First, thanks to all who took the time to reply to my request for familiar sayings that can apply to haiku and senryu. Twenty-one of you submitted mostly two sayings which I stated was the maximum. Some people tried to sneak in a third which I deleted.
Some of you didn’t state your country or full name, so I contacted you with a reply beneath your submission and tried to look the info up. If I didn’t get the needed information, it appears as such. (Off hand, I don’t always remember of what nationality you are, and some of you have never been featured on The Daily Haiku, so I don’t know your nationality.)
Some repeated what others had already listed, so I tried to contact you to ask you to submit another saying.
Further, some stated what I thought was more like an explanation than a saying, so I edited those.
If I forgot anyone, my apologies. Please write to me and I will insert what you said.
May you always find thoughtfulness, peace, and healing in haiku and senryu.
These are your sayings:
–In a nutshell
- Marta Chocilowska (Poland)
–Less is always better
–Mindfulness
–First the breath, then the wind
–The space before you look twice
- Alan Summers (“Observable Universe”)
–Senryu: humanity with all its warts or despite them
–Haiku: all of nature (not to be confused with hokku)
–The senses are the sunshine and water
–The haiku is the garden
- Maria Laura Valente (Italy)
–Eternity in a moment
–The less you say the more it means
–Less is more
–A few words capture the essence
- Rachel Sutcliffe (England UK)
–What more to say?
–The bare necessities
- Linda Ludwig (no country stated)
– Wear your heart on your sleeve
– Paint it with words
–A moment of ‘now’ for a moment later
–It’s the little things that count
–An addiction to the present moment
–The clarity of fog
- Marietta McGregor (Australia)
–Deeply into the tiniest of things–to see the world in a grain of sand
–When our inner vision opens, our horizons expand
–The instant with the five senses
–To suggest without saying
–Three colorful brush strokes
–A point in time and space
–The beauty of it all
–In a single breath
–A potent portal
–Good things come in small packages
–Meaningful moments distilled
–Spare words with much said between
–Little jewels
–Short and sweet (or not so sweet)
- Maureen Sudlow (New Zealand)
–A painting in small words
- Marion Clarke (Northern Ireland)
–A little parcel of experience
• Charlotte Digregorio (USA)
–As far as your mind will go
–The long and short of it
Copyright 2018 by Charlotte Digregorio
About Charlotte Digregorio
I publish books. I have marketed and/or published 55 titles. These books are sold in 46 countries to bookstores, libraries, universities, professional organizations, government agencies, and book clubs. In 2018, I was honored by the Governor of Illinois for my thirty-eight years of accomplishments in the literary arts, and my work to promote and advance the field by educating adults and students alike. I am the author of seven books including: Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All; Everything You Need to Know About Nursing Homes; You Can Be A Columnist; Beginners' Guide to Writing & Selling Quality Features; Your Original Personal Ad; and my latest, Ripples of Air: Poems of Healing.
The first four books have been adopted as supplemental texts at universities throughout the U.S., Canada, India, Pakistan, and Catalonia. They are sold in 43 countries, and are displayed in major metropolitan cultural centers. These books have been reviewed, recommended, and praised by hundreds of critics, librarians, and professors worldwide.
I am also the author of a poetry collection: "Shadows of Seasons: Selected Haiku and Senryu by Charlotte Digregorio." Two of my books have been Featured Selections of Writer's Digest Book Club. I am regularly interviewed by major print, radio, and television organizations throughout the U.S. I regularly sign books at libraries, chain bookstores, and university bookstores, and do poetry readings at art centers, cafes, tea houses, and galleries.
I was recently nominated for two Pushcart Prizes in poetry. I have won fifty-nine poetry awards, writing fourteen poetic forms. My poetry has been translated into eight languages. I do illustrated solo poetry exhibits 365 days a year in libraries, galleries, corporate buildings, hospitals, convention centers, and other venues. My individual poems have been displayed at supermarkets, apparel and wine shops, banks, botanic gardens, restaurants, and on public transit.
I have been nominated and listed in "The International Authors and Writers Who's Who" in Cambridge, England and in the "Who's Who In Writers, Editors & Poets U.S./Canada." I hosted my own radio program, "Poetry Beat," on public broadcasting. My poetry has been featured on several library web sites including those of Shreve Memorial Library in Louisiana and Cornell University's Mann Library.
My background includes positions as a feature editor and columnist at daily newspapers and as a magazine editor. I have been a public relations director for a non-profit organization. I am self-employed as a public relations/marketing consultant, having served a total of 118 clients in 23 states for the past several decades .
In other professional areas, I have been on university faculties, teaching French, Italian, and Writing.
I regularly give lectures and workshops on publishing, journalism, publicity, poetry, and creativity to business and professional groups, and at writer's conferences, universities, literary festivals, non-profit organizations, and libraries. I have been a writer-in-residence at universities.
There have been about 400 articles written about me in the media. I have served on the Boards of writers and publishers organizations. My positions have included Board Secretary of the Northwest Association of Book Publishers. I served for five years as Midwest Regional Coordinator of The Haiku Society of America, and for two years as its Second Vice President.
Charlotte Digregorio's Writer's Blog 
Excellent list of sayings. Speaking for myself only, I know reading my own haiku takes me back to that moment that inspired it. Whether my haiku makes a connection for others (I hope they do, but…), I know I found some kind of moment I want to record/remember. It seems like it was the same for others as these resonated for me. ~nan
Thanks, Nancy!
Reblogged this on Komorebi.
Thanks.
Thank you for your work, Charlotte.
Thanks.
Reblogged this on Dipingo in sillabe.
Thanks!
Charlotte, I come to your wondrous posting late, and I don’t have any words of my own on behalf of haiku, except a haiku, but here is my favorite quote after years of reading all 5 volumes by Blythe, much by Watts, and so many more writers and poets:
“When you write haiku you know where you are.” – Emiko Miyashita
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5Fx79jhcWA]a
Thanks,
Donna
Thanks, Donna! And a good saying!
:))
Thank you, Charlotte. Thoroughly enjoyed each and every one and being a part of this.
Thanks!
Thank you, Charlotte! A great selection of answers that can be provided when people ask “What is haiku?” 🙂
marion
Reblogged this on Frank J. Tassone and commented:
#Haiku Happenings #4: Charlotte Digregorio posted a summary of haikai poets’ Sayings about haiku and #senryu. I don’t know how I missed it before, but I found it now!
Thanks.