Sunday morning
the songs of the service
peal across the valley
-Michele Rule
beautiful SPLAT
orange dust on my windshield
so sad, now I cry
-Pam Desjardine
song of the sparrow-
golden light shines
from each perfect note
-Sally Quon
Tanka Challenge
above bird song
the bus rumbles and screeches
morning light
I open my eyes and stretch
day has begun
-Michele Rule
incoming tide-
gentle waves ripple
over my dreams
wash my words
out to sea
-Sally Quon
Lessons in Haiku by Michele Rule
Hello everyone! I’m so pleased to see all the fabulous haiku appearing in every newsletter! Well done!
Today I want to spend a bit of time on the position of the poet in a haiku.
It might be easiest to think of the poet as an invisible person. They are there, but you don’t “see” them. That is to say, there should not be any “I” in a haiku. It is simply implied that the poet is there, observing the action, but not giving their opinion or expressing their emotion directly or even telling the reader “I saw”. Haiku is the epitome of “show don’t tell”. This is quite different than contemporary free verse and many other poetic poems where the poet and their feelings are often the center of attention.
The idea is to allow readers the opportunity to develop their own emotions in reaction to the haiku. Will it always be exactly what you intended, or how you felt? No. But that’s okay. Haiku are meant to have two players, the writer and the reader. The reader’s response is just as important to the haiku as the writer’s intention.
If nothing else, remember that by leaving out the “I” you will have a more succinct haiku. I will sometimes write myself in and then figure out a way to take myself out. It’s all just a matter of practice and good editing!
Senryu is a different matter. Although many won’t have a visible “I” the opinion and emotion of the writer are often included. This is because senryu speak to the human condition, usually in sarcastic or humorous ways.
I do want to mention that in contemporary haiku you will see more overlap with senryu. I’m not sure why this has happened, but if you want to send a senryu to a journal of haiku, look at what they have been accepting to see if that would be a good fit.
Calls for Submission:
Horror Senryu Journal – here’s one of those odd ones Michele seems to find!
Yavanika Press Mini Chapbooks – the deadline for submissions on this is June 30
Sonic Boom Vispo Contest – this contest is for visual poetry, including haiga. June 25 deadline
Full Circle Haiku Contest – open from July 1-August 1. The theme is Full Circle
Wales Haiku Journal – closes June 30
Special Callout from the Haiku Foundation
Friends,
I am the guest editor for the Haiku Foundation’s Haiku for a Day for the month of July.
1. The theme for that month is Music and Memory, music may include the sounds
provided by nature and the memories they create.
2. The number (3) of submissions allowed is 3. The haiku may be from one to three lines.
Please include your email and send your work to scottgalasso@yahoo.com.
3. The due date is June 24.
4. Poems will be selected by June 26th.
5. I have a form requesting the right to publish your haiku
which will only need your confirmation.
6. Once poems are selected I will provide a list with the haiku,
poet and date to be published to Lynne Jambor at The Haiku Foundation.
7. I will then inform poets selected the date on which poems will appear,
If you have not received a request to publish your poem has not been
selected. (This does not mean the poem is unworthy), it is simply that
at a poem per day only 31 can be chosen for the month of July.
8. Note: approximately 6 haiku (1/5) will be legacy haiku written by
poets who have passed, in recognition of their work which has been
an inspiration to all of us.
9. Although I’ve chosen the theme, none of my own work will be
included as this is a celebration of our community and no more
than one poem will be included for any one poet.
10. I look forward to receiving your submissions.
Thank you,
William (Scott) Galasso
Special Video Presentation
Click here for Haiku: The Poetry of Focus with Scott Mason
New Sedōka journal – United Haiku and Tanka Society
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Member News:
Better late than never! From last week’s prompt:
green on greenery
baby leaves become adult
summertime cometh
-Pam Desjardine
Daily Haiku in Your Inbox
Here are two places you can subscribe to have a haiku delivered to your inbox daily!
Charlotte Digregorio – I think for this one you have to follow her blog to receive a daily haiku.
This Week’s Prompt
Stolen directly from The Naturalist Weekly, the prompt is:
Write a haiku or senryu that references a summer stone fruit.
Can’t wait to read what you come up with!
Member Contributions
Just a reminder, if you have something you’d like to contribute to the newsletter, please feel free to send it to me. It can be anything – an essay, photo prompt, submission opportunity – you name it.
“Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”
–Mary Oliver
Sally Quon is a disabled poet and photographer living in the Okanagan Valley of beautiful British Columbia, Canada. She is an associate member of The League of Canadian Poets and a member of Haiku Canada. Her work has been published in numerous journals including The Heron’s Nest, Modern Haiku, Frogpond, First Frost, and Time Haiku. She is currently working on her first book of haiku, haibun, and haiga, tentatively titled, “My Valley, My Home.”
Featherstone Creative
Michele Rule is a disabled writer from Kelowna BC. She is especially interested in the topics of chronic illness, relationships and nature. Michele is published in the Asahi Shimbun Haikuist, Pine Cone Review, the Enchanted Garden, Five Minute Lit, Shadow Pond, WordCityLit, and the anthologies F*ck the Patriarchy, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and To Live Here, among others. She is an associate member of the League of Canadian Poets and Haiku Canada. Michele has been awarded honourable mention twice for the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational and also for the Haiku Northwest Porad Award. Her first chapbook is Around the World in Fifteen Haiku. Michele lives in a beautiful garden surrounded by people who love her just the way she is.
