Koi: A Modern Folk Tale

Koi are unusually beautiful creatures. Perhaps because of their unusual beauty, koihave inspired a variety of legends. The recurrent theme in these legends is that koi,because of their endurance and perseverance, have become symbolic of overcomingadversity and fulfilling one’s destiny. In one of the more celebrated versions of thislegend, koi are rewarded for their endurance and perseverance by being transformed into dragon fish.In their bookKOI, Margery and Sheldon Harnick have created their own version ofthis legend in photographs and verses. In their version, koi are rewarded for a reason other than endurance and perseverance. Though the years, the gods havenoted how much pleasure men and women have derived simply from observing theprismatic beauty of the koi. For this gift to mankind, the gods decided to transformthe most beautiful koi into majestic and powerful dragons.Margery Harnick’s photographs not only show this transformation taking place butalso capture the remarkable beauty of these creatures in ways that most people havenever seen. (Additional photographs by Matt Harnick portray the gods and the dragons.) And since koi are Asian in origin, Sheldon Harnick has chosen to deliver the narrativein the form of haiku verses. The union of photographs and verses makes a charmingand artistically satisfying combination.