Issue 51 – In Translation

In Translation

Michele’s Musings

Welcome to our “In Translation” issue. It was exciting to see the submissions arrive in so many languages using so many different scripts. I was left wondering what each haiku sounded like, so in some future issue we will ask for audio clips to go with the haiku!

Sally and I lost a dear friend this week, whose name has graced these pages more than once.  I will leave it to Sally to share a tribute in her section below.

The weather has improved dramatically and we are starting to think about another group ginko walk. Details in the next issue. In the meantime, let us know where you like to walk (or roll as in my case) for haiku inspiration!

Sally’s Notebook

Great men are rare, poets are rarer, but the great man who is a poet, transforming his greatness, is the rarest of all.

— John Drinkwater

Springtime, and the air is heavy with the fragrance of lilac. Heavy, too, is my heart with the news of the passing of one of our members.
 
David Brydges passed away suddenly on April 25. He was a force in the world of Canadian poetry, as the artistic director of the Spring Pulse Poetry Festival in Cobalt Ontario. He also ran the Dr. William Henry Drummond Poetry Contest, the longest running Canadian Poetry Prize not funded by the government.
 
But to me, David was a friend. Despite never having met in real life, he changed the course of my life. In fact, my life is what it is today because of him.
 
When I first moved to Kelowna, I didn’t know anyone here. I had decided to give writing a serious try, so I began entering contests. The Dr. William Henry Drummond Contest was one of the first I entered. At the time, entries were by snail mail. I sent my entry in well before the closing date, but snail mail being what it is, it still did not arrive in time. David called me to let me know he would be returning my check. We ended up talking for hours. Upon learning I was a new arrival to Kelowna, David asked me, “Do you know Cherie Hanson? She’s an accomplished poet in your area. You should meet her.”
 
I took his advice and reached out to Cherie. She was warm and welcoming, and asked me if I knew Faye Arcand. “You should meet Faye,” she said.
 
Taking Cherie’s advice, I reached out to Faye, columnist and author, who in turn, introduced me to the Kelowna Writer’s Group. She also invited me to a writer’s retreat at the Chute Lake Lodge. It was at Chute Lake I met Jaki Sawyer, my soul sister, and because of Jaki, I ended up living in a cute little trailer just a block away from the beach.
 
But David’s influence on my life didn’t end there. David was a poet for justice, and when Russia invaded the Ukraine, he put together an anthology of poems for the Ukraine. I wrote to him to congratulate him on the release. As it turned out, another poet from Kelowna had a poem included in the anthology.
 
“Do you know Michele Rule?” he asked.
 
The rest is history.
 
When Michele and I first started The Solitary Daisy, David was one of the founding members. At the time, there were five of us.  We never expected it to grow the way it has, and it’s thanks to friends like David, always there with support and encouragement.
 
I know this may sound strange, but I like to think of David as one of the faery folk, sprinkling poetry everywhere he went, and weaving a tapestry of fine silver thread across the nation. How many other people, I wonder, did he connect? How many other lives did he change?
 
My grief for his loss is still fresh and raw.  We always said we would throw him a party if he ever came to Kelowna. But he was always here, in spirit. So we will celebrate his life, his love of poetry, and his fierce opposition to social injustice.
 
It is our honor to reprint here a selection of David’s haiku.

am I howling
at the wolf moon or mars
it’s all so far away
 
 
dandelion
you roar in silence
queen of quiet
 
 
serenade song
across the lonely pond
does she hear

~ david brydges

Places to Submit

Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal is calling for submissions for Issue 12! For this issue, the theme is: objects in the sky. Deadline for submissions is May 15^th.

The 2025 Haiku Poets of Northern California Haibun Contest is extended to midnight PST on May 14^th.

The 2025 Sanford Goldstein International Tanka Contest is now open! Tanka is another Japanese short form, but more personal than haiku. Submissions close May 31^st.

Presence Haiku Journal out of Britain is open for submissions now through May 31^st for their July issue.

Submissions open May 1 for the June Issue of Sense & Sensibility Haiku. Submissions close May 22^nd, at noon ET, unless they reach their quota sooner. The prompt for June is “Heat!”

The Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Awards for 2025 by Heron’s Nest are open now until June 1^st . There are some great cash prizes up for grabs and first place also wins the coveted miniature crystal turtle!

Bottle Rockets has had a change in editor! Congratulations to Tom Sacramona on taking over the lead. Important note: entries within the US must be mailed in while other may be emailed.  Open now – closes May 15^th.

Hexapod Haiku Challenge! is open!  Along with regular hexapod haiku there is a special topic award this year for the best haiku featuring ground-dwelling arthropods. Have fun with that! March 15^th through June 15^th.

The Consulate General of Japan in Toronto invite everyone to send in a cherry blossom themed haiku for their Sakura Haiku Challenge! Entries must be in English and the deadline for submissions is May 15^th. Original artwork is also welcome.

Seashores Haiku Journal out of Ireland is accepting up to eight haiku for their November issue. Eight haiku is a lot so I’m giving you lots of time to work on it. Deadline is July 31^st.

Remember the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival is on now with events all over Vancouver! The associated Haiku Invitational has also begun, with submissions closing on June 1^st.  Haiku for this contest must be on the subject of cherry blossoms.

Save the date! Saturday, June 21^st at 2 pm PST, Michele will be doing a haiku workshop for the Central Okanagan Writers Group. We hope to make it hybrid so you can join in. Details to follow.

A lovely new issue of Confluence is out on the theme of Community – check it out!

This Week’s Prompt

Both Sally and Michele love to visit farms and take pictures of the animals! Here is a little collection to inspire you as you ponder writing one or two haiku about farm animals (any kind you like!).

Please see our submission guidelines!

As always, we look forward to reading your work! Send or two haiku to sally_quon@yahoo.com or kelownalady@hotmail.com.

Sally Quon( Writer / Poet )

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

featherstonecreative.wordpress.com/

• Ginko Walk at Munson Pond
• Maude Roxby Ginko
• Interview with Michael Dylan Welch

Michele Rule

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.

michelerule.ca/

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