Sunday updates

A new issue of Notes from the Gean (with a great new look) is online:

Dear Readers,

Notes from the Gean, volume 3, Issue 3 is now online.

You can view our new and exciting page turning “flip” format by clicking on the following link.

http://www.notesfromthegean.com/currentissue.html

There are full instructions on how to navigate the flip format on the Yudu, Carbon Neutral page.

Thank you and enjoy!

Colin Stewart Jones
Editor-in-Chief
Notes from the Gean

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Penny Harter sent this:


Hi family and friends,

My haibun, "Moon-Seeking Soup" from my chapbook Recycling Starlight, appears on Jama Rattigan's blog, Jama's Alphabet Soup, posted today, December 10th, to accompany the December 2011 full moon.

http://jamarattigan.com/2011/12/09/friday-feast-moon-seeking-soup-by-penny-harter/.

I am blessed and honored, both by Jama's comments and by the responses of her readers, to whom I've replied both individually and in a post at the end (so far) of the comments.  And I encourage you all to try making the soup---it's really good.

You should also add parsnips and peeled / diced apple for sweetening. If you read through my responses to readers' responses, and then mine at the end (so far) of those, I mention that I left those ingredients out of the recipe in the poem.

Hope you are enjoying the holiday season so far, and as I said in my comment on Jama's blog, we all need to look for light as we approach the Solstice. I hope "Moon-Seeking Soup" helps you find the light in all you do, even the simple act of soup-making.

Love,
Penny

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WHC NEWS
11 December 2011

Re: New Issue of World Haiku Review is now online: December 2011 Issue

The World Haiku Club is pleased to announce that the December 2011 Issue of World Haiku Review is now online. Click on: http://sites.google.com/site/worldhaikureview2/home

Rohini Gupta, our Technical Editor, is continuing her noble and arduous task of retrieving and rescuing poems, articles, treatises, reports, contributions etc. of the past World Haiku Review issues 2001 - 2007, which got tragically lost in mysterious circumstances. Her first effort is focused on saving, recovering and rescuing only. She will then gradually sort them out and give them shape. If you happen to come across any of these invaluable items of the past WHR issues, by all means please let us know.

The following poets, please take a look at this new issue to find your poems among the best 10s:
aju mukhopadhyay, Susan Constable, Carmel Lively Westerman, Patricia Prime, Priscila H. Lignori, Marie Shimane, Peggy Heinrich, Anita Virgil, André Surridge, Cynthia Rowe, Marje A. Dyck, Marilyn Potter, Kai Falkman, Bruce R. Boynton, Feu Violet, CaroleAnn Lovin, LeRoy Gorman, Lucille Raizada, Owen Bullock

We do hope that you will enjoy this issue of World Haiku Review.

Kengin,

Susumu Takiguchi
Managing Editor & Acting Editor-in-Chief, World Haiku Review
Chairman, The World Haiku Club

Kala Ramesh
Deputy Editor-in-Chief, World Haiku Review
Rohini Gupta
Technical Editor, World Haiku Review

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Alice Osborn sent this:

I'm thrilled to announce the pre-order season of my newest poetry book, After the Steaming Stops which will be published March 2012 by Main Street Rag Publishing Company.

Pre-order price is 30% off (reg price $11) at $7. Order now to beat the crowd and save some money for your future self. www.mainstreetrag.com/AOsborn_2.html

Yes, the catch is that you won't have it in your hands for the holidays, BUT if you tell me that you pre-ordered it because of this email, the first four people will receive a free signed copy of my smash hit Unfinished Projects! Here I am at my last reading at Only at Barnhills in Winston-Salem:



Read what poet Scott Owens says about After the Steaming Stops:

“In Tillie Olson's ‘I Stand Here Ironing,’ we've seen the image of the ironing board and the steam press used before as a revelation of the hazards of the American dream of perfection (particularly for women)—perfect house, perfect marriage, perfect family, perfect composure. In these poignant poems, Alice Osborn hauntingly and painfully updates and expands the use of domestic imagery as an expression of that narrow dream's tyranny, adding to it the expectations and regimentation inherited from a successful military grandfather, and the inevitable insufficiency of everything else.”

and poet Sara Claytor, “This is a book crammed with images, explicit descriptions, characters and emotions. It needs to be read.”

Warmest and thank you so much for your support, my friends!

