Poet in Residence: Aiko Harman

Aiko Harman is currently studying for an MSc in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh. She has a degree in English, Creative Writing and Mass Communications Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. Aiko was Poet in Residence at Poets' Letter Magazine in March/April 2009 and has now been offered a Residency at the 5th London Poetry Festival 2009. Her first name means 'love' in Japanese and here is her love: poetry. Aiko's work has been recently published in Anon, Dash Literary Journal and the Glasgow Review. She also won the 2009 Grierson Verse Prize, awarded by the University of Edinburgh.

"Why I write poetry."

I've just turned 24 and I am a native of Los Angeles, California, in the United States. However, I'm currently living in Scotland while I pursue an MSc in Creative Writing from Edinburgh University. Prior to coming to Edinburgh, I was living in Sendai-city, Japan, where I taught English to Japanese high school students. My mother is Japanese, and many of our relatives still live in Sendai, so this opportunity was indelible for me. My experiences in Japan -- living on my own, getting acquainted with my new family, and being submerged completely in a new culture -- have made a huge mark on me, and I am more in tune and interested in representing my mixed Japanese-American heritage in my poetry today.
For me, poetry is an opportunity to share one's unique worldview. It is incredible how many different cultures and peoples there are in the world, and it seems so silly that quite often a person can spend his whole life in touch with only one culture. What a wealth of spirit and history gone to waste on account of a simple lack of exploring. So, as I become more and more involved in any community or culture, I hope to share a bit of my perspective via poetry, so that others might have an opportunity to see the world through my eyes. I am really inspired by Philip Larkin's poem 'The Importance of Elsewhere' (If you haven't seen it, I found it online here: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-importance-of-elsewhere).
I think that, especially, from the viewpoint of 'elsewhere' one can gain a different perspective of one's own 'home', and likewise, the ability to see someone else's home in a new and unique way. As an American living in Japan or in the United Kingdom, I can see each country with new eyes, and perhaps, am able to notice more or different things than a local notices. I only hope I can write this 'elsewhere' vision into my poetry.

Ravine

You, sweet lover of rivers,
sleep in the finest bed
beside your balcony at Miralrio.

I trade my diamond tiara
to keep you here.

A stream of guests to bide you.
A room of your own to muse.
A ravine laps at your quiet wisdom,
feeds you truths.

We babble in tongues that spring
from the well of our own lives:

I tell you, art has power
to grow within us: a living organism,
a child in the womb.

Remember the armchair—
remember the door of the ship
torn from its hinges
to accommodate my gift.
Remember me—
my furniture poesy.

You fill yourself with my invisible energy,
the shakti that only love can give a man
in struggle for self-fulfilment.

You sit beneath the tipa tree
and speak in visions.

Your words take root and feed me.
Your leaves and branches—
my womb, my balcony, my chair.

You draw faces in the shelters of furniture.
I wait en la barraca for your return.

Days are endless
since you went away.

I burn like a slow fuse.

You can see more of Aiko's poetry here. She will be reading at all four nights of the London Poetry Festival from 7th - 10th August 2009. Want to come along? If so, check this out!