Daily Haiku: Jan. 29, 2020

woodsmoke . . .
I let some memories
go

 

by Julie Warther (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. 43:1, Winter 2020

Daily Haiku: Jan. 28, 2020

riptide unable to help myself . . .

by Marion Clarke (Northern Ireland)

tinywords, 13:1, March 2013

Daily Haiku: Jan. 27, 2020

the prospector

tilts a pan–

shooting star

 

by Chad Lee Robinson (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. 40:2. 2017

Daily Haiku: Jan. 26, 2020

funeral

her first journey

alone

 

by Kohana, Marta Chocilowska  (Poland)

First Place

16th European Quarterly Kukai, December 2016

Daily Haiku: Jan. 25, 2020

haiku walk–

a flower pollinates

my notebook

 

by Stanford M. Forrester (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. 35:3, 2012

Daily Haiku: Jan. 24, 2020

across the gate

to the cemetery

a spider’s web

 

by Dianne Garcia (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. 35:3, 2012

Daily Haiku: Jan. 23, 2020

still his name

in my address book . . .

falling leaves

 

by Rosa Maria Di Salvatore (Italy)

The Mainichi, Jan. 3, 2020

Daily Haiku: Jan. 22, 2020–A Haiku Sequence by Roberta Beary

Shaking the Snow Globe 

 

new time zone
snow fills the palm
of st francis

 

frozen windowsill seashells from another life

 

 

blizzard
bleak house opens
to page one

 

 

icicles melting down the wishing well

 

 

snow dust
unwrapping the tree
in the shoebox

 

shaking the snow globe awake new time zone

 

 

by Roberta Beary (Ireland/USA)

Modern Haiku, 50:1, 2019

Daily Haiku: Jan. 21, 2020

Roman stadium
a procession of seagulls
in the night sky

by Minko Tanev (Bulgaria), Co-Author

Tops Under The Stars, Cyberwit.net, 2019

Improve Your Haiku This New Year!

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 poetic form 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.

 

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

Copyright 2020 by Charlotte Digregorio.

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Haiku: Jan. 20, 2020

senryu

 

clearing

the Scrabble board

at the new year

 

by Michael Nickels-Wisdom (USA)

Special Announcement: Driving Cars–Poetry Anthology Is Published!

Most all of us have had a passion for cars at some point in our lives. This wonderful, new anthology with long and short poems is a delight to read. Highland Park Poetry  in Illinois asked poets from everywhere to share their passion for cars and driving, and this book was created! While cars are a means of getting to a destination, they are much more, as this anthology reveals. Cars, as machines, are an industrial and technological marvel and represent  part of our culture.  They are even tied into some people’s identity or are at least part of our memories from childhood and teenage years. They often signify freedom and liberation.

The poems here are organized into these sections: Tune Ups, Foreign or Domestic, Road Trip, and Memory Lane. Climb aboard and take a ride!

Jennifer Dotson and Mary Beth Bretzlauf are Co-Editors.

Photographer John Adorjan provides the marvelous car images that grace the book’s cover.

For more information, you may use this link:

www.HighlandParkPoetry.org

Copies are available through Amazon.com.

Daily Haiku: Jan. 19, 2020

hot day—
a lizard on a nearby rock
follows the sunset

 

 

by Goran Gatalica  (Croatia)

Wales Haiku Journal, Winter 2019/2020 

Blog Special: Free Verse by Padmini Krishnan

Stones

They watch her

with scorn, amusement,

and laughter.

She is too quiet.

Why doesn’t she laugh,

talk, joke or shout?

they whisper,

but loud enough for her to hear.

She finds a stone in her shoe.

She is too talkative,

too loud and flirts,

they condemn.

She finds more stones in her shoes.

The perpetrators are not men,

but women who pull down

their kind.

They throw more stones every day

until she staggers

and finds it unbearable,

but she never falls.

Now she has learned to throw

the stones away and

walk with her head high

whereas her gossipers

look for a new victim

with hands full of stones.

by Padmini Krishnan, Singapore

Writing in a Woman’s Voice, Dec. 28, 2019

Special to The Daily Haiku, Jan. 18, 2020: Haiku Sequence/Haiga by Lidia Rozmus

Mindful

by Lidia Rozmus

on my wrist

bead by bead

time passes

immigration office

seeing my fingerprints

for the first time

tonight

shooting star’s path

my path

winter moon

in deep craters

insomnia

in silence

no beginning no end

in silence

Daily Haiku: Jan. 17, 2020

senryu

abandoned home
the weight of dust
on a cobweb

 

by Billy Antonio (The Philippines)

Gnarled Oak. Issue 13, 2017

Jan. 16, 2020 Special to The Daily Haiku: Collection by Jeannie Martin

Longtime haikuist Jeannie Martin has just published a delightful collection, touch of light, amazing in its simplicity and thoughtfulness. Besides containing many poetic gems, an added bonus is that it inspires readers to write haiku by giving them ideas on focusing on their surroundings. There are short prose passages interspersed throughout the collection that spur readers to hone their observational skills to capture ordinary, but significant, moments.

