Daily Haiku: June 15, 2019

open field

the sound of wild geese

returning

 

by Anna Maris  (Sweden)

Frogpond, Vol. 42:2, Spring/Summer 2019

Daily Haiku: June 14, 2019

daisy meadow
a little girl talks to herself
in falling petals

 

by Elmedin Kadric (Sweden)

Presence, #63, 2019

Daily Haiku: June 13, 2019

senryu

the meaty grin
of her red-lipped mouth
my divorce lawyer

by Chen-ou Liu  (Canada/Taiwan)

Haiku Canada Review, 11:1, 2017

Daily Haiku: June 12, 2019

getting older
the friends i have lost
getting closer

 

 

by Michael Rehling  (USA)

Daily Haiku: June 11, 2019

moving day

we take apart the bed

our parents dreamed on

 

 

by Gregory Longenecker (USA)

First Place

H Gene Murtha Senryu Contest, 2017

Daily Haiku: June 10, 2019

hiding
in the evergreen
first day of spring

 

by Elmedin Kadric (Sweden)

The Heron’s Nest, Vol. XX, No. 1, March 2019

Daily Haiku: June 6 through 9, 2019

We are pleased to feature longtime Haikuist and Author Ben Moeller-Gaa this week with a sampling of his poems from Wishbones.  For more information on  Ben and his work, be sure to visit his website: http://www.benmoellergaa.com

 

wishbones

the way we split

in two

the silence

between bursts

of air conditioning

the vet feeling

the old cat’s tummy     a lump

in my throat

bus stop

a plastic bag jellyfishing

in the breeze

by Ben Moeller-Gaa (USA), Author

Wishbones, 2018

Daily Haiku: June 5, 2019

the dead of night
my father wanders
through my dreams

 

by Gregory Longenecker  (USA)

Frogpond, 37.2, 2014

Daily Haiku: June 4, 2019

colours of spring
the brightness
of shadows

 

by Maureen Sudlow (New Zealand)

November 2018

Daily Haiku: June 3, 2019

senryu

Sunday morning walk–

the smell of bacon

from every other house

by Mike Montreuil  (Canada)

bottle rockets, 9.2, 2012

Daily Haiku: June 2, 2019

yard sale
the rain easily filling
my late father’s shoes

 

 

by John J. Dunphy (USA)

Acorn, #14, 2005

Daily Haiku: June 1, 2019

outlasting
the last of his kin–
a purple heart

 

by Carole MacRury (USA)

Haiku Exhibit Coming Soon!

If you’ve ever wanted to learn to write short, insightful poetry about the human experience, an exhibit featuring haiku and senryu may get you started.

Charlotte Digregorio, the author of Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All, will exhibit her illustrated haiku (haiga) at Northfield Public Library, 1785 Orchard Lane, Northfield, IL the month of July. Her solo exhibit will feature three-line haiku, haiku sequences with a theme, and senryu, the latter in the haiku form but with a focus on the theme of human nature, rather than nature.     .

 

Haiku originated in Japan in the 1600s and is now written in free form in the English language, often without the structure of five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and five syllables in the third line. Senryu originated in Japan in the 1700s and is often humorous.

“I love the simplicity  and elegance of Japanese-style poetry,” Digregorio says. “Haiku and senryu capture the moments of our lives. They often evoke our deepest emotions that we may have difficulty sharing even with those close to us,” she adds.

Digregorio loves to teach both young and old about the beauty of haiku and senryu, and about how writing in a few words can be “expressive and rewarding.”

By combining poetry and art, Digregorio feels that people who don’t normally read poetry are drawn to it in public places. She hopes poetry will become “more of a maintstream art, more visible to the public.”

Digregorio has solo poetry exhibits year ’round at  large and small libraries, corporate buildings, convention centers, galleries, museums, schools, restaurants, cafes, stores, and botanic gardens, among other venues. Her poetry has even been featured on public transit.

