Jumble Box

For haiku poets, February has come to mean National Haiku Writing Month. This year, NaHaiWriMo founder Michael Dylan Welch surprised us poets by compiling many of the month’s poems, written to daily prompts, into an anthology called Jumble Box, with haiga by Ron C. Moss.

In the anthology’s introduction, Michael gives a sense of the project’s scope:

I chose this book’s 324 poems, by exactly 100 poets, for their individual resonance and poetic quality, and for their creative ways in responding to the prompts [—] some of the best from many thousands written for NaHaiWriMo in 2017.

I’ve been participating in NaHaiWriMo since 2014, and I feel fortunate indeed to have five poems of mine from this year’s event included in this delightful compilation.  :- )

falling in love
with the red hydrant:
the nosy dog

opened can —
the expensive meat
the cat won’t eat

the counter wiped
and coffee brewing . . .
I whistle a tune

a yawn
and a stretch
. . . returning to now

lost in joy
the tranquil Buddha
on our bookshelf

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Published in Jumble Box, the 2017 NaHaiWriMo anthology, 9/1/17.

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Water haiku

melting snowman

bows

to the sun

 

the parking lot

just wet enough

to smell of rain

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Published in Brass Bell: A Haiku Journal (http://brassbellhaiku.blogspot.com/2017/09/water-haiku.html), 9/1/17.

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Two on autumn

between the leaves

of this old book:

a child’s autumn

 

autumn morning . . .

breathing in

breathing out

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Published in Wild Plum: A Haiku Journal, issue 3:2, pages 13 and 21, on 8/23/17.

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Cicada-song

hot noon —
cutting through everything
cicada-song

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HNA ’17: freebies

With the Haiku North America 2017 conference fast approaching, Jessica Tremblay — author of Old Pond Comics and official cartoonist-in-residence at HNA ’15 — has been blogging about freebies:

A freebie is a promotional item you give to attendees at a conference. A freebie can take different forms: bookmarks, leaflets, postcards, 3D objects.

Whether you want to promote a book, a blog, a website, etc. or simply share some of your poems with like-minded enthusiasts, a freebie is a great way to do it.  :- )

A few years ago, I designed and printed up a postcard and a pair of “business cards” online at Vistaprint.com to raise awareness of my haiku Twitter stream, Twitter.com/Bill312:

Haiku freebies: a postcard and two “business cards”.

I’ve never been to a haiku conference, so I’ve given the postcard to people generally as a thank you for their interest in my work, while I’ve used the biz cards to direct people to my Twitter stream — either in person or as a leave-behind.

My “Tanka in a Bottle” project could easily be adapted for use as a freebie, too.  :- )

One day I may attend Haiku North America…and if I do, I’ll be sure to bring along some freebies!  ;- )

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For more on haiku freebies, please take a look at these posts by Jessica Tremblay:

“Freebie: an introduction“; “Bookmarks: design tips and examples for haiku poets“; “Choose your conference freebie carefully“; “Promote your poetry with a beautiful postcard“; and “Why trifolds are one of the best freebies to give away at haiku conferences“.

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Violets

they disregard

the No Trespassing sign!

violets

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Two senryu

school days . . .

no romance

in straight-As

 

turn of the tide . . .

pulled by the current

of my thoughts

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Published in Prune Juice: A Journal of Senryu, Kyoka, Haibun, and Haiga (no. 22), page 122 (https://prunejuice.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/pj-22-pdf1.pdf), 7/1/17.

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Cicada

subsiding

into the heat of summer:

cicada

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Published in Modern Haiku, June 2017.

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Two on summer

first one

and then another —

cicadas

 

dutch door —

the dog noses open

the bottom half

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Published in Akitsu Quarterly: Summer 2016 (http://www.wildgraces.com/Akitsu-Quarterly.html), 6/16/16.

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June evening

June evening . . .

the music of birds

getting ready for bed

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