 

Here are a few examples of Martin’s poems:

 

between worries

the coo-coo

of a mourning dove

 

it’s a big world

chihuahua

at the window

 

sweeping under the bed

I find a ladybug

unawares

 

no need

to meditate

cat in the sun

 

 

loneliness–

opening the window

to let in the rain

 

Interested readers may email Martin for information on how to order an autographed copy directly from her, or to purchase one from Red Moon Press, the publisher.

Martin’s email address is: jeanniejeanne@gmail.com

Don’t miss this one!

 

Copyright 2020 by Charlotte Digregorio.

 

Daily Haiku: Jan. 15, 2020

dry lake

the splash of water

still heard

 

by Stoianka Boianova (Bulgaria), Co-Author

Tops Under The Stars, Cyberwit.net, 2019

Daily Haiku: Jan. 14, 2020

to lead a life

of such purpose . . .

ants in a line

 

by Annette Makino (USA)

Honorable Mention

Harold G. Henderson Haiku Contest, 2019

Haiku Society of America

Daily Haiku: Jan. 13, 2020

senryu

 

yard sale

box of toys

everything must go

by Tom Painting (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. 42:3, 2019

Blog Special: Free Verse by Paul Beech (Wales)

MOTHBALLS

Buried with mothballs

at the bottom of the chest,

an old blue uniform from the war,

an RAF uniform with two stripes,

my dad’s.

 

Taller than my dad but still a boy,

I’d put it on and dream

of faraway battles and bravery.

 

In one pocket a packet of letters

from his sweetheart my mum

and his own tiny mother,

words I was never meant to read,

secrets I was never meant to know.

 

I’d replace the uniform carefully,

mothballs and all.

 

No one was ever the wiser.

 

by Paul Beech (Wales), Author

Twin Dakotas (Cestrian Press, 2016)

 

Daily Haiku, Jan. 12, 2020

winter stars

adjusting

my expectations

by Michele L. Harvey  (USA)

A Moment’s Longing

Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology, 2019

Daily Haiku: Jan. 11, 2020

fall twilight

the shadow of a butterfly

behind me

by Eufemia Griffo (Italy)

Hedgerow, #129, Dec. 14, 2019

Daily Haiku: Jan. 10, 2020

childhood blanket

now I wrap in it

my mother’s chill

 

by Kohana, Marta Chocilowska (Poland)

cattails, May 2015

Daily Haiku: Jan. 9, 2020

pebbles

gathering my dawns

one by one

by Carmela Marino (Italy)

Stardust Haiku, #33, September 2019

Don’t Bother With Resolutions–Set Goals

In many people’s minds, there may not be much of a difference between setting resolutions  and setting goals, but I think there is. Resolutions sound more like a do or die thing to me. Whereas, goals are something that we can do over a period of time, making progress on them, without pressuring ourselves as much.

I categorize my goals as being either small or big. My big goal  is to have my new poetry book, Ripples of Air: Poems of Healing, out in the marketplace by March 1.  It includes poems of many forms, not just haiku and senryu, as my previous title, Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All. You’ll be hearing more about this book soon! Ripples of Air: Poems of Healing will be my seventh title. Watch for it!

As for small goals, I have set up another exhibit of  my illustrated poetry that follows the last one at the Glenview Park District in Glenview, Illinois.  I have another set of pieces exhibited there that will run through March 31.

Recently, the Illinois State Poetry Society  was kind enough to feature news about my exhibits in its newsletter and to run samples of the illustrated poetry. Haiku with art is called “haiga” in Japanese. That’s what I run.

Continuing with my  year ’round exhibits is a small goal that I have. Another small goal is continuing with my poetry column, “Creatively Versed,” that runs in a local lifestyle magazine, Winnetka Living.  (I live in Illinois.)  I select poets to be featured in my column and run one of their poems tying it into a particular theme. It’s been rewarding to network with poets, and give back to the poetry world. Poets are mighty!

As for this blog. I have a new goal. I will regularly feature poetry of various forms for all to enjoy, not just haiku and senryu. And, rather than just run winter poems in winter, spring poems in spring, etc.,  I will run poetry of all seasons year ’round. Therefore, wherever you live in this wide world, you’ll see poems of your current season, not just of my season!

In February, my blog will mark its fifth anniversary. That means, you won’t have missed a day of haiku in five years! Truthfully, when I started my blog, I didn’t have a goal as to how long it would run. But, coming up on five years, I now have a goal to keep it running for as long as I am “running.” I’ve decided to keep it going, because so many of you tell me you enjoy it and look forward to it each day, and because I pick up new followers each month.

