Guided by Angels – Haunted by Gaki.

 

SOUL of a WARRIOR

by CLASH OF WEAPONS.

The first thing you’ll notice about this book is the art work, which if you are anything like me, you’ll find yourself turning the pages and imbibing the images. Only after soaking up the their beauty, will you turn to the words and realise with this beauty comes horror, because Soul of a Warrior is a collection of war stories describing conflict in all it’s forms; whether this is the blood and guts physicality of battle, or whether the engagement is internal, the strife dealing with instabilities of the mind or soul.

The tale is told as a series of poems written by S.G. Renee, and are interpretations of the artwork of Konaa, for example this is the poem for this picture.

Warrior Monk

The smouldering sun

burning devotion

of an endless war

*******

Clouded dusk,

remains of once

a lively village

*********

Choking heat

the hate and fear

still rages deep

*********

Grass soaked

of morning dew;

sword drenched

of human life

*********

The ant fights

Grasshopper’s rule

A warrior of life;

a warrior of gods.

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Another of the  poems cleverly uses Miyamoto Musashi’s *The Book of Five Rings (五輪書 Go Rin No Sho ) as it’s way of interpreting the artwork, using each of the five books (The Book of Earth,The Book of Water, The Book of Fire, The Book of Wind,The Book of the Void) as a verse in this poem, this idea really appealed and fits wonderfully with the theme of battles, whether they were old wars or those still being fought.

 

This book has me intrigued, the blending of art & poetry has a long history, in fact I posted on it recently concerning haiku & haiga, although that was normally one individual, what intrigues me here is that this is a collaboration by two individuals, that have yet to physically meet. This could facilitate a freedom from constraint in interpreting the subject matter that two individuals in a room would not have, and would allow for new ideas that the original artist did not see. This method seems to work for Clash of Weapons, as they have several projects on the go & I’m curious to see how this collaboration, experiment and adventure goes forward from here.

                          

 

                                             Bio

Clash of Weapons is a collaborative project between Konaa, the artist, and S.G.Renee, the writer.

S.G.Renee met Konaa on an art website, but they have not yet met in person. They started working on a project based on the "Death of the Author" theory: Konaa would create artwork based on her interpretation of the poems and S.G.Renee would create poems from the interpretation of Konaa's artwork. Four books were created from this concept.

S.G.Renee lives in Maryland working as a Technical Writer at an Engineering Incorporation while working with Konaa on the side.

Konaa lives in Michigan putting a lot of energy in Clash of Weapons as well as teaching art classes for children.

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Now see through opponent

use the ground, the soil

Move with the rain.

Know like the wind.

Attack as fire.

Leave mind,

empty,

clear.

Finish your

Art.

From The Five Rings

 

*Miyamoto Musashi (宮本 武蔵 1584 – 1645), also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman and rōnin. Musashi, as he was often simply known, became renowned through stories of his excellent swordsmanship in numerous duels, even from a very young age. He was the founder of the Hyōhō Niten Ichi-ryū or Niten-ryū style of swordsmanship and the author of The Book of Five Rings (五輪の書 Go Rin No Sho^?), a book on strategy, tactics, and philosophy that is still studied today. Miyamoto Musashi is widely considered a Kensei and one of the greatest warriors of all time.

                                            **************

Clash of Weapons

S.G Renee

Konaa

Soul of a Warrior

 

Clash of Weapons have new books, Buried and Oichie Shamhna

(the Celtic Halloween) out on October 26th.