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Haiku Society of America NewsVolume 31, Issue 4 - April 05, 2016
(HSA News replaces Ripples as the official newsletter of HSA)
In This Issue
Regional News
California
Mid-west
Southeast
Northeast Atlantic
Print Publications
Become aMember of HSA
The HSA appreciates your continued support and your participation in societyactivities. As primary supplement to the HSA website, this monthly report strivesto bring you news from the Executive Committee and the Regional Chapters.
Dear Members,
A long, long time ago, when gods andgoddesses lived in Japan's archipelago, therewas a sun goddess named AmaterasuOmikami (Mighty Goddess Of The ShiningSky). One day, after lamenting her brother'smisbehavior, she hid herself inside a stone cave. The skywent dark and many evil things began to happen. To lureher out of the cave, other gods asked a female goddess todance. Some of her dance was outrageously funny and heraudience laughed so hard. Out of curiosity, the sun goddess
Membership includes ayear's subscription to thesociety's journal,Frogpond (three issuesyearly). In addition,members receive HSANEWS on the fifth ofeach month, the annualinformation sheet and anannual address/email listof HSA members.
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Like us on Facebook. Sharenews, poems, discussions!See photos from somerecent gatherings of thepoetic kind.
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.haiku
Check out the ".haiku"column at the HSAwebpage, please. GeneMyers shares tools and tipsavailable to haiku poets.
View our web samplerand excerpts fromprevious issues ofFrogpond.
peeked out and was eventually enticed out of the cave. There was another goddess named Konohana Sakuya Hime(Princess Of Blooming Blossoms). 'Konohana' (thisblossom) is another name for a plum blossom. It was basedon the following waka from Kokin-shu. 難波津に咲くやこの花冬ごもり今は春べと咲くやこの花naniwazu ni saku ya kono hana fuyugomori ima wa haru beto saku ya kono hana
blossoms bloom in Naniwazu-these flowers that hibernated now findspring has come...and these blossomsstart to bloom
The goddess of spring was called 'Saohime' (Princess OfSao). Mt. Sao is located to the east of Nara, the ancientcapital. Since east was considered the direction of spring,this goddess was named after this mountain. I might addthat the goddess of autumn is 'Tatsuta Hime' (Princess OfTatsuta) because Mt. Tatsuta is located to the west of thecapital - the direction of autumn. At the joint meeting of HSA and the Southern CaliforniaHaiku Study Group in Pasadena on March 19, I felt I hadmet our own goddesses of spring. Genie Nakano opened themeeting with her dance and haibun performance. SusanAntolin followed the act presenting 'Haiku Aesthetics.' Ithen gave a speech titled 'Writing With You-ness,' followedby haiga presentation and reading by Naia. A more detailedreport is found in this newsletter. spring afternoonthe goddess's robehung on a branch
Fay AoyagiHSA [email protected]
CaliforniaDeborah Kolodji
Haiku San Diego(Southern California)
March 13, 2016, Haiku San Diego (HSD) Regular MonthlyMee=ng. A@endees: Naia (facilitator), Donna Buck, SusanCampion, Sco@ Galasso, Carol Judkins, Denise Lizarraga,Claudia Poquoc, and Karen Stromberg.
Members of HSD met on a perfect spring day, enjoying thepa=o seSng of a local coffee house.
Our topic was The "Simple" Haiku: Complex CraZing and theImpression aZer the Words Fall Away. Naia handed out areference sheet lis=ng types of craZing under the generalheadings of 1) Structure and 2) Techniques.
HSD members par=cipated in an exercise to study pre-selected published haiku and iden=fy the structuralelements and techniques each poet used in his/herpublished haiku. We also discussed whether or not weperceived the types of craZing as subtle or heavy-handedand the poten=al for edits, if any. We found that we werebe@er able to iden=fy many elements of "Complex CraZing"that leave us with a moment of revela=on in ways weseldomly explore in more depth. Each of us realized thereare some elements and techniques we regularly overlookand, therefore, are less likely to use when wri=ng our ownhaiku.
During the final segment of our mee=ng we par=cipated inan anonymous haiku workshop, with special emphasis onthe craZing elements and techniques contained in eachentry as well as poten=al missed opportuni=es.