Alice

Alice Osborn, M.A. is the author of three books of poetry, After the Steaming Stops (Main Street Rag, 2012), Unfinished Projects (Main Street Rag, 2010) and Right Lane Ends (Catawba, 2006); she is a manuscript editor, successful blogger and powerful speaker. Alice teaches creative writing all over the country where she uses sensory images and road-tested prompts to stimulate her students’ best work. Her work has appeared in Raleigh’s News and Observer, The Pedestal Magazine, and in numerous journals and anthologies. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband and two children. Visit her website at www.aliceosborn.com

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Dietmar Tauchner sent this:

schnee by dietmar tauchner & bernd bechtloff - cd release

"schnee" -
an exceptional audio book has been released a few days ago.
blixa bargeld, singer of the einstuerzende neubauten and bass player at nick cave and the bad seeds, and others reciting poems by dietmar tauchner in a modern, unexpected, extatic and sensual way.
in combination with the excellent music by bernd bechtloff, "schnee" is the soundtrack of a sonorous silence. the album "schnee" introduces snow as the 5th element, as a broad screen for the psyche. "schnee" is a secret path to the virtual dimensions of being. now you may listen to the snow to warm up your mind.

available at www.mokshamusic.at - blechbernd@hotmail.com
or at www.bregengemme.net  - bregengemme@aon.at

outtakes from the cd at

http://bregengemme.net/bregengemme/pages/en/audio.php

http://www.mokshamusic.at/mm-main.php

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Sasa Vazic sent this:

Haiku Reality Vol. 8, No. 15, Winter 2011 Issue is Out

http://haikureality.webs.com/indexeng.htm

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A new issue of Sketchbook is online.

Sunday updates - October 31

Hi, Curtis --

Just wanted you and your readers to know that copies of this year's Haiku Society of America members' anthology (which I was asked to edit) have been going fast -- nearly 500 sent out to date -- but I still have a supply available for purchase.

This year's anthology, entitled 'sharing the sun', is built around the theme of biodiversity, in keeping with the U.N.'s designation of 2010 as 'International Year of Biodiversity'. 269 member poets are each represented by a haiku that makes reference to a specific plant or animal. The visual motif for the book is postage stamps from various countries -- with each stamp featuring a plant and/or animal -- that were 'recycled' from the envelopes of members' submissions to this volume. And a special feature of this year's anthology is a 15-page glossary to some of the less familiar references in the poems I published.

Literally dozens of members have emailed me with their praise of this year's anthology. (Some of my favorite excerpts: 'a treasure chest', 'a gem', 'a great work of art', 'a triumph', 'a landmark publication', and 'absolutely spectacular' ...).

A single copy of the anthology costs $14 in the U.S. and $17 elsewhere, postage included. With each four copies purchased at the regular price, a fifth copy is offered with compliments of the Haiku Society of America. (Although 215 pages in length, the book is very compact and would make a great stocking stuffer!) Before sending payment, those interested should first email me at hsaanthology@gmail.com to confirm availability. In my response I will advise where payment (preferably in the form of a check payable to 'Haiku Society of America') should be sent.

Thanks for passing this along, and for your terrific blog!

Scott Mason

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IHS INTERNATIONAL HAIKU COMPETITION 2010

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EPISODE 15: THUNDER MOON: A RENKU PARTY

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THE TEMPLE BELL STOPS: CONTEMPORARY POEMS OF GRIEF,
LOSS AND CHANGE

I am writing with a request that you circulate a call for submissions among the members of your local chapter.  Thank you very much for posting the following message:

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:  For an anthology of haiku, senryu, and tanka on the subject of grief, loss and change, entitled THE TEMPLE BELL STOPS: CONTEMPORARY POEMS OF GRIEF, LOSS AND CHANGE.  Prefer unpublished poems, but published poems okay that include full credits.  No current deadline and no reimbursement for accepted poems.

Please send submissions to Robert Epstein:  worldofdewhaiku@gmail.com.

Sunday updates - 6-13-2010

Haiku Featured on Seattle Japanese Garden Audio Tour

Michael Dylan Welch has recorded two presentations about haiku for the new audio tour of the Seattle Japanese Garden. These professionally recorded and mixed tracks include koto and shakuhachi music performed by Elizabeth and John Falconer. One of these tracks, titled "Haiku and the Japanese Garden" (9:21 in length), is now available for free download or online listening. Check it out at http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/seattle-japanese-garden-audio/id370304184. Or visit http://www.seattle.gov/PARKS/parkspaces/JapaneseGarden/JapaneseGardenTour.xml. You can also download the CD liner notes at http://www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspaces/japanesegarden.htm#podcast. The second track, titled "Only in Seattle: An Introduction to Haiku Poetry" (approximately 22 minutes in length), will be broadcast on KSER radio sometime in June. On Sunday, June 6, 2010, the Seattle Japanese Garden celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Through the summer of 2010, the Haiku Northwest group has been holding its monthly meetings at the garden too, in their new meeting room. The May 13 meeting featured a presentation on Issa by Michael Dylan Welch. On June 10, Tanya McDonald talked about the haiku of Jack Kerouac. And on July 8, Richard Tice will talk about the haiku of Chiyo-ni. The August 12 presentation is still to be announced.