I must say, in general, that if you don’t set any goals for yourselves, life can get pretty boring. Each year of my life, I have set personal and professional goals. Life just isn’t interesting without them.

Make it a good year, and set some goals, no matter how small or big!

Best Wishes,

Charlotte Digregorio

 

Daily Haiku: Jan. 8, 2020

outgoing tide
the losses I keep
to myself

 

by Robyn Hood Black (USA)

Acorn, #35, Fall 2015

Daily Haiku: Jan. 7, 2020

empty house–

the silence of snow

falling on snow

by Jay Friedenberg (USA), Author

One Rock Out of Place

Daily Haiku: Jan. 6, 2020

city dweller–the sound of the interstate I call the ocean

 

by Peter Newton (USA)

Daily Haiku: Jan. 5, 2020

the light
showing so many paths
through the woods

 

by Tom Clausen (USA)

Akitsu Quarterly, Summer 2019

What Frivolous Wish(es) Do You Have for Yourself in 2020?

At the beginning of the new year, some people say they wish for grand things like world peace. I wonder, though, what frivolous wishes people have just for themselves.

For example, I have more things than I need and am trying to downsize, but I take great pleasure in window shopping as it is relaxing. I’d like to do more of this. I especially love looking at mannequins in windows.

I’d also like to spend more leisure time at coffee shops eating pie.

What are your frivolous wishes for 2020?

Best,

Charlotte

 

Daily Haiku: Jan. 4, 2020

bundled in snow

a single blond tuft

of bluestem

by Mike Stinson  (USA)

Akitsu Quarterly, Summer 2019

Daily Haiku: Jan. 3, 2019

senryu

you smile

I smile

the teapot’s piccolo

by Robert Witmer (Japan)

Frogpond, 40.1, 2017

Daily Haiku: Jan. 2, 2020

porch side mountains
the wind-pushed snow
all around us

by Alan Summers (UK)

Asahi Shimbun, December 2019

Daily Haiku: Jan. 1, 2020–Peace to All in 2020

a licked drip

of huckleberry syrup

winter dusk

by Cyndi Lloyd  (USA)

Runner-Up

The Haiku Calendar Competition, 2018

Daily Haiku: Dec. 31, 2019

senryu

date night–
at every turn
a red light

 

by Bryan Rickert (USA)

Prune Juice, Issue 16, 2015

Daily Haiku: Dec. 30, 2019

after his death . . .

the clock on the mantel

silent

by Barbara Eaton (USA)

Daily Haiku: Dec. 29, 2019

winter dusk

the eyes of a mink

for one split second

by Mike Stinson (USA)

Heron’s Nest, Sept. 2019

Daily Haiku: Dec. 28, 2019

horses steaming

in a field of snow, one by one

the stars

 

by Robert Witmer (Japan)

Acorn, Fall 2019

Daily Haiku: Dec. 27, 2019

star-nosed mole

we search for light

in dark places

by Debbie Strange (Canada)

Shortlisted

Best-of-Issue, Presence, #63, 2019

Daily Haiku: Dec. 26, 2019

powder keg snow
travelling into dusk
with this crow

by Alan Summers (UK)

Blithe Spirit, Vol. 29, No. 4, November 2019

Daily Haiku: Dec. 25, 2019

steady drizzle…

the insignificance

of where I stand

by Mike Stinson (USA)

bottle rockets, 2018

Daily Haiku, Dec. 24, 2019

senryu

 

Christmas tradition
the whole family comes
apart

by Dan Burt (USA)

Prune Juice, #29, 2019

Daily Haiku: Dec. 23, 2019

demolition

the horse’s name still etched

on his stall

by Barbara Tate (USA)

Frogpond, Vol. 42:3, 2019

Daily Haiku: Dec. 22, 2019

grazing reindeer
the girl in emo jeans
and purple hair

 

by Alan Summers  (UK)
From “The Wonder Room” haibun
Red River Book of Haibun, November 2019

Daily Haiku: Dec. 21, 2019

snow dust

unwrapping the tree

in the shoebox

by Roberta Beary (Ireland/USA)

Modern Haiku, Vol. 50.1, Winter-Spring 2019

 

Daily Haiku: Dec. 20, 2019

following

a bend in the road

somewhere a meadowlark

by Peggy Hale Bilbro (USA)

A Moment’s Longing

Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology, 2019

Daily Haiku: Dec. 19, 2019

crook of an oak . . .

losing herself in huckleberry

finn

by Jo Balistreri  (USA)

Daily Haiku: Dec. 18, 2019

senryu

 

cooking for one

a little more salt

in the wound

 

by Robert Witmer (Japan)

Presence, #64, 2019

 

Daily Haiku: Dec. 17, 2019

snowmelt

the wild crocuses

you loved

by Debbie Strange (Canada)

Second Place

1st Morioka International Haiku Contest, 2019