A renga is a linked-verse form of poetry related to the haiku. Renga are traditionally created as collaborations between poets, who take turns writing verses to form the eventual sequence. The verses don’t build linearly on each other, but are expected to relate to each other with subtle references and echoes, following elaborate rules about subject and season references from verse to verse.

I’ve been playing with the idea of the accordion book as a visual renga — a linked-verse visual poem — where elements of one page spread carry over to the next and so on throughout the book. Each page spread stands alone while linking out to the visual narrative of the whole.

This is the third renga accordion book I’ve created so far, each of them a one-of-a-kind artist’s book. The five page spreads of Renga #3 are based on haiku by Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, Kobayashi Issa, and Taneda Santoka, forcing a collaboration between them (and myself). The haiku that I selected for each page spread follow one traditional season/subject sequence for the first five verses of a renga, with the color palettes and the colors of the backing pages of the accordion reflecting the seasons.

2025
6” x 12” (open single page-spread dimensions)
10 pp.
Hardcover accordion; Letterpress text, sumi ink, collage/assemblage, burning, and punched holes, all on Fabriano Unica printmaking paper.
Unique artist’s book
$275