Seattle will also host a national quarterly meeting of the Haiku Society of America over the weekend of June 25-27, mostly at the Seattle Asian Art Museum, which is currently featuring an exhibit of Japanese woodblock prints (including Hokusai's "Great Wave").

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M. Kei has announced a special section at Atlas Poetica:

25 Tanka Poets from New Zealand

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Saša Važic' sent these updates:

Results of the Katikati Pathway Haiku Competition

Haiku International Association (HIA) contest information.

Sunday updates - 6-6-2010

Saša Važic' sent this link to the

FWEE First Annual International Hydropower Haiku Writing Contest

http://www.fwee.org/haiku/contestinfo.html

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Gabriel Rosenstock sent this link to Emerging from Absence: An Archive of Japan in English-Language Verse.

http://www.themargins.net/archive.html

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The June issue of The Heron's Nest is online:

http://theheronsnest.com/

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Shamrock Haiku Journal Issue 14 is online:

http://shamrockhaiku.webs.com/currentissue.htm

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The fifth issue of Notes From the Gean is now online.

http://www.geantree.com/indexcover.html

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Haiku Chronicles: Episode 12 - The Four Pillars Part I, The Narrow Thread has been posted.

http://www.haikuchronicles.com/

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The next meeting of the Southeast Region of The Haiku Society of America will take place on Saturday, July 10 between 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

For directions and other details, please contact meisterp@uah.edu.

Allow several days for a response, as I’m not online every day in the summer.

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Commemorate Shinran Shonin's 750th Memorial Observance with Poetry Calling for Haiku and Tanka

http://www.ingassho.com/haikucontest/haikucontest.html

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25 Tanka for Children: Call for Submissions

The Special Features section of the Atlas Poetica web site is seeking submissions for a collection of ’25 Tanka for Children’ edited by M. Kei. Selections should be suitable for children ages 6 - 12 (1st - 6th grade reading levels), and should address topics that will appeal to children (and their educators and families). Upbeat, fun, and silly tanka are welcome, but so are serious tanka that address topics children may have to deal with in their lives, such as the loss of a pet, divorce, disabilty, bullies, etc. However, the purpose of the collection is to engage children with tanka poetry, so serious subjects should be handled in a positive and entertaining way. Poets should speak to children, not ‘about’ children.

Form: Tanka, kyoka, waka, gogyohka, cinquain, cinqku, and other recognized variants of tanka in English are all welcome. Poems should be untitled. Although tanka are not usually rhymed, anything that engages the attention of children is a welcome addition to the work. Shaped tanka, acrostic tanka, and visual tanka are all welcome. No illustrations. All work should be reproducible in text only. The collection will attempt to present different variations of tanka, such as sanjuichi, SLSLL, 2-3-2-3-3 beats, free form, and the variants, such as cinquain, but literary value and appeal to children are paramount.

Limericks: One or two limericks may be published to compare and contrast tanka with the five line poetic form most likely to be known to children. Limericks should be the author’s original work and adhere to the guidelines. The editor reserves the right to omit limericks for any reason.

Pedagogic Value: Vocabulary and grammar should be age appropriate, with proper English syntax. Although poems will be selected based on their appeal to children (test them out on any children you might have access to), poems will also be evaluated for their value in teaching basic elements of literature, such as alliteration, rhythm, metaphor, simile, etc.

Possible Teachers Guide: Poets who work with children in any capacity are invited to share their credentials and to comment briefly upon their poems regarding pedagogic value. These comments might be edited and expanded to become a ‘teachers guide,’ and poets understand that their commentary, if used, will receive a credit. The ‘teachers guide’ is not a firm project, and there is no guarantee that it will happen.

Age: The general Atlas Poetica guidelines apply, therefore poets must be 16 or older. Please visit http://atlaspoetica.org/ for complete guidelines and to view previous Special Features. Poems should be contained in the body of an email. Please query before sending attachments.

Submissions: Poets are invited to send up to ten poems each, but only one poem will be chosen by each poet, in keeping with the theme and format of the ’25 Poems’ features on the Atlas Poetica website. Send to: editor@AtlasPoetica.org, with a subject line of ‘Tanka for Children.’

Deadline: Deadline for submitting to ’25 Tanka for Children’ is September 15, 2010. The planned publication date is Winter 2010/2011. Special Features are published on an irregular schedule.

