In this, the 2nd episode of the second series the topic is childhood.
It is always wonderful to visit with poets that we have met before and it gives me great pleasure to introduce new poets to the community. I’m happy to say this time we have a good mix of both, thank you, very much, to all of you.
If you are reading this, but haven’t submitted any work, then have a look at our submissions diary for this year and get writing. I promise you this is a safe place to submit.
As usual we are going to be travelling the world, almost. I am still seeking haiku from South America. I know there are haiku writers there, but they have yet to take the plunge and submit.
Before we enter the world of our community, I’d like to read some work that has been previously published in:
Full of Moonlight: Haiku Society of America 2016 Members’ Anthology.
boy walking dog walking boy
Connie Donleycott
open window
a spring breeze blows in
chidren’s laughter
Jim Laurila
Giddy Nielsen Sweep, Australia
Just one haiku from her this time. She is probably busy with her haiku group and of course putting the finishing touches to her book. Here we have a glimpse into her childhood:
lonely farm child
climbs trees and looks down
on the world
Isabel Caves, New Zealand
Haiku is just one of the strings on her writing bow. She writes free form poetry as well as fiction.
setting sun
a child learns to say
“imaginary”
migrant child
she teaches her parents
about the tooth fairy
door to door
the coin-shaped eyes
of a girl scout
The USA
**Rickey Rivers
He was born and raised in Alabama. Rickey’s another poet who writes poetry and fiction.
He writes haiku because it’s fun to fit so much in so little space. He enjoys being able to use the form to tell tiny stories and little moments. Here are a couple of Rickey’s little moments:
Skip rope, hopscotch,
a song blares, ice cream,
vivid dreams.
—
Blood on concrete,
dusty bike,
scabs on knees.
**Dick Bailly
Dick puts me to shame with what he packs into his life, his work, haiku, music, landscape photography and marathon running. Since 1982 he has run 68 marathons! Hopefully we will hear something about his running in the podcast on sport in February, deadline is 11th Feb.
Dick says of haiku that “The verbal imagery is more like a photograph than a movie, more like a tune than a Mahler symphony. The reader completes the haiku.”
I am yet a child
My mind is that of a child
Life is beautiful
This sounded so familiar to me, but I couldn’t place it. Happily Dick came to my rescue, telling me that some might say it is derivative of I Corinthians 13:11–“When I was a child, I thought like a child”,
“Don’t be so childish!”
Mom often says that to me.
Never lose childhood.
**Matt Beck
Matt hails from New York and works in Sales; both in the literal sense, selling construction material and as captain of charter boats in New York harbour. Matt really likes the “surprise” moment in a good haiku. That moment when the progression of perception takes you to a different place than where you thought you were going.
Matt made an interesting point to me, he says that he is something of an introvert and therefore tends to notice things, which is a useful talent for haiku writing. I consider myself an introvert, what about you? Can you see a connection?
unfinished playground
the kids play war
on the yellow bulldozer
first fishing trip
in-between bites
naming worms
Matt is a member of the Spring Street Haiku writing group in Manhattan. There are about 12 regular members who meet to write once a month. He says if anyone is interested in joining them I can connect you. Just let me know.
Joan Barrett
We’ve heard from Joan before. She is, I think growing in confidence as a poet and it shows. She was telling me that she was published in The Haiku Foundation City Sidewalks series—sound, smell, hearing and taste. Actually, as well as some great work by Joan, you’ll also read some pieces by many of our other regular contributors.
lying sick-a-bed warm mother’s lemonade and whiskey
and
how to answer
did you have fun?
wallflower
This last one hit me in the gut. Perhaps I’ll explain why in my haiku for the music podcast in March. Submission deadline 11th March.
Europe
I’m happy to say that many of our European poets are in the European top 100 haiku authors of 2018 as compiled by Eurotop
UK
Robert Horrobin, The Orkney Islands, Scotland
Robert’s piece was written to capture a flash of his experience – that moment when a child realises that their parents are people too, fallible and mortal and perhaps that moment when a parent also remembers when they were a child helping their parent.
On the winters road —
The child she once carried
offers a hand.
Mark Gilbert, England
clack of high heels
in the corridor
the echoes of children
Does this take you back to your schooldays? It does me.
