SWOT: arts & literary magazine, haiku article

Article©Swot Magazine 2007

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Writer in Residence, Frome Festival, 7th July 2007

photo©Crysse Morrisson
Check out Crysse's blog for more background information: weblink
and at Hazel Stewart's blog: Hazel's blog link



Here I am, as writer-in-residence with manager Kate, staff members Becky, Jen, Sally, and Saturday volunteer orangey stripy Helen!

Jen Pickup even wrote two haiku with me in!

Resident writer
sitting in the window shade
scribbling lines.

Noise from the stream street
Drifting in past the poet
Into the shop cool.

Jen is wearing the No. 3 purple top! ;-)

The result of my writing, which this time wasn't haiku or other haikai, was revealed on the 23rd July event at Christies Café in Frome.

Check out Crysse's and Hazel's blogs for information on the Frome Festival: crysse's blog weblink and Hazel's: Hazel's blog link

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Haiku balloons at the POW Festival of Arts & Literature, Bath Spa University

photo©Alan Summers 2007

This image is of the haiku balloons, each one of them with a haiku written by students during my workshops, and by visitors to the POW Festival of Arts & Literature:

POW festival poster images designed by Abby Keverne

The POW Festival
Bath Spa University
Newton Park
Friday 15th June 2007


I was involved with a number of haiku & renga workshops at Bath Spa University, hired by ambidextrous who were behind this great festival along with another student society called Play on Words Productions.

Watch the video made by Ambidextrous and Soft C, and leave a comment to encourage current and future Bath Spa Univ. students.
Weblink: haiku video

Here you can see Emerson Leese, of Ambidextrous, checking out my Haiku Wall during the time I was a haiku poet-in-residence at Bristol central cafe Oppo}, as mentioned in this year's "Lonely Planet" guide for the U.K.!
Weblink: click for image of Emerson with me and my haiku wall!

Alan & Emerson photo©Sam Reader, ambidextrous

More weblinks:
Weblink: ambidextrous Myspace site
Weblink: The POW Festival
Alan's "haigu" [sic]
"back by popular demand"
One of many of the Haiku Walls at Bath Spa University

Here you can see some of the balloons in "The Haiku Room". Weather brought them out, but weather later took them out and up up and away too!

First 3 images in this grouping by Abby Keverne, POW 
4th image©Alan Summers 2007

You can see a student hard at work composing a haiku poem.

(haiku writing photo©Alan Summers 2007)

haiku wall/balloons photo by Abby Keverne, POW

The POW Festival team (red POW T-shirts) were out in force for the launch of the haiku balloons.

(1st photo©Alan Summers 2007
Last 5 photos by Abby Keverne, POW)

:

And except for the single spooky silver haiku UFO near my feet, I think a few haiku balloons might still be floating over mainland Europe and even heading over to Japan.

haiku & poetry at Gold Hill Fair

Six poets go to the Gold Hill Fair!
Fast firing words to sensual whispers, an exciting mix of poets from across the South West take a new look at life and tell it like it really is.
Tracy Wall's Tor Poets

Due to severe storm warning the organiser of the Gold Hill Fair managed to secure us the skittle alley in the Two Brewers pub, which is an eighteenth century pub at the bottom of Gold Hill at 24, St James Street, Shaftesbury, Dorset, U.K. weblink: The Two Brewers pub

BTW if you think the hill looks familiar, it was used in a famous T.V. advert for Hovis bread: weblink


The poets on Sunday 1st July 2007 were:
Tracy Wall
Alan Summers
Rose Flint
jennie gilling
Bob Walton
Anna Davies

Gold Hill Fair Website: Gold Hill Fair

Poet's weblinks:
Rose Flint
Wells Literature Festival Slam winner Tracy Wall
Poet/artist Jennie Gilling
Bob Walton, who has won the Welsh Arts Council New Poet Award
Anna Davies, up and coming poet Glastonbury poet

I also brought my Haiku Postbox and as you can see, with Anna's fine signwriting, even the fabulous Two Brewers pub staff were hooked!