Email address for submissions: Editor (at) AtlasPoetica (dot) org -- subject line: 25 Tanka for Children

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Hi All:

This has been the busiest year ever at Red Moon Press, with half a
dozen new titles already prepared for the new year (our 18th), and a
couple more coming soon. We think you'll find something for every
haiku reader and taste.

Here's what's new:

Individual Collections

• Stephen Addiss — Cloud Calligraphy
This volume finds Addiss at his most playful and features 6 of his
inimicable haiga as well. “Stephen Addiss creates an interconnected
meditation with both brush and ink. Each
poem starts on the page, but finishes in the reader’s mind! His
poems are so full of movement they have the power to stop us, and put
us back in the moment.” —Stanford M. Forrester, Editor, bottle
rockets


• Dimitar Anakiev — Rustic
Anakiev’s fourth book with RMP (At the Tombstone, Kosovo Peonies,
balcony) features 50 recent poems, each reflecting upon a different
keyword, and each with copious notes as to the origins of the poem
and the concept at hand. ". . . a literary historian’s dream,
providing the author’s statement of intent and detailed notes.
Reading the individual poems in context shows them to be simple and
profound, inviting the reader to join the poet in contem-plating
culture, history, and our collective roots in the natural world,
including chaos and war.” —Johnye Strickland, Professor Emeritus,
University of Arkansas


• Jim Kacian — where i leave off / waar ik ophoud
Produced by ’t schrijverke of the Netherlands in a bilingual
(English / Dutch) edition, this is Kacian’s 15th book devoted to
haiku. This one explores the one-line haiku, and includes a mini-
essay on the subject, as well as more than 50 examples, along with a
selection of his miniature “one-bun,” haibun where the prose is
limited to a single sentence. "Kacian breaks new ground by
systematically exploring the possibilities of one-line haiku in
English.” Max Verhart, Editor, Vuursteen


• Dietmar Tauchner — as far as i can
This is Tauchner’s long-awaited first full-length book of haiku in
English, and he doesn’t disappoint. The book pivots about a visit to
the Mauthausen Prisoner Camp, which provides perspective on the
poet’s life and pursuits. “Lean and quiet, the haiku in this
excellent collection convey deeply felt connections with nature,
other people, and the inner self. They dignify the commonplace and
affirm the unknown and mysterious within the familiar.” —Peggy
Willis Lyles, Editor, The Heron’s Nest


• Jim Westenhaver — long enough
This poet’s first book of haiku suggests he will be a name to watch.
This elegiac meditation on the fleeting touch between two people will
stay with you. “What is unsaid pulses through long enough, and yet
this slim collection of 27 poems overflows itself. Each haiku speaks
to the next; the white space between vibrates with increasing energy
until the last poem ricochets back to the first, demanding the book
be re-read wholly anew.” —Eve Luckring


Annual Publications

• where the wind turns: The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language
Haiku 2009
The fourteenth volume of the most decorated series in haiku history,
where the wind turns features 161 poems, 12 linked forms, and 6
critical essays on the reading, writing and study of the genre.
“Simply the best thing out there.” —Charles Trumbull, Editor,
Modern Haiku


• contemporary haibun Volume 11
This eleventh volume of the only series devoted to the best haibun
and haiga produced in English features 70 poems and 32 haiga..
“contemporary haibun has stood alone, for nearly a decade, as the
chief vehicle and bulwark of the burgeoning haibun movement in
English.” —Jeffrey Woodward, Editor, Haibun Today


Special Publications


• Ruth Franke — Schwerelos Gleiten / Slipping through Water
This innovative new book combines short prose and verse (haibun) with
visual artistic impressions by the renowned German artist Reinhard
Stangl. The 22 haibun invite the reader to enter the atmosphere of
the different scenes and allow the multi-layered content to take
effect. English versions by David Cobb and Celia Brown. Preface by
Jim Kacian. A magnificent production by Wiesenburg, distributed in
North America by Red Moon Press.


Coming Soon


• Carolyn Hall — How to Paint the Finch’s Song
Hall’s second major collection, out in June.

• Robert Boldman — Selected Haiku
Boldman’s return to haiku after a 25-year hiatus. Publication date
to be determined.


You can find these, and much more, at <www.redmoonpress.com>.
As always, thank you for your continuing support.


Jim Kacian
Red Moon Press

updates - 3/7/2010

Congratulations to Roberta Beary for being featured on Don Wentworth's excellent Issa's Untidy Hut blog. Roberta's haibun entitled The Doctor Is In was recently published in Frogpond.

Roberta will give a workshop about haibun at The North Carolina Haiku Society's annual Haiku Holiday. Details are available at the NCHS web site.

