Paul Reps (September 15, 1895July 12, 1990) was an American artist, poet, and author. He is best known for his unorthodox

haiku is a type of short form poetry that originated in Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases composed of 17 Mora (linguistics), morae (called ''On (Japanese prosody), on'' in Japanese) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern; that include a ''kire ...

-inspired

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

that was published from 1939 onwards. He is considered one of America's first haiku poets. In association with his writing, Reps was also a well-received artist. Many of his books have artwork influenced by

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

Buddhism displayed in association with his writings.

Life

Reps had widely traveled and spent a large amount of his time in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. In

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, his art was widely accepted and he often went there in association with the displays of his artwork in galleries and to reaffirm his

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

understanding. Reps was well-regarded in Japan. When his 2-month visa expired, he applied for a 1-year commercial visa at the consulate in Japan. They said it would take a month, "no exceptions." He returned 3 days later with the needed papers and agreed to wait the month. But he also included a poem: The visa officer told him to return the next day. He did and was granted a one year visa with an extension good for 4 years. As Reps commented, "This is what a poem can do for you." In the later years of his life, Reps made his home on the island of

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. In the two years before his death, he lived at the Haven Institute (Gabriola Island, Canada) with his friends Jock McKeen and Bennet Wong .

Works

* '' Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings'' (). This book includes Zen texts, but also the '' Vijnana Bhairava Tantra'' * ''Unknot The World In You''. His second book, which published through Sequoia University Press * ''Zen Telegrams'' () * ''Letters to a friend: Writings & Drawings, 1939 to 1980'' () * ''Gold Fish Signatures'' () * ''Square Sun, Square Moon'' () * ''Sit In: What it is Like'' () * ''Let Good Fortune Jump on You'' () * ''Big Bath: Poems'' () * ''Unwrinkling Plays'' () * ''Ten Ways to Meditate'' () * ''Be! New Uses for the Human Instrument'' () * ''Juicing: Words and Brushwork'' ()

References

* *

External links

Paul Reps

Paul Reps Playshop

Paul Reps Remembrance
1895 births 1990 deaths American male poets English-language haiku poets American spiritual writers Zen Buddhism writers American Zen Buddhists 20th-century American poets 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American Buddhists {{US-reli-bio-stub