Digregorio received a commendation from former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner for promoting the literary arts and her lifelong achievements in the field.

For more information about this event, you may contact Digregorio at c-books@hotmail.com.

She blogs at http://www.charlottedigregorio.wordpress.com, and her posts include “The Daily Haiku,” written by international  haikuists.

 

Copyright 2019 by Charlotte Digregorio.

Daily Haiku: May 31, 2019

senryu

constant slam
of the screen door
rhubarb pie 

by Jo Balistreri  (USA)

bottle rockets, #35, August 2016

Daily Haiku: May 30, 2019

senryu

on and on

about impermanence

the recent Buddhist convert

by Robert Epstein (USA)

bottle rockets, #25, 2011

Daily Haiku: May 29, 2019

senryu

my old neighborhood

the same neighbors

still ignore me

by Johnette Downing (USA)

bottle rockets, #25, 2011

Daily Haiku: May 28, 2019

beginnings

and endings

cherry blossoms

 

by Olivier Schopfer (Switzerland)

Half in Light, Half in the Shade: Haiku and Senryu, 2019

Daily Haiku: May 27, 2019

all night
rain falling
through my dreams

 

by Maureen Sudlow  (New Zealand)

Wales Haiku Journal, 2018

Daily Haiku: May 26, 2019

the hardest part

making that leap

moss covered stone

 

by Peggy Bilbro (USA)

on down the road

Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology, 2017

Daily Haiku: May 25, 2019

senryu

loneliness–

the crows don’t sound so bad

after all

by Stanford M. Forrester/sekiro

Frogpond, Vol. 41, No. 2, 2018

Daily Haiku: May 24, 2019

airplane window seat

the number of times

I have to say “excuse me”

 by Olivier Schopfer (Switzerland), Author

So Many Miles: Fifty Senryu, 2019

Daily Haiku: May 23, 2019

first grade . . .

shaping little lumps

of clay

 

by Elinor Pihl Huggett (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. 41:2, 2018

Daily Haiku: May 22, 2019

all the seasons

sitting

by her deathbed

by Elmedin Kadric  (Sweden)

Frogpond, Vol. 11, No. 2, 2018

Daily Haiku: May 21, 2019

senryu

picking at threads

of a worn seam–

still not forgiven

 

by Lew Watts (USA)

Frogpond, 36:2, 2013

Daily Haiku: May 20, 2019

the geese-flock above

a rural boy watches them

under morning stars

                              

by Paweł Markiewicz (Poland)

bear creek haiku, April 2019

Daily Haiku: May 19, 2019

blue neon
the player walks the beat
right off his bass

 

by Jeffrey Winke (USA)

Special Offer for Followers and Readers of The Daily Haiku

Thank you to everyone who has written fabulous comments about my book, Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All. Further, thank you to the more than 75 reviewers and editors for their outstanding reviews!

Whenever authors publish how-to writing guides, they should do it because they feel there is a need for their books in the marketplace. Sure, there are other how-to books on a particular subject, but in writing a new book, the author should strive to offer a fresh angle on the subject that will allow others to better understand and write in that particular genre.

I wanted to take the subjects of haiku and senryu– the latter, in the haiku form, but with a focus on human nature– and make them accessible to everyone, not just poets. I wrote my book so that people would understand the beauty and rewards of writing this poetry, no matter what their professional or personal background. But, the book is also useful to poets who’ve been writing the two forms for years, particularly those who’d like to teach them.

In writing my book, I wanted to dispel the myths about haiku and senryu. I also wanted to include information for educators at all levels about haiku and senryu so they could understand the forms well enough to teach them and profit from my lesson plans.

In this book, I specifically address the basics of the two forms; give samples and analysis of skillful and accessible poems; discuss how to come up with ideas for writing them; how to refine poems; give a brief international history of the two forms; offer comments from well-known poets on their perspectives in writing and enjoying these poems; discuss haiku/senryu sequences; and provide the ins and outs of getting published. There is also an extensive appendix of follow-up recommended resources: books, journals, and websites. The appendix includes Shadows of Seasons, my award-winning collection of haiku and senryu.