Roberta Beary photo by Curtis Dunlap

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Here's a link to a very entertaining reading by Norbert Blei that was recorded in June-July 2000.

http://nbcoop.outlawpoetry.com/2010/02/14/norbert-blei-reads/

Norbert Blei photo by Jude Genereaux

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2010 Haiku Pen Contest
2010 Think Tanka Contest
2010 Very Short Story Award

We Welcome Your Energy, Spirit & Wit

Lyrical Passion Poetry E-Zine is committed to publishing the very best Japanese short form poetry & microfiction.This young publication has launched writing contests for 2010 and are also witnessing a tremendous growth in their readership and support. Lyrical Passion Poetry E-Zine is also calling for submissions of poetry and short fiction for their webzine. There are no reading fees for the e-zine, they just welcome prolific writing of lasting literary value. Complete guidelines are available online at Lyrical Passion Poetry E-Zine.

Lyrical Passion Poetry E-Zine is proud to announce their 2010 Writing Competitions. Current prizes for writers total more than $400 dollars. They welcome snail mail and email submissions and have included the option of paypal processing online.

2009 World Haiku Competition Winners: Ernest J. Berry, James Tipton, Barbara A. Taylor & Sandra Simpson

2009 World Tanka Contest Winners: Paul Smith & Kathy Lippard Cobb

Visit Lyrical Passion Poetry E-Zine to learn more. Make 2010 a year to remember!

Blessings,

Raquel D. BAILEY, Founding Editor lyricalhitmakers@aol.com
Follow us on twitter - "FoundingEditor"
Lyrical Passion Poetry E-Zine, http://lyricalpassionpoetry.yolasite.com

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Scott Owens sent this:

Here is a writing prompt and a publication opportunity all rolled into one. The new online journal, Referential, has chosen my poem, "13 Ways of Angels," as their first featured poem. Now they are inviting writers to submit poems or short fiction that "refer" to that poem. Here are the basic submission guidelines from the website: "Once you have picked a piece you want to refer to (you can be responding to the piece as a whole or even an individual word etc) email your work to refermag(at)gmail.com."

Here is a link to the site where you can read "13 Ways" and the two other poems and a short story that "refer" to the poem: http://referentialmagazine.com/

Have fun.

Scott Owens
www.scottowenspoet.com
www.scottowensmusings.blogspot.com
www.poetryhickory.com
www.wildgoosepoetryreview.com
www.poetrycouncilofnc.wordpress.com

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Billie Wilson sent this:

This is the “last call” for this year’s Robert Spiess Memorial Haiku Awards. The in-hand deadline is March 13. Details are available at Modern Haiku.

Many thanks!!

Billie

Helen Losse, Betty Drevniok Award & Kusamakura Results

Helen Losse, author of Better With Friends (published by Rank Stranger Press) and the Poetry Editor of The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature will appear on The Jane Crown Show today at 5 p.m. EST. The Jane Crown Show is streamed live at blogtalkradio. An archive of previous shows is also available. Listeners can call in during the show at (646) 200-0176.

Tune in at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-jane-crown-show/2010/01/03/helen-losse

Break a leg Helen! :)

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The Betty Drevniok Award 2010

Haiku Canada established this competition in memory of Betty Drevniok, Past President of the society. With the exception of members of the executive of Haiku Canada, the contest is open to everyone, including Regional Coordinators of Haiku Canada.

• Haiku must be unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere.

• A flat fee of $5 Cdn (in Canada) or $5 US (for entries outside Canada) for up to 3 haiku is payable to “Haiku Canada”.

• Submit 2 copies of each haiku, each copy typed or neatly printed on a 3X5 card; one card in each set must include the author’s name, address and telephone number in the upper corner, while the other card with the identical poem must contain no identifying marks.

• Postmark Deadline: February 14, 2010.

• Winners will be announced at the Annual General Meeting in May 2010. First Prize $100; Second Prize $50; Third Prize $25 for haiku. The top eleven poems will be published in a Haiku Canada Sheet and distributed with the Haiku Canada Anthology.

• No entries will be returned. If you are NOT a member of Haiku Canada and wish a copy of the broadsheet with the winning haiku, include a SASE (business size, Cdn stamps) or a SAE and $1 for postage and handling.

• Send entries to The Betty Drevniok Award, c/o Ann Goldring, PO Box 97, 5 Cooks Drive, Leaskdale, Ontario, Canada L0C 1C0.

• Contest Coordinator: Ann Goldring

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14th International Kusamakura Haiku Competition

Winning haiku for the 14th International Kusamakura Haiku Competition are available here:

http://kusamakura-haiku.jp/backnumber/2009/english_e.html

Congratulations winners!