Roger Watson, England
Roger often writes his haiku on his journeys. He travels a great deal to foreign shores. Today he has written this for us:
sports day
children cheering
the teachers’ race
Katherine E Winnick, England
Katherine is sharing a little bit about her childhood memories with us.
Stretched upon leaves
Etched names in the trees
Strawberry tease
Katherine is writing a book. How’s it going, Katherine?
**Constance Bourg, Belgium
She tells me she is a late comer to writing. She studied with the open university whilst living in Ireland and writes poetry and flash fiction.
early sunbeam
warms your pillow …
a closed flower
cars a grey blur
in the lashing rain …
rain drop race!
Patrick Stephens, France
Patrick, an American, lives in France, on a canal boat. He’s working on a very interesting project: one in which he creates music to accompany written haiku. Maybe when he is happy he can give us a preview?
I’m almost grown up
Wiggle, ouch, wiggle, wiggle
Tooth,string, door……. ice-cream !
I was often threatened with this treatment but thankfully never received it.
Patricia, Switzerland
something I wrote, which reminds me of spring:
child soldiers
defend their territory—
dancing daffodils
**Ernesto P Santiago, Greece
One of the reasons why he writes haiku is he says, “because it makes me see the world around me more clearly.”
in the garden
a butterfly and I
unsupervised
**Vessislava Savova, Bulgaria
is a translator. She likes to write about unique moments. Her tip for haiku writing is to write “about things you see and experience, coding the emotion into a simple picture of words”.
Recently Dilyana Georgieva and Vessislava had their bilingual (Bulgarian and English) book of rengay published. Congratulations:
Their editors are professor David G. Lanoue and Ilyana Stoyanova, Living Legacies Editor at Living Haiku Anthology.
zigzagging
the boy who does not
step on snails
Nicholas Klacsanzky, Ukraine
First a piece of work first published in Frogpond, 40:3, 2017
our house
framed in the circle . . .
tire swing
and something just for us:
reverberating
in an empty playground . . .
the screech of swallows
Goran Gatalica, Croatia
Goran sent me an email yesterday. It said: “I have excellent news from World of haiku. I won “Basho-an Award” on First Basho-an International Haiku Competition in Tokyo, Japan.
The Basho Museum and Koto-ku Culture Foundation were the organisers of the Contest. I’ll tell you more about it in the next podcast. But for today Goran has written this for us:
spring moon –
on the boy’s shoulders
younger sister
Turkey.
Guliz Mutlu
inner child
a hint of sun
in the snow
double rainbow
childhood fairyland
under construction
Fatma Gultepe
A haiku previously published in whispers in the wind.
happiness
childhood snow sled
waiting for winter
Ece Cehreli
a work previously published in brassbell journal
colorful garden
a child dreaming
about liberty
Professor RK Singh, India
my grand daughter
with fey appearance:
a woodland sprite
the child lost in
letters and numbers
spins new designs
moving between
the fingers of a toddler
the first winter rain
Agus Maulana Sunjaya, Indonesia
Agus has only been writing english language haiku for three years, yet he has had a number of his pieces featured in contemporary haiku journals.
For us today:
old swing
hearing father’s laugh
in my laughter
Agus and I had an exchange about this haiku. When reading it aloud it is very easy to read,
old swing
hearing my father’s laugh
in my laughter.
But Agus is quite correct to tell me that that is not going to work. Repeating the word “my” would be flawed. Thanks for the discussion Agus.
also from Agus
a portal
to my childhood dreams
buttercup meadows
Mineko Takahashi, Japan
with no timetable
a child searching for
eternity
wintertime
flying a kite
with rosy cheeks
I so enjoyed reading all the haiku and the discussions that I had behind the scenes. I hope you did too.
In a couple of weeks I will be recording a podcast just to finish off the study of Japanese Aesthetics that I was talking about at the end of 2018. After that the next special will be a podcast on the theme of “sport”, deadline for submissions 11th February. Looking forward to reading your work for that one. It’s an unusual topic I think, but have a go.
Thank you so much to everyone who submitted work for this podcast. It was a treat for me to read all of them and make my selections. You are all brilliant.
Thank you to you, for coming along and listening today. It’s great to have you with me and of course, I enjoy hearing your feedback.
If you have haiku or senryu that you would like to share, but you don’t see your topic on the list, send them anyway. I will have general podcasts where I would be most happy to read your work.
So, til next time, have a good couple of weeks and keep writing.