Note: The sources of the various haiku we studied duringthe first hour were The Heron's Nest (March 2013 andDecember 1999), Modern Haiku (Summer 2011), Frogpond(Winter 2014), and The Virgilio Contest (HSA annualcontest, 1996 winning haiku). Authors were revealed aZerour exercise was completed.
Naia Temecula, CA submi@ed by Deborah P Kolodji
Southern California Haiku Study Group
On Saturday, March 19, the Southern California Haiku StudyGroup (SCHSG) hosted a Haiku Society of America regionalmee=ng in Pasadena at the beau=ful USC Pacific AsiaMuseum. Deborah P Kolodji presided over the day's events,which began with a well-a@ended lunch at the CaliforniaPizza Kitchen across the street from the museum. Theofficial program began at 1 p.m. in the auditorium of themuseum with a brief business mee=ng led by HSA PresidentFay Aoyagi, appropriately and enthusias=cally aSred in ahat and t-shirt bearing the HSA logo, both of which areavailable for purchase on the HSA website (a link to theHaiku Society of America GiZ Shop is on the right handcolumn of the HSA homepage). Fay men=oned upcomingHSA events in Portland, Oregon in August and in HotSprings, Arkansas in the fall. Anyone with ques=ons orconcerns they would like to address to Fay should contacther via email at [email protected].
Fay Aoyagi
Fay's announcements were followed by a dance anddrama=c haibun performance by SCHSG member GenieNakano. A skilled performer, Genie punctuated herperformance with several well-=med moments of humorand included a wide range of material, including a series oftanka. Debbie then introduced Susan Antolin, whopresented a talk en=tled "Haiku Aesthe=cs: A Look atUnderstatement" that she had previously given at the HaikuNorth America conference in Schenectady, New York in
October. She argued that the ideal of understatement inhaiku is a useful measure for evalua=ng the effec=veness ofboth tradi=onal and contemporary haiku and discussedvarious ways understatement can be achieved. AZer a briefbreak for refreshments and socializing, Fay presented aworkshop on "Wri=ng from You-ness" in which sheencouraged us to allow ourselves into our haiku. Shequoted from the introduc=on to her first book,Chrysanthemum Love, in which she wrote, "I don't writehaiku to report the weather. I write to tell my stories." Shealso noted that, contrary to what many haiku poets believe,metaphor can be used in haiku. To inspire us in wri=ng ourown haiku, Fay presented a variety of sample poems withinteres=ng season words including hazy moon, lilac,asparagus, east wind, bu@erfly, mother-child grass, andfather-child grass. She also spoke about what she refers toas "the three B's in haiku: Between the lines, Behind thelines and Beneath the lines." She likened this idea toJapanese bunraku plays, in which the people manipula=ngthe puppets in full view of the audience become nearlyinvisible as the audience's a@en=on is on the lifelikemovement of the puppets. In a similar way, the poet can beinvisible (though s=ll present) between, behind andbeneath the lines of the haiku. Fay closed her presenta=onby passing a microphone around so that everyone couldread aloud one or more of the haiku they had just wri@en.
Next up was a haiga reading by Naia, an ac=ve SCHSGmember and accomplished visual ar=st, who showed slidesof watercolor pain=ngs and photographs (all done by her),while reading each haiku aloud accompanied by recordedmusic. It was a polished and inspiring performance!
Naia
AZer Naia's reading, there was an open mic reading inwhich anyone was welcome to read a handful of haiku ortanka at a =me while Rick Wilson performed on flute. Theday provided plenty of inspira=on, food for thought, andhaiku camaraderie. A lovely day!
submi@ed by Susan Antolin
Several Southern California Haiku Study Groupmembers met at Abricott Restaurant to welcomeFrogpond editor, Aubrie Cox, and associate editor, JimWarner, to Southern California. Aubrie and Jim werein town for the AWP conference being held at the LosAngeles Convention Center. There was some haiku atAWP - Roberta Beary was featured at the Rattlereading on Friday, April 1st, and Aubrie did a booksigning of her haiku chapbook, "out of translation," atthe Kattywompus press table. Kathabela Wilson andDeborah P Kolodji both participated at off-site AWPreadings for the Coast to Coast Poetry Collective,Kathabela reading from Mariko Kitakubo's new book oftanka, Indigo, from and Deborah reading from herupcoming book of haiku, "highway of sleeping towns"from Shabda Press. Hummingbird Press editor CXDillhunt read a few haiku from an issue ofHummingbird as well as having copies of haikuchapbooks by former editor Phyllis Walsh for sale. Upcoming events for Southern California include aHSA/HNA haiku booth at the Los Angeles TimesFestival of Books on the USC Campus, April 9th and10th, a haiku workshop at the Fullerton Arboretum onApril 23rd (11 am to 12:30), a haiku station at aGarden of Verses at the Rancho Santa Ana BotanicGarden in Claremont on April 30th, and a ginko/haikureading at the Whispering Pines Tea House andFriendship Garden in Glendale on May 15th.