Big thanks to Lottie and Kathy for being such cool participants!

The AppleHouse haiku & ginko pictures

The following images come from the Saturday June 9th 2007 haiku workshop in Kent, South East England:
A LONG POET'S GUIDE TO HAIKU:
THE APPLEHOUSE HAIKU & GINKO WORKSHOP
No previous experience of writing or reading haiku was necessary.



The AppleHouse workshop studio is one of the nicest places I've ever workshopped in! The students were excellent too!



The nearby oast house, and some of the insects. I also saw a fox cub come out from the orchard and pose for a couple of seconds but I'd foolishly switched my camera off.




These two students are excellent examples of becoming immersed in wabisabi.



Unfortunately I had to drag them back to the studio so we could hear their haiku!



This is Lynne Rees, who organises the AppleHouse poetry workshops, absorbing the atmosphere for writing haiku.

Kenya, Africa: The Stars & Night Sky Challenge Haiku Competition Results!

Top left photo©David Kimani Mwangi
(all unnamed photos are ©Isabelle Prondzynski)

The Stars & Night Sky Challenge Haiku Competition all started when I challenged students in Nairobi to write haiku poems about the stars and night sky!

To find out even more please make a visit to:
The Kenya Saijiki home page
Saijiki is a kind of poetry almanac for haiku!
A saijiki contains many keywords
and phrases for the seasons called kigo and kidai:
The World Kigo Database Home Page

In March 2007 I posted a challenge to the discussion site of the haiku clubs of Nairobi: WEBLINK: The haiku clubs of Nairobi

Photos©David Kimani Mwangi

[NOTE: Patrick Wafula is in the purple shirt, and as you will see further down in the Adult section, also a very fine haiku poet!]

My Challenge!

"Can I ask something? Can I in fact, challenge you?! ;-)

I don't know how much clear night sky you can see, because of city lights, but where I live, in Bradford on Avon, because I am near the country, there are fewer street and house lights and I can see the Milky Way, and Orion's Belt, very clearly, can you see them?

Do you have different words for stars and groups of stars?

I would love to get to see haiku that involve the stars, from very local names to regional names, maybe your own names for stars too."

Photos©David Kimani Mwangi

[NOTE: Anthony Njoroge is in the cream shirt and a great community leader, and he acts as Master of Ceremonies, as well as being a very fine haiku poet too!]

This is what happened... a full-blown haiku competition for Nairobi students culminating in a prize giving!

These teenagers are from Kayole slum -- I hesitate to say they are slum children, because the students, who come from very poor backgrounds, are rich in life and attitude that constantly leaves me humbled and inspired. They are also very well educated, and I have learnt more from them and their teachers than I can ever teach them.

So, the challenge was met, and 142 haiku were collected by Isabelle Prondzynski (Moderator of the discussion group, Kenya Saijiki) and handed over to me for judging, with the support of Gabi Greve (Director of WHC Worldkigo) in Japan.

Finally, the prizes were announced and awarded at the Outing of the Haiku Clubs in May 2007 -- read more here :

It was a beautiful day, and much fun was had by all, as you will see from the pictures of the ginko that followed the prize giving.

The student prize winners of the Stars and Night Sky Challenge

Photo © Isabelle Prondzynski

Comments by Alan Summers :

1st Prize

story-telling

around the bonfire --

a shooting star

~ Anne Njoki (Bamboocha, Form 1)

Storytelling is such an important part of culture in any country, and here we have other strong words that carry so much weight, in "bonfire" and "shooting star". What a lovely atmosphere is evoked here, and that is a very important part of haiku, evoking (showing) not telling, not putting everything onto the page, yet it's all there to be read if you look for it.

2nd Prize

pointing at the full moon --

the baby stops crying

as she watches the moon

~ Catherine Njeri Maina (Bamboocha)

The other person doesn't need to be mentioned in any more words, because we can all imagine it is either our older brother or sister, an aunt, an uncle, or a parent, sharing the wonder of the moon with a child. Wonderful!