**Poets new to the podcast
Information about our poets:
Isabel Caves:
Isabel’s blog
Rickey Rivers:
Rickey’s website
Twitter
Matt Beck:
Spring Street writing Group – Manhattan
Let me know if you would like to be put in touch with Matt
Joan Barrett:
The Haiku Foundation: City Scapes – Sight
The Haiku Foundation: City Scapes –Smell
The Haiku Foundation: City Scapes –Hearing
The Haiku Foundation: City Scapes – Taste
Mark Gilbert:
The haiku Foundation Poets Profile
Roger Watson:
Roger’s Blog
Roger’s page on the Living Anthology
Katherine E Winnock:
Twitter
Constance Bourg:
Constance’s website
Ernesto P Santiago:
Not Haiku Tips For The Budget Traveler, Just My Journey
Living Anthology page
Poet profile on the Haiku Foundation
Nicholas Klacsanszky:
Editor of Haiku Commentary
Goran Gatalica:
“Basho-an Award” on First Basho-an International Haiku Competition in Tokyo, Japan.
The Haiku Foundation Poets Page
NHK World from Japan in Haiku Masters:
Last Photo Haiku works: (Haiku Masters in Kanazawa and Nanao)
My second book of poetry which was awarded with Prize “Dragutin Tadijanović” (Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts) in 2017. This book was very interesting to academic artist Nina Iris Bešlić and inspirative for her visual artictic work called “Cross Dissolve – Kozmolom”.
Cross Dissolve Kozmolom is an interdisciplinary artwork that blends poetry and visual art through innovative artistic approach, drawing inspiration from cosmic phenomena and the secrets of universe. It is a scientific and spiritual travel through the field of ideas. Installation by Nina Iris Bešlić is a direct reference to the poetry book “Cosmosplit” by poet and physicist Goran Gatalica. Identical themes and ideas from two different worlds symbolically overlap and clash, converge and diverge, mirror and oppose one another, thus creating one whole.
Scenes within the boxes are actually networks of photo collages’ sections, while photo collages are images of cosmos; galaxies, Perseids, Aldebaran, Cassiopeia, interstellar dust, universe phenomena etc. Layers, transparency, fluidity, and lightness are some of the scene elements. By integrating a mirror inside the box opening, the scenes multiply, split, cross, and merge in a mathematically regular patterns. The mirrors split the universe images, translating it into s sign, reducing it to oneness where two aspects of our lives, spiritual and physical (real) come together.
Project was presented on page with photographs of her visual work inspired with my poetry from book “Kozmolom“.
Workshops in Croatian schools supported by Croatian Ministry of Culture, where I motivate children to write their haiku poems inspired with universe. After that children have part of workshop where they make their visual universes inspired with their haiku poems. This project is interesting because our workshops is unique and interdisciplinary, because they connect science (physics) and arts (literature and visual art). And beautiful because we work with creative children.
Photos of our workshops You can find on pages: (Photographs)
Elementary School in Sarvaš:
Elementary School in Kalinovac:
Fatma Gultepe
Whispers in the wind
Ece Cehreli
Brassbell: A haiku Journal
Professor PK Singh:
Professor Singh’s Blogs https://rksingh.blogspot.in ; https://rksinghpoet.blogspot.in ; https://collectedpoemsofrksingh.blogspot.in ; and https://profrksingh.wordpress.com
Professor Singh’s collections : THE RIVER RETURNS (2006), SENSE AND SILENCE:COLLECTED POEMS (2010); NEW AND SELECTED POEMS TANKA AND HAIKU (2012); I AM NO JESUS AND OTHER SELECTED POEMS, TANKA AND HAIKU (with translation into Crimean Tatar , 2014); GOD TOO AWAITS LIGHT (2017); and GROWING WITHIN (English/Romanian 2017). All these volumes carry haiku and tanka as well.
Agus Maulana Sunjaya:
Agus’ work has appeared in Wales Haiku Journal, Akitsu Quarterly, NHK Masters, Frogpond, Chrysanthemum, The Asahi Haikuist Network, and Under the Basho.
Twitter: @agusmsunjaya
Mineko Takahashi:
Instagram sites teaching Japanese Idioms “your_private_japanese_tutor” and “ur_japanese_tutor”
FB account @yourjapanesetutor which discusses many facets of the language from the viewpoint of a foreign learner.
