Basho and Haeckel: A Conversation of Connections

(In an alternate universe, 17^th century Japan and 1904 Germany occur in the same time and place. Basho, a haiku poet, and Haeckel, a biologist, are intently observing r-selected organisms, specifically cicadas and diatoms respectively, to use as subjects in their artwork. As Basho murmurs possible word choices for his haiku, Haeckel notices this interesting similarity, and he looks up from his microscope and illustrations to begin a conversation. )

Haeckel (H):

                I hear you are thinking about cicadas. They are r-selected organisms, just like the diatoms I am studying!

Basho (B): (somewhat confused by the biological talk)

Okay, sure. More importantly, they are symbols of longevity in many cultures, yet they live such a short time in adulthood. They are perfect to juxtapose life and death in my haiku. My poem must emphasize their imminent death, contrasted with their long lives and animated songs. (He turns to resume working, pauses, and looks at Haeckel’s diagram.) What are you doing?

H:

                I am illustrating frustules, which are the outer layers of diatoms, for my book about art in nature. Here, look at this illustration. (He gestures to a picture already almost complete.) The diatom on the left is bilaterally symmetric whereas the one on the right is radially symmetric. This particular picture demonstrates the astonishing and intricate symmetry in diatoms, yet it could also serve as a model to contrast the types of symmetry and distinguish centric and pennate diatoms. I see, then, that r-selected organisms are not the only common component of our work; in a sense, we have both based our work on contrast; you have contrasted longevity and looming death, while I have offered a contrast between types of symmetry in diatoms.

B:  (still gazing at the illustrations in awe)

                The symmetry in those pictures is amazing. You know, it is quite similar to a haiku. In a haiku, there are also two main forms of symmetry, in structure and in content. All haikus have symmetry in syllables, with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five again in the third. However, like your diatoms, there is another possible symmetry. My haiku begins with the word “nothing,” then discusses living cicadas, then ends with the word “death,” providing symmetry to the content as well as the structure by progressing from emptiness to life and back to emptiness. I suppose our work is connected by demonstrating the beauty of symmetry in art; symmetry is fundamental to our work. (He looks again at Haeckel’s pictures.) To see such symmetry on a microscopic level is remarkable.

H:  (adopting a philosophical stance, gazing into the distance deep in thought)

                Poetry, too, could be considered a microscopic view. It is a way of observing and recording a small aspect of the world from a narrow perspective, in order to expose certain themes or images within the area that might not otherwise be apparent.

B: (appearing almost offended)

                No! Poetry is a way of expanding the lessons of something small to observe the entire world, to find something fundamentally similar. Your microscope does the opposite to the field of biology; you start with studying the world and its connections, then focus on smaller and smaller aspects. Poetry is a way of life, a method of achieving enlightenment, a manner of discovering important themes through natural imagery! Our work is in no way similar in this respect!

(Each slightly offended by the other’s characterization of his discipline, they pretend to return to work, yet they continue to steal glances at each other, secretly hoping to continue their intellectual conversation. Basho begins to retreat into his hut of plantain leaves, his place of solitude; however, at the doorway, he pauses, sighs, returns to Haeckel and speaks again.)

B:

                Sir, I deeply regret my quick dismissal of your idea. Now that I consider the topic in more depth, I understand that perhaps you use a microscope in the same way as I use haiku. You focus on something in order to develop a greater comprehension of the object, but also to gain insight into the larger picture of biological connections, such as patterns that recur in nature. We both strive in our work to find enlightenment and understand the world through nature, only we use different paths. Perhaps haikus and microscope images are similar in terms of perspective after all, because both focus in order to develop larger insight!

(Haeckel smiles with a mixture of pride and kindness, happy that Basho agrees with him, yet also, as a philosopher, greatly enjoying the thoughtful quality of their conversation. Slightly uncomfortable, Basho gazes again at Haeckel’s diatom illustrations.)

B:

                It intrigues me that you have immersed your diatoms in darkness. It almost evokes thoughts of the fragility of the diatoms and their looming death, because the black background makes them look surreal, not living. That juxtaposition of life and death is exactly the sense I am struggling to create in my haiku. The background, since it does not use ostentatious colours, also suggests simplicity, which is another quality for which I strive in my haikus, through my use of natural imagery like cicadas.

H:

                It is amazing that our work, though at first glance so different, can have so many connections, with r-selected organisms, contrast, symmetry, perspective on the world, simplicity, and even a sense of juxtaposition of life and death.

(Hearing their interesting conversation, other artists living in the alternate universe want to find connections between their work and the works of Basho and Haeckel. Feeling the need for solitude, they decide to return to their separate paths. Basho retreats to his plantain hut, and Haeckel returns to a microscope to examine more art forms of nature.)

WORKS CITED:

Ball, Philip. "Science in Culture." Rev. of Nature's Microscopic Art Forms Radiolarians and diatoms drawn by Ernst Haeckel. Nature 407.676 (2000): 9 pars. 20 Sep. 2008 <http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v407/n6805/full/407676a0.html>.

Basho. 2008. 22 Sep. 2008 <http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Island/5022/bashobio.html>.

"Bashō." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 Sep. 2008 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/54930/Basho>.

"Diatoms." Microfossil Image Recovery and Circulation for Learning and Education. Sep. 2008. University College London. 22 Sep. 2008 <http://www.ucl.ac.uk/GeolSci/micropal/diatom.html>.

"Diatom." Wikipedia Encyclopaedia. 16 Sep. 2008. 20 Sep. 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatom>.