The Poetry School Renga workshop

With a nod and thanks to Alec Finlay for his inspiration
and superb renga book: shared writing: renga days


Slug and Lettuce renga
(to be printed after publication)


Renga Sabaki: Alan Summers

participants:

• June Hall
• Libby Houston
• Donald Gibson
• Linda Saunders
• Be Mattingly
• Lynette Rees
• Karen Hoy

Nijuin Renga
A renga is a series of very short verses, linked into one long poem, composed collaboratively by a group. 'Nijuin' means a 20-verse renga created by 20th Century renga master Meiga Higashi. He considered the Nijuin renga to be the shortest form that could be both contemporary yet capture some of the classic feel of renga.

There are three movements in Nijuin Renga: a four verse section; a twelve verse; and another four verse section. We started in Spring going through the seasons, as well as writing love, and moon verses, to end back in Spring.

The intrepid rengaistas get their first few verses down:



Reflective rengaistas*
(*Alec Finlay's term for renga poets)



More thinking and working out a verse
that has to both link and shift!



Renga fun moments!
Although we look serious and reflective at times,
there was a lot of fun too, especially with the 'love verses'.



Action renga!



Last verse!
Then some of us went on to Yen Sushi,
it's a hard life for rengaistas!

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