submitted by Deborah P Kolodji, SCHSG Group Moderator
_______________________
Tom Tico (1943-2016)It is with great sadness that we share the news thatTom Tico passed away on February 4, 2016 at the ageof 73. Tom was a founding member of HPNC, a co-editor of the San Francisco Haiku Anthology, theauthor of Spring Morning Sun (Belltower Press, 1998),and a skilled and widely admired poet. He beganwriting haiku in the 1960s and continued writing andpublishing his work up to the end of his life. A lifelongresident of San Francisco, Tom once said, "Why do wehave to write about nature separate from our lives?Why go to the country? I'm writing about what I know,these streets where I was born, where I have lived mywhole life. All the nature I need is right here, in thePanhandle." He will be truly missed. Three of his
poems from the San Francisco Haiku Anthology(Smythe-Waithe Press, 1992):
In the mission garden, the old fountain overflows with morning-glories
Beside the tenement a box of broken glass filled with autumn sun
With the children gone the fall wind opens and closes the playhouse door
____________________________
Yuki Teikei Haiku Society GinkgoWalk
With our rain gear, picnic supplies, and camera intow, my wife Roz and I arrived at the East BayRegional Park Botanic Garden for the YTHS Meeting at10:45 AM on Saturday March 12, 2016. Given theweather forecast, I was dubious that anyone fromYTHS would come. We waited around for twentyminutes after the scheduled start time of 11 AM, andwhile there were many other visitors in the Garden,no one from YTHS appeared. But since we were there (Roz was scheduled to lead aweekend Docent Tour at 2 PM, which did get rainedout), we decided to do our own Ginkgo Walk aroundthe Garden. It wasn't really raining, just occasionaldrizzles. With my camera, I took all of the picturesabove. I did not include any manzanita pictures, butmost of them were in full bloom all over the Garden. The Garden walk and the wet weather inspired thishaiku: Old haiku poet feels the rain, stands up and jumps - splashes of water. Hopefully, next year the Garden Tour will not be awashout, although we are grateful for all of the rain.
- David Sherertz
Coast Fawn Lily(Erythronium revolutum)
Mottled leaves reminiscent of the markings of a fawn.There were four different species of fawn lilies inthe Garden in bloom on 03/12/2016.
Floweringcurrant (Ribes sanguineum)
Many different currants blooming throughout theGarden. This one was growing at the edge of WildcatCreek, which was flowing vigorously.
Wake Robin(Trillium chloropetalum)
Five different species of trillium were in bloom in avariety of places in the Garden. This one is native tothe Garden.
Silver BushLupine (Lupinus albifrons)
A lupine in full bloom in the second week of March.Evidence of ample rain mixed with periods ofwarmth and sun this Winter.
CaliforniaPipevine (Aristolochia californica)
This is its flower, which comes out before the leaves.Its common name comes from the shape of theflower, reminiscent of a Meerschaum pipe.
Adobe Lily(Fritillaria pluriflora)
The bulb beds in the Garden had quite a variety oflilies, shooting stars, and other rare California nativebulbs in bloom. They are camera shy.
California Newt(Taricha torosa)
This newt was in the parking lot near the restrooms.Concerned that its location might flood with standing
water, I coaxed it away to the bushes.
East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden (Hortus EBRP)
The Garden has only California native plants. The rainheld off until early afternoon, except for briefdrizzles. Wildcat Creek was roaring through.
Mid-WestJulie Warther
MidwestStudy Groups
The Midwest is abuzz with new study groups! To findone in your area, check the Midwest page on the HSAwebsite. http://www.hsa-haiku.org/regions/midwest.htmOr contact Julie Warther at [email protected].