I am gratified that readers and reviewers find my book useful and  believe it fulfills my mission in teaching everyone at every level how to write and publish haiku and senryu. I’ve included a sampling of the great reviews below.

I am making a special offer to you, my loyal readers and followers of The Daily Haiku. If you contact us within the next 30 days, we will send you an autographed copy of Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All, shipped free. That’s a savings of $4. You pay $19.95 total. Email us at artfulcommunicators@icloud.com and we will send you  order information and answer any of your questions. International readers may order through Amazon more expediently.

These are just a few of the outstanding reviews/comments below:

An altogether brilliant work that must be read by anyone with so much as a passing interest in haiku/senryu. Charlotte Digregorio has penned a masterpiece! She has written the definitive guide to one of poetry’s most fascinating genres. This work belongs on the bookshelf of any poet who is serious about writing the kind of haiku/senryu that editors want to publish.

—John J. Dunphy, Author and Poet, Touching Each Tree (his latest haiku collection)

This book is overall the best one out there on the subject. The amount of information is extraordinary and exceeds that found in any other book. In particular, the commentaries on selected poems are intelligent and sensitive, and really place keys into the hands of readers for unlocking the mysteries and joys of haiku literature–from its roots in Japan to its present robust evolution in English and other languages.

—Michael McClintock, Award-Winning Author/Editor of haiku & tanka books. Former President of The United Haiku and Tanka Society

Outstanding in every way–Digregorio has written a clear and engaging study of haiku and senryu. The book could serve as a complete text for anyone interested in engaging with these two simple but challenging forms of poetry.

–S. Rhutasel-Jones, Author and Poet

If a book about haiku inspires the reader to create haiku, then Charlotte Digregorio’s haiku and senryu guide has done its job bountifully. Digregorio calls this “A Simple Guide for All” and she isn’t kidding. Her basic instruction simplifies the process of writing haiku without sacrificing the beauty and the pleasure that are essential. The examples of well-known haikuists shimmer with perfection! If you are interested in pursuing this lovely, subtle art form, THIS is the guide you need. Fantastic guide! I can’t believe how much I learned.

–Robin Stratton, Editor, Boston Literary Magazine

A strong overview of haiku. A wealth of material on how to introduce and teach haiku to children, college students, and interested adults. For busy teachers the material will make it easier to provide guidance to their students. Any teacher would be thrilled for the helpful guidance, examples, and tools for presenting the form to the next generation. The pain and work involved in creating one’s own lesson plans is gone with the author’s well-honed presentations. The bibliography also contains a wealth of material. Buy a copy for teachers, students, or interested poets and just tell them to read it. This volume will not steer them wrong, and gives any reader something with meat to hang their hat on while they discover or further explore haiku. It will remain on my shelf.

—Mike Rehling, Book Reviewer, United Haiku and Tanka Society

An energetic and comprehensive guide by a prolific writer and educator with insightful perspectives and a generous sampling of published haiku and senryu. This practical guide is delivered in a relaxed, conversational tone so that the lessons and examples are informative and easily accessible. Extensive appendices and bibliography.

—Frogpond: Journal of the Haiku Society of America

This book will hook the beginning reader and leave them wanting more. The book demystifies the genre. It offers haiku that are accessible and doable. The “Getting Published” section offers some good tips on submitting to and building a relationship with editors. The large reference section with bibliography of educational books, anthologies, collections, journals, and websites will be of great value to beginning readers.

Paul Miller, Editor of Modern Haiku journal

I honor the work Charlotte Digregorio has done on behalf of English-language haiku in Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All. She has a gift for writing clearly, concentrating on what matters beyond passing controversy. As for her own fresh and gritty poems, Digregorio has the courage to face the truth of love, loss, aging, homelessness, birth/death and the upside down nature of life—the full catastrophe. Expect to be challenged and invigorated.