Fleur de Lisa & a senryu call for poems

This just in from Richard Krawiec:

Fleur de Lisa will be on NPR's The State of Things Friday, Dec. 18 between noon & 1, probably towards the end of the show. They will be discussing their work and singing new songs, not on the Willow Songs CD. They are finishing the recording of their new CD, which features work by Basho, Issa, Japanese Death poems, Roberta Beary, as well as work based on free verse poems by Jaki Shelton Green and former NC Poet Laureate Kathryn Stripling Byers.

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Editor Al Pizzarelli is currently seeking SENRYU poetry for publication in upcoming issues of the Simply Haiku website.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

1. Poets are urged to read the Editor's Introduction in the Simply Haiku Senryu section and read among the many examples of senryu in the SH archives.

2. Both unpublished and previously published senryu are invited. All previously published senryu must include the name and year of the publication in which they first appeared.

3. There is no limit to the number of submissions.

4. All submissions should appear in the body of the e-mail. Attachments are not acceptable.

5. Response time is a week or two from the date of submission.

6. Accepted poems are published within a year of acceptance. Some appear sooner than others depending on the featured topic of each issue.
Note: Topics are determined by the related subject matter of accepted poems and are not announced prior to each issue.

7. Bios & Photos should only be submitted by request of the editor.

8. Submit regularly.

Send submissions to:

PoetryA@comcast.net

Al Pizzarelli
SENRYU editor
Simply Haiku

..........................................................
Want to learn more about Senryū?
Listen to Haiku Chronicles: Episode 3 - Senryū, Son of Haiku
http://www.haikuchronicles.com/

John McDonald CD & a challenge

I've received a pleasant surprise. Scottish haiku poet, John McDonald, has self-produced a magnificent CD of his poems which arrived in my mailbox last Wednesday. As he does in his books, John first reads each haiku in Scots, then in English. There are three tracks on the CD, one for each of his books, over an hour's worth of John reading his wonderful poems with that superb accent.

With John's permission, here are a couple of clips from the CD:

John McDonald clip one

John McDonald clip two

The amazing thing about John's CD is that the recording was made with a handheld digital voice recorder. I think you'll agree that the quality is surprisingly good, very good, in fact. Inspired, I recorded myself reading three of my poems last night:

Curtis Dunlap clip

I purchased my digital voice recorder a few months ago from the local Wally World, the cost, a reasonable $35. It has a USB port, plugs directly into my computer. On its best quality setting, sound is recorded and formatted as a WAV file. I use Audacity, a free sound editing software program to trim, delete, or silence certain parts of my recordings.

Fellow poets, I humbly suggest and challenge you to find the time and means to record yourself reading your poems. Some of you may be thinking who would want to hear me read my poems? I can assure you, someone will read your words someday and wonder what it was like to hear the poet's voice…family, friends, other poets, future generations. Think about it. Our time on this world is limited. We are all just passing through. Not only is it important for us to preserve our poems through written word, but we should also preserve our poems through spoken word and, yes, have them archived at some location.

For those of you interested in receiving John's CD, copies can be obtained for the price of postage. Email John at jazzertimes6@yahoo.com for specifics.

Haiku Chronicles: Episode 5 - History of American Haiku Part II, The Beat Poets

This just in from Donna Beaver:


http://haikuchronicles.podbean.com/

Hosts Donna Beaver, Al Pizzarelli and guest Cor van den Heuvel continue a discussion of the history of American haiku from the mid-50's and the Beat Poets. This episode also features Allen Ginsberg from his lectures on haiku poetry at Naropa University.

Coming Soon!

Episode 6: History of American Haiku Part III - The Haiku Anthology, with guest Cor van den Heuvel, featuring vintage recordings of Nick Virgilio, Virginia Brady Young and other poets and poems from the Anthology.

Coming in October:

In celebration of the World Series, tune-in to Episode 7: Baseball Haiku, with guest Cor van den Heuvel, Ed Markowski and others reading haiku and senryu from the Baseball Haiku anthology.

Haiku Chronicles - Catch it!

Many thanks for all your support.

Your hosts,
Donna Beaver & Al Pizzarelli

Poetry reading: Frank Robinson & Tom Clausen

A poetry reading that Tom Clausen and Frank Robinson participated in last April is available online in audio and visual format. Click the image below to view or listen to the reading:

Haiku Guy & Haiku Chronicles

David Lanoue was interviewed by NHK Radio last month. Lanoue, who was in Japan promoting the Japanese translation of his novel, Haiku Guy, speaks about haiku and his haiku novels. The four part interview is linked below:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

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Haiku Chronicles is a new and interesting web site featuring Alan Pizzarelli and Donna Beaver.

Currently, there are two podcast available.