Ohaio-ku Study Group
The first meeting of the Ohaio-ku Study Group willmeet Saturday, April 9 from 10am-noon at theCuyahoga Falls Public Library in Cuyahoga Falls,Ohio. http://cuyahogafallslibrary.org
The study group is open to anyone, from beginners toseasoned haiku poets. Each session will includewriting exercises, discussion of published haiku,work-shopping of our own writing, and time forattendees to write and share their work.
The group will meet the second Saturday of everymonth.
Questions may be directed to Julie Warther [email protected].
______________________
New Haiku Blog
John Martone has started a new blog,http://otatablog.wordpress.com that will be devotedto haiku and short poems. The first three monthshave featured Mara Rosolen, Tom Montag, JohnPerlman, Scott Metz, David McMurray and PhilipRowland, among other fine poets.
April will be devoted to Haiku from Italy.
submitted by John Martone
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Indianapolis Haiku Group
The Indianapolis Haiku Group (IHC) will meet onSunday, April 24th, from 2-5pm. IHC is a place for writers to share, read, write andworkshop haiku, senryu, tanka, haibun, tanka prose, haiga and collaborative forms.The location varies each month.
Please contact group facilitator Kyle D. Craig at
[email protected] if you are interested in attending.
submitted by Kyle D. Craig
______________________
University Center for Poetry, will have its thirdgathering on April 16, 2016 from 1-3, C302 SnyderHall. (Campus parking is free on Saturdays.) All arewelcome, from beginners to seasoned poets. Sessionsinclude read-arounds, aesthetic explorations, haikuexercises, writing time, collaborative play, andsharing. Check out the Center for Poetry website athttp://poetry.rcah.msu.edu/index.htmlor contact Michele Root-Bernstein [email protected] for moreinformation.
Bonus for haiku enthusiasts:The Michigan State University Science Festival willhost a Haiku Hike on Sunday, April 17, 2016 from11:00 - 12:30, starting in Rm 127 of the ChemistryBuilding. All ages! For more information, seehttp://www.sciencefestival.msu.edu/Event/View/187
submited by Michele Root-Bernstein
SoutheastRobyn Hood Black
Forgive me Southeast HSA members forbeing a little out of touch as we transitionfrom my 'reign' (sounds so regal - haha)to that of Robyn Hood Black's. Thatdoesn't mean things haven't been going on in ourregion! If you are doing something in your state, pleaseemail me at [email protected].
In March, I and HSA member Peggy Bilbro judged theBirmingham Public library's Twitter Haiku contents, inboth the adult and youth categories. The BPLpartnered with the Japan-America Society of Alabama(JASA) and the Southeast Chapter of the HSA tosponsor the contest as part of the annual SakuraFestival, the primary event of which took place at the
Japanese Gardens at the Birmingham BotanicalGardens on Saturday, March 19, 2016. Awards weregiven to the top three winners in both categories.
Friday, March 4, HSA member and Reinhold Universityprofessor, Laurence Stacey and I were the featuredguests at the Birmingham Public Library's annualevent, 'Bards, Brew & Haiku.' There were, of course,haiku readings, sake and beer tasting, music, and around of Robert Moyer's wonderful game 'ExquisiteSyllable' (check out the Haiku Foundation's March 15post to learn more about this game).
Saturday, March 5, Laurence and I conducted a verywell attended workshop at the library. Thank you toHaruyo Miyagawa, former head of BPL'sArts/Literature and Sports Department for the invite.This was my third year and Laurence's first. He did awonderful job talking about the fundamentals of haikuwriting. Haruyo had just returned from Japan as part of afriendship doll exchange between the children ofJapan and the US. The 88-year-old friendship doll,Miss Iwate, had a recent makeover in Japan inSeptember of 2015. On March 20 there was awelcome home celebration for Miss Iwati as shereturned to Birmingham.
Enjoy the warmer weather and get out there for a haikuhike!
- Submitted by Terri L. French
Mid-AtlanticRobert Ertman
Japan America Society:Otsukimi
On the last Saturday of September, Lee Giesecke wasfeatured speaker at the Japan American Society's moonviewing, held this year at the Ekoji Buddhist temple inFairfax Station, Virginia. The evening began with an obentosupper and included performances by Nen Daiko, thetemple's taiko drum ensemble, Akihiro Kawauchi on theshamisen, and musicians of the Washington Toho KotoSociety. Throughout the evening everyone was free toexplore the temple's Three Treasure Garden.
