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I’m full of beans because today is the Haiku Pea’s 4th birthday. Happy birthday and virtual cake to all of us.
So what do I have as birthday treats today? I have a little bit of housekeeping and news, and some practical advice for anyone submitting to Journals and more…
If you’ve listened to the podcast for any length of time you’ll know that we always have a renku on the go. Today Matt Synder, Craig Kittner and James Young will be joining us to read from the renku they and others wrote, contributaries, which you can read in the summer edition of the Poetry Pea Journal now out in paperback and kindle form.
And finally, our wonderful haiku friend Debbie Strange will be here to read from her latest book The language of loss.
Now do you remember in episode 17 of the series Mark Gilbert came in to talk about long haiku?
- You should now be submitting your long haiku for consideration for the next journal and podcast. Please try not to leave it to the last minute, which is the 20th of October
- Do you remember that he read us this poem by Richard Wright:
A sleepless spring night:
Yearning for what I never had
And for what never was.
Richard Wright, Haiku: This Other World, 1998
Mark and I were discussing editing and we wondered if Richard were alive today and still writing haiku would he have got that particular haiku past an editor in its original form. I asked you whether you would come up with some ideas if you were Richards’ editor, a friend discussing the poem with him or rewriting it having been inspired by him.
I’d like to read you a couple of poems inspired by that chat and Richard’s work. They show what you can do with a simple edit and a reconstruction of an idea. I hope you find them as interesting as I did. Thanks to everyone who sent me their ideas and to Cath Wren and Grix who allowed me to use theirs.
sleepless spring night
yearning for what i never had
what never was
Cath Wren
what could have been sleepless spring night
Grix
There now, what do you think?
Renku
At the moment Nick Hoffman is leading a group of six poets through a renku. If you ever fancy joining us do send me an email and I’ll put you down for the next one. It’s a great way to interact and be inspired by other poets.
Not so long ago I was joined by Matt Snyder, Craig Kittner and James Young for a reading of the most recently completed of our renku, contributaries. Sadly we weren’t able to get all of the renku poets together, David Oates, Linda L Ludwig and Giddy Nielsen Sweep couldn’t make the reading. We missed you …
A big thank you to Matt Snyder who led the renku from start to finish, no small undertaking.
The poets read in this order: Matt, Me , Craig and James.
If you’d like to read the renku, please purchase the journal. It’s always a joy to have poetry read aloud but it’s always delightful to have something to read and re-read at your own pace.
Thanks once again to all the poets involved in the renku and to Matt,
Craig and James who came along for the reading and a little chat.
Practical Tip
So the podcast is four years old. We’ve been doing readings for more or less that length of time and I thought I’d share a practical tip that would help me when you submit and I think it would probably help when you submit to other journals too.
Many of you use pen names when you’re submitting your work. I do too. Sometimes this can be a little bit confusing for editors unless you’re very clear.
Could I ask a favour of you please? When you submit your work please make it clear what name you want to be published under and how you wish that name to appear.
So here’s a check list
- Have I written my name? You’d be surprised how many poets leave me to guess from their email what their name is
- Have I made it clear what my publication name is
- Have I written my name as I wish to see it published
News.
- The latest journal is out. I think it’s a really good example of contemporary haiku what do you think?
- Do let me know
- If you have a minute could you put a review on Amazon I’d be most grateful, thank you.
- Currently the submission topic is long haiku. Your email submission should reach me by the 20th of October.
- Call for submissions of Haibun. The submission period is the month of October so you have until the 31st
- Long haiku is going to be the last topic for submissions this year
- Our next submission period will be February 2022
- I’ll put the submission topics on the website just as soon as I know what they are
- If you have ideas do whizz them across to me by email
- Sign up for our mailing to get all the latest news
- The podcast will continue without a break, so please keep joining me for lots of haiku related bits and bobs.
Thank you
A big thank you to everyone who has bought me a coffee. I’ll do a proper thank you in the next podcast, but with your help I have made it to 63% of my target to buy the new microphone. Thanks so much.
Debbie Strange
The Language of Loss was the winner of 2019 Sable Books International Women’s Haiku Contest (judged by Roberta Beary), and it also received an HM in the 2021 Haiku Society of America Merit Book Awards for books published in 2020 (judged by Bryan Rickert and Ce Rosenow).
Debbie has also recorded a YouTube video which will be up on the website soon.
If you’d like a copy of the book please go to the link provided and purchase a copy.
Thanks so much for coming along to listen to all of us today and celebrating our birthday with me. Please join us next time when I’ll be reading a wonderful selection of original haiku and senryu written just for you…
Til next time, keep writing
If I’ve messed up or left anything out, please do let me know by email.