–Dr. Robert Epstein, Psychologist/Author, Checkout Time is Noon: Death Awareness Haiku

Marvelous book! Marvelous insight. I truly enjoyed this book, being wonderfully surprised by the new information I didn’t know. The chapter on teaching haiku was especially great, since I’ve taught it, but by a different method. And, Charlotte Digregorio’s haiku often evoke a chuckle of wry recognition or stop you dead in your tracks from awe. She seems well acquainted with the quotidian’s variety of her days, from homeless folk, to nature’s evocation and to loss and sorrow.

—Donna Bauerly, Professor Emeritus, Loras College

A great beginner’s guide that presents/explains the spirit and essence of haiku.

—Mike Montreuil, Haiku and Tanka Publisher, Editions des petits nuages

First Vice President, Haiku Society of America

This is an amazingly comprehensive yet easy to understand guide that covers questions that any beginner or experienced haikuist may have, including how to teach haiku and senryu. The author presents a lovely collection of carefully selected haiku representing a broad spectrum of many stylistical and format varieties that the form spans to. Digregorio offers an extraordinarily well-captured picture of this ever-evolving art form. The book captivates with its simplicity of presentation. Very rarely have I come across a book that such a broad spectrum of people can enjoy: folks not familiar with haiku can quickly understand the form; professors can use it to teach their students how to write haiku; seasoned haikuists can expand their knowledge; and truly, all readers can broaden their horizons. What an outstanding presentation of haiku and senryu how-to: a guide that any library can use and any person can enjoy!

–Elena Jordan, Scientist and Poet

Note: As to my haiku and senryu, the late Author and Haikuist Robert Spiess, often called “The Dean of American Haiku,” said this about my poetry:

A couple of the many sterling qualities of Charlotte Digregorio’s haiku include perceptive observance of natural phenomena and penetrating insights into human nature, frequently with a delightful, wry humor in the latter category, along with deep compassion in others.

—Robert Spiess, Editor of Modern Haiku, 1978-2002

 

Thank you to all for supporting  my writing, and best wishes for all your writing goals and projects.

–Charlotte Digregorio

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Haiku: May 18, 2019

senryu

eighteenth birthday–

our son graduates

to two syllables

by Lew Watts (USA)

bottle rockets, #32, 2015

Daily Haiku: May 17, 2019

his goodbye–

the sun too

lost in fog

 

by Jill Lange  (USA)

Mayfly, No. 62, 2017

Daily Haiku: May 16, 2019

morning fog the unimaginable always within reach

 

by Michael Rehling (USA)

Dec. 25, 2017

Daily Haiku: May 15, 2019

a spider on the other side

of the windowpane

lonely night

 

by Collin Barber (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. 32:2, 2009

Daily Haiku: May 14, 2019

flying home . . .
at thirty-thousand feet
I am seasonless

 

 

by Carole MacRury (USA), Author

In the Company of Crows: Haiku and Tanka Between the Tides, 2019

Daily Haiku: May 13, 2019

done for the day

my dad brings to supper

the smell of turned earth

 

by Michael McClintock  (USA)

The Heron’s Nest, 8:3, 2006

Daily Haiku: May 12, 2019

fog-shrouded coast

we listen

to the view

by Annette Makino (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. 41:3, Fall 2018

Daily Haiku: May 11, 2019

a lifetime

of grass in my hair

prairie wind

 

by Sandi Pray (USA)

A New Resonance, 11, 2019

Daily Haiku: May 10, 2019

SENRYU

 

jazz club

her smoky lips kiss

the martini glass

 

 

by Jeffrey Winke (USA)

The 35th Annual Haiku Canada Members’ Anthology

The Touch of a Moth, 2012

Daily Haiku: May 9, 2019

senryu

 

gone to her mother’s . . .

