.” Just as we would not want to be racist, neither should we succumb to the problem described as “Tontoism” in our haiku. +
Some time ago, a friend and I originated the term Tontoism to describe the tendency of some haiku writers to omit,
from their haiku, articles or other sentence elements where they would appear
in normal English usage. We were referring, of course, to the Lone Ranger’s
sidekick, Tonto, whom we had often heard, in the guttural tones of Jay
Silverheels, uttering. “Uuuuh. That not good,” or, “We not go,” “You not take
horse,” and so forth.
Unfortunately, Tontoism is
becoming widespread in English-language haiku. The Japanese language, having no
articles, can state a great deal in the short form. Yet, much modern haiku goes
to forms shorter than conventional haiku. Reduction carried to extremes reaches
absurdity. The movement toward total brevity can lead haiku to the point of
incoherence. “Sun / wind / sand.” Or, “Desert”!
Omission of conventional speech
patterns calls attention to itself rather than the essence of the haiku.
Because of syllable count, one occasionally sees a haiku beginning with “Passing
stable door” rather than the more normal “Passing the stable door.” Some haiku
verge on being only a series of grunts. Even the finest observations can be
marred by telegraphic brevity. “Dandelion / wind.” “Hooker / fix.” “Plumber / clog.”
Ad nauseam.
The freedom the haiku poet has in
using effective phrases, and the disciplined liberty the form, with its scant
language, allows, would indicate that Tontoism is simply a failure on the part
of the poet to effectively or adequately record the haiku experience. The
appearance of “artlessness” is often the result of much more care and
perception than the Tontoists are willing to give their work. One may decide
not to begin a haiku with a conventional “the,” but this may mean discarding
our whole language conception. An otherwise good haiku is spoiled when one
hears the voice of Tonto grunting the words, “Wind in walnut tree.” The vehicle
takes over the haiku and the humor becomes unavoidable.