Episode 1: The Lost Tapes

Episode 2: Basho's Frog

Great work Alan and Donna! I look forward to Episode 3!

Rossiter, Kodojin, Addiss, Lanoue & Simply Haiku

I stumbled upon an interesting audio file at PoetryPoetry.com last night. In an area called the PoetryPoetry Workshop, Charlie Rossiter uses Kodojin's Things Seen poem to illustrate how to write a poem each day. Rossiter gives an example of how he was inspired to write his own poem after taking Kodojin's poem to heart.

Rossiter also mentions Stephen Addiss's book about Kodojin entitled Old Taoist: The Life, Art, and Poetry of Kodojin (1865-1944).

To learn more about Kodojin, read this essay by Addiss featured in the September-October 2004 issue of Simply Haiku.

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David G. Lanoue is traveling to Japan to promote the Japanese publication of Haiku Guy. There will be readings and signings in Tokyo and Kyoto. The Kyoto reading is scheduled for May 23rd.

Here is an advertisement for the Tokyo reading:

http://www.books-sanseido.co.jp/blog/jinbocho/2009/05/525.html

Haiku Guy is a wonderful novel. Lanoue is a natural storyteller who weaves an intriguing tale (interspersed with haiku) utilizing characters from modern New Orleans and 17th century Japan.

I highly recommend this delightful novel. Read the comments on the review page.

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The summer issue of Simply Haiku is online.

Publications, Call for Submissions, Haiku music, and a Sheryl Crow reading

The March issue of Contemporary Haibun Online has been released.

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The spring issue of The 2River View has been released. North Carolina Haiku Society member, Richard Krawiec, has two poems in this issue. Click the embedded player below Richard's name to hear him read his poems.

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Concise Delight Magazine of Short Poetry is a biannual print journal dedicated to publishing the very best of very short verse, from one to nine lines in length (not including title). Every short form, from one-line epigrammatic poems to three-tercet poems, and free verse up to nine lines in length, are welcome. Poems will not be judged by any of the widely varying haiku standards, nor as senryu, nor as zappai. Poems will be evaluated for their intrinsic poetic merit. Poems published in Concise Delight will not be labeled nor categorized. This is not a magazine about form; it is a magazine dedicated to top quality very short verse. Submissions are open for the summer 2009 issue.

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Visible Verse Videopoems Call for Submissions: Pacific Cinémathèque and curator Heather Haley are seeking videopoem submissions from around the world for the annual Visible Verse screening and performance poetry celebration. SEE THE VOICE: Visible Verse is North America’s sustaining venue for the presentation of new and artistically significant poetry video and film. Guidelines and information are located here:

http://www.heatherhaley.com/visibleverse.html

http://writingcontests.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/visible-verse-videopoems-call-for-submissions/

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Prahas David Nafissian has uploaded a set of piano poems entitled, 'Haiku for Piano.' He writes:

I used a 5-7-5 rhythmic structure for the poems, borrowed from the syllabic structure of a traditional haiku. To have a listen, simply go to your favorite music site -- iTunes, Napster, Lala.com, Amazon.com, Shockhound, or Emusic -- and search for:
prahas haiku

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And while we're on the subject of video poems and music, here's Sheryl Crow performing one of her classic songs as a poem:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39NXtZhycuM

Alexis Rotella news and Part 3 of her reading

Alexis Rotella will have one of her haiku read on Public Radio on February 14th. Here is a message she received from Travel with Rick Steves:

"We’ve selected your poetry submission from last year to use on an upcoming episode of Travel with Rick Steves. Your haiku about Venice will be read near the end of program #162, which airs the weekend of February 14, and includes callers about romantic travel destinations for Valentine’s Day. You should be able to hear it locally on WYPR 88.1 FM from Baltimore on Saturday afternoon, February 14 starting at 1pm Eastern time. (Travel with Rick Steves will debut this weekend on the WYPR stations.)"

You can also hear it online February 15th in the audio archives in the radio section of their website, as well as a podcast from i-Tunes and other podcast directories.

Congratulations Alexis!

Here is part three and the final video of the 1984 Great Swamp Reading that Alexis participated in at Morris County Community College. This installment features Alexis reading a number of her haiku.

Robert Spiess interview

Mark Alan Osterhaus has a web page of an interview he recorded of English language haiku pioneer, Robert Spiess, some years ago. Mark writes:

"I wanted to let you know that I have posted the only recording of Bob Spiess that I know of, from an interview I conducted with Bob back in 1988. I had the recording cleaned up and converted to a digital format before posting it on my website. If you feel that this interview and haiku reading by Bob has merit, you are welcome to share this with your email list. . ."