another lemon pit

misses the ashtray

 

by Lew Watts (USA)

Frogpond, 40:2, 2017

Daily Haiku: May 8, 2019

fat baby
talking with her toes
to the summer sky

 

 

by Dyana Basist  (USA)

Presence, Issue 62, 2018

 

Daily Haiku: May 7, 2019

heat lightning

the lost lyric

to a long ago song

by Joyce Clement (USA)

Frogpond, 32:2, 2009

Daily Haiku: May 6, 2019

Texas sky

wind turbines

stir the heat

by Tom Painting (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. 32:2, 2009

Daily Haiku: May 5, 2019

senryu

 

economy class

just a sliver of moon

in the window

 

by Bob Lucky (Saudi Arabia)

Frogpond, Vol. 35, No. 3, 2012

Daily Haiku: May 4, 2019

senryu

books balanced

the bones of take-out chicken

go back in the box

 

by LeRoy Gorman  (Canada)

Presence, #42,  September 2010

Daily Haiku: May 3, 2019

senryu

small town

too much of her dream

in the diner

by Peter Newton (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. 35, No. 3, 2012

Daily Haiku: May 2, 2019

victory parade–

palm fronds trampled
in the dust

 

by Susan Beth Furst  (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. 41:2, 2018

Daily Haiku: May 1, 2019

budding oak branch . . .

grasp of the crow’s

black feet

 

by Dominque Galiano (USA)

 

Daily Haiku: April 30, 2019

sitting still

the path moves on

without me

by Michael Rehling (USA)

March 27, 2019

Daily Haiku, April 29, 2019

from my mirror    grandmother smiles

 

 

by Wilda Morris (USA)

First Honorable Mention, Modern Haiku Category

Illinois State Poetry Contest, 2018

 

Daily Haiku: April 28, 2019

veranda nap . . .

sea oats swaying to

the surf’s rhythm

 

by Al Gallia (USA)

Asahi Haikuist Network, Aug. 31, 2018

 

Exhibit Travels Again: Haiku & Senryu

If you’ve ever wanted to learn to write short, insightful poetry about the human experience, an exhibit featuring haiku and senryu may get you started.

Charlotte Digregorio, the author of Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All, will exhibit her illustrated haiku (haiga) at Northfield Public Library, 1785 Orchard Lane, Northfield, IL the month of July. Her solo exhibit will feature three-line haiku, haiku sequences with a theme, and senryu, the latter in the haiku form but with a focus on the theme of human nature, rather than nature.     .

 

Haiku originated in Japan in the 1600s and is now written in free form in the English language, often without the structure of five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and five syllables in the third line. Senryu originated in Japan in the 1700s and is often humorous.

“I love the simplicity  and elegance of Japanese-style poetry,” Digregorio says. “Haiku and senryu capture the moments of our lives. They often evoke our deepest emotions that we may have difficulty sharing even with those close to us,” she adds.

Digregorio loves to teach both young and old about the beauty of haiku and senryu, and about how writing in a few words can be “expressive and rewarding.”

By combining poetry and art, Digregorio feels that people who don’t normally read poetry are drawn to it in public places. She hopes poetry will become “more of a maintstream art, more visible to the public.”

Digregorio has solo poetry exhibits year ’round at  large and small libraries, corporate buildings, convention centers, galleries, museums, schools, restaurants, cafes, stores, and botanic gardens, among other venues. Her poetry has even been featured on public transit.

Digregorio received a commendation from former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner for promoting the literary arts and her lifelong achievements in the field.

For more information about this event, you may contact Digregorio at c-books@hotmail.com.

She blogs at http://www.charlottedigregorio.wordpress.com, and her posts include “The Daily Haiku,” written by international  haikuists.

 

Copyright 2019 by Charlotte Digregorio.

Daily Haiku: April 27, 2019

summer vacation
dividing a school of minnows
with my legs

 

by Rich Schilling (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. 41.3, 2018