Haiku writing was a major part of the evening, and Lee hadbeen asked to teach the guests to write haiku. He wasallotted only 10 minutes, however, so the assignment wasHerculean-especially as most of the writers were new tohaiku. Still a brief overview was possible. Lee providedsome classic poems as examples as well this haiku of hisown turkey released all night in the pine her dark silhouette (from bottle rockets 8:1, 2001). The response wasrewarding. Many haiku were written and were read at theend of the evening. We are sorry not to be able to publish aselection-there was no time to get permission from theauthors.
Towpath Meetings October's Towpath was hosted by EllenCompton. We had the pleasure of welcoming guest poetPatrick Gallagher, here on a brief visit. Patrick and RobertaBeary had both attended Haiku North America at Union College in Schenectady, sowere able to give us an informal summary of the programs.
December's host was Mark Brager. We welcomed guest poetJulie Bloss Kelsey, down from Germantown especially forthe meeting. It was also a pleasure to meet (in person, atlast) Mark's son Nathan - the creator of our video for lastyear's Haiku Poetry Day celebration.
Having survived late January's Snowzilla, Towpathmembers gathered for the February meeting at ElizabethBlack's, where we welcomed new member Lidia CeballosYoshida. Originally from California, Lidia now lives inArlington where she continues her work in science.
Roberta Beary Reading On March 13, Roberta Beary readat The Writer's Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Her programincluded works from Deflection, her collection of haibunand haiku sequences (Accents Publishing, 2015), as well ashaiku from The Unworn Necklace (Snapshot Press, 2007). Ahighlight was the visual presentation of Caretaker I & II, asequence from Deflection, set to music, and featuringabstract art by Roberta's brother Kevin Beary. (The photo ofRoberta is by Nathan Beary Bluestein.)
- submitted by Ellen Compton
Northeast AtlanticWanda Cook
On March 28th, the Boston Haiku Society and Kaji AsoStudio sponsored a reading of contemporary haikuwith members of the Society and guest poet, DonWentworth.
The Haiku Poets' Society of Western Massachusettswelcomes three new members: Holly Spaulding, TomSeymour and Jeannie Martin. We look forward to theirparticipation and poetry.
Notice: For the past 6 years many of you havereceived a greeting on April 17th from the HaikuPoets' Society of Western Massachusetts in celebrationof National Haiku Poetry Day. The cards, designed andedited by Patricia Harvey and Wanda Cook, have beenenjoyable but time consuming to produce. This year,time got away from us, and we just couldn't catch up.So, instead, we send you our greetings, but withoutthe frog.
Happy National Haiku Poetry Day!
Haiku Poets' Societyof Western Massachusetts
- submitted by Wanda Cook
DISCOUNT CODEfor
Haiku North America 25th Anniversary Anthology
Have you ever attended Haiku North America andcontributed to any HNA conference anthology? Thenyou're entitled to a $10-off discount for Fire in theTreetops, the special 25th anniversary anthologycelebrating these biennial conferences. The book,published by Press Here in 2015, is 7x10 inches, 416pages, and includes 1,053 haiku, compiled from allHNA conference anthologies, including new poems for2015. Also included are an extensive introduction and13 appreciation essays focusing on haiku from each ofthe conferences, from 1991 to 2015, plus cover andinterior artwork by Christopher Patchel. To get yourdiscount code, please email Michael Dylan Welch [email protected]. Or, to learn more about the book,
please visit http://www.graceguts.com/press-here(click the contributor list link to find out how toeasily use your code). Get your copy soon. Discountcodes expire 30 June 2016.
"The poets whose work appears here comprise averitable who's who of English-language haiku. . . .Fire in the Treetops chronicles the florescence ofNorth American haiku and we might well consider theindex of poets to be its pantheon." -Charles Trumbull
You might also be interested in ordering the shortbook, Becoming a Haiku Poet, a primer on the art oflearning haiku. For more information, please visithttps://www.createspace.com/5726859. Foradditional Press Here books, please seehttp://www.graceguts.com/press-here. Thank you!
Ignatius Fay HSA NEWS Editor
Haiku Society of [email protected]
Comments or concerns about your membership?Please contact the HSA officers
Haiku Society of America | P.O. Box 31 | Nassau | NY | 12123