It is extremely important that such recordings be made. In these days of inexpensive audio and video devices, it is very easy to preserve a little haiku history.

Thank you for sharing this Mark!

Publications, young haijin, and an interview

wind flow, the fourth chapbook from the Boston Haiku Society, has just been published featuring twenty-two poets from the Boston and New England region. Included in the perfect bound chapbook are examples of not only haiku and senryu, but haibun, tanka, haiga, and renku as well as a couple of sumi'e by the late Kaji Aso. It has been edited by Raffael de Gruttola, Karen Klein, and Judson Evans and features many new approaches to the poetic art form we love so dearly. Copies are $10. with $2.50 for postage and handling and can be ordered from Raffael de Gruttola, 4 Marshall Road, Natick, MA 01760.

Jack Fruit Moon, haiku and tanka by Robert D. Wilson (published by Modern English Tanka Press) is available from Lulu.com, major booksellers, and the publisher. Complete information and a mail or email order form are available online. Trade paperback price: $16.95 USD. ISBN 978-0-9817691-4-1. 204 pages, 6.00' x 9.00', perfect binding, 60# cream interior paper, black and white interior ink, 100# exterior paper, full-color exterior ink. Read the press release at Magnapoets.

The North Carolina Haiku Society received a special thank you message from Scott, a budding haijin in Mrs. Howell's fourth grade class at Arts Based Elementary School in Winston-Salem. NCHS member, Bob Moyer, has been teaching the students there how to write haiku. Scott and his classmates participated in their first public reading last month. Roberta Beary and Lenard D. Moore also read that night, capped off by a number of a cappella haiku by Fleur-de-Lisa.


It's comforting to know that a seed has been planted and a whole new generation of very talented poets are writing haiku.

Here is an interesting audio interview of Miriam Sagan. Sagan is a versatile writer, penning poems in a variety of styles including haibun, haiku, and tanka.

Doctorate conferred upon L. Teresa Church

Lenard D. Moore sent this news about North Carolina Haiku Society member, L. Teresa Church:

On Sunday evening, Lynn and I attended The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Commencement, where the doctorate was conferred upon L. Teresa Church. It was a wonderful ceremony. As you know, Teresa is a member of The North Carolina Haiku Society. She's also a member of The Haiku Society of America. Her poem "a patch of silver" appears on page 19 of the Haiku Society of America Members' Anthology 2008, dandelion clocks, which Roberta Beary and Ellen Compton edited. Teresa's mother, sisters Gail and Laverne, one of her brothers, and her brother-in-law Lawrence also attended her graduation.

All the best,
Lenard D. Moore


In honor of Teresa's major achievement, I thought it would be nice to display a sampling of this gifted lady's haiku.



vintage airshow
the dragonfly's
double wings

Beneath the Willow Tree (NCHS Anthology 2007)



lanternless walk
through dark winter night
foxfire glows

Simply Haiku Winter 2008, vol 6 no 4



chenille bedspreads —
silver queen corn tassels
in a Carolina field

The Chapel Hill News (April 23, 2008)



tobacco harvest
women in lamplight
tie the quilt

The Heron's Nest, Volume X, Number 1



There are also a couple of Teresa's free verse poems on this page including sound files of Teresa reciting the aforementioned poems.

Congratulations Dr. L. Teresa Church!

Charlie Smith recites haiku

Continuing our series of video haiku readings, Charlie Smith of Raleigh, NC recites one of his haiku. Charlie was our Haiku - Three Questions guest poet on November 2, 2008.

Jack Kerouac reading haiku

Undoubtedly, many of you have already heard or seen Jack Kerouac reading a number of his "haikus" via the Internet. Here's a YouTube video that I periodically revisit:

Two News Items: Haiku Songs & Carlos Colon

Fleur-de-Lisa, the immensely talented a cappella quartet comprised of Sarah Shunk, Deborah Stewart, Andie Piddington, and Sylvia Freeman, launched a new web site recently. Their debut CD, Willow Songs, contains 27 songs based on haiku by members of the North Carolina Haiku Society. Sample songs from the CD are available on the discography page. The quality and beauty of these hai-ka (haiku songs) are pleasing to the ear and have helped me through many difficult Monday mornings. :-)


The Shreveport Times recently published a great story about award-winning poet Carlos Colon. Carlos is one of the many haiku poets featured in Tazuo Yamaguchi's film documentary, Haiku: The Art of the Short Poem. I saw Carlos at a reading filmed by Yamaguchi at Haiku North American 2007. I learned a valuable lesson from Carlos that day: inject a little lightheartedness and fun into your readings. Carlos, you're "da man!" ;-)

I'll be back in a few days with the weekly Haiku - Three Questions post.