HOUÉDARD, Dom Sylvester
frog pond plop

“frog pond plop” (1965) refers to a celebrated Japanese haiku poem by Matsuo Bash¯o from 1686, which takes as its theme the sound of a frog jumping into a pond. Houédard reduces the three groups of words characteristic of the short haiku to three terms that make up the three central motifs of the poem: the frog, the pond and the splashing sound of the disturbed water’s surface. The folded form of this origami poem object, which is also known as a children’s game, allows a playful approach to the text.

The design is by Edward Wright, Nazli Zaki, and Matilda Cheung from the School of Graphics at Chelsea School of Art.

Edited and with a text by Christoph Benjamin Schulz.

[publisher's note]

Published by Grass Publishers, 2022
Poetry / Games / Bookworks