3rd Prize

a thief stealing

from our neighbour's shop --

moonlight

~ Caren Cheptoo (Bamboocha, Form 1)

This has a good allusion to a classic haiku, and I can imagine more than one meaning here. It could be a straight meaning of a thief stealing or trying to steal from a shop at night, or a thief "window shopping" at night and all he can steal is the moonlight. A good haiku is where readers can take different meanings from the poem and add a little of themselves, so a haiku is not only the shortest poem in the world, but when people share their own meanings it also becomes the longest poem in the world!

EXTRA NOTE: this also works as an allusion to a famous haiku from Buson...

the moon-
even a thief stops
to admire

trans. Alan Summers

Please consider visiting this weblink to see more prize winning entries from the schoolchildren, they really are good!

The Kenya Saijiki results page

We even had a section created for adults!

The Adult Section Prizewinners
With the comments of Alan Summers :

Adult prizewinners of the Stars and Night Sky Challenge

Photos © Isabelle Prondzynski

1st Prize

a twilight girl

running on the street --

glittering stars

~ James Macharia (Bahati)

I love the stunning "a twilight girl" which falls headlong into a great poem!

2nd Prize

---

moon and stars

the only witnesses --

two lovers eloping

~ Patrick Wafula (Patron, Bamboochas [In the middle])

Very very atmospheric!

3rd Prize

clouds move

some stars are covered

it darkens

~ Adelaide Luvandale (Patron, Peacocks)

A very chilling, moody, atmospheric last line, I love it!

Please consider visiting these weblinks also:

The Kenya Saijiki home page
The World Kigo database home page

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river light-
two girls 'quack compete'
with the ducks


Check out The Lock Inn's own pictures where I was eating a Summer Sunday lunch: The Lock Inn Café

Where in the U.K. is this? Click here!

two ducks image©Alan Summers 2007

Kent, Saturday 9th June THE APPLEHOUSE HAIKU & GINKO WORKSHOP

Only two spaces left as of last night (Thursday 3rd May)!

For further information:

write to: The AppleHouse, Aldon Lane, Offham, Kent ME19 5PH
or email: applehousepoetry@yahoo.co.uk

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DETAILS BELOW:
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THE APPLEHOUSE HAIKU & GINKO WORKSHOP, KENT, U.K.
10am to 4.30pm on Saturday 9th June 2007

AppleHouse is a financially independent project supporting poets in the South East through levels of excellence in intensive, small-group workshops, masterclasses, and anthology and pamphlet publication.

For further information:

write to: The AppleHouse, Aldon Lane, Offham, Kent ME19 5PH
or email: applehousepoetry@yahoo.co.uk



A LONG POET'S GUIDE TO HAIKU:
THE APPLEHOUSE HAIKU & GINKO WORKSHOP
10am to 4.30pm on Saturday 9th June 2007

Suitable for poets and writers of all levels – maximum of 12.

No previous experience of writing or reading haiku is necessary.

Haiku is simple, but requires discipline to write well. Learn the techniques behind contemporary English-language haiku with writing exercises and discussion. We will cover the world's shortest literary form, from its origins in Japan, to its current world-wide practice.

There will also be an opportunity for a traditional Japanese haiku-writing walk (a 'ginko') in the AppleHouse orchard.

Feel free to bring thirteen copies of any haiku you have written already.

10am to 4.30pm on Saturday 9th June 2007
Day Workshop for £42 including two-course lunch with wine



Tutor
Alan Summers is a Japan Times award-winning haiku poet and a Visiting Tutor for The Poetry School.

He's widely published with work translated into eleven different languages.
Alan is a judge for numerous haiku competitions, including The Sasakawa Prize for Original Contributions in the Field of Haikai, and is a former General Secretary of the British Haiku Society.

He is currently judging haiku entries from children and students from the poor areas of Nairobi, Kenya, Africa.

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WEBPAGE LINK ABOUT OFFHAM, KENT
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Offham is a charming typical Kentish village surrounded by hop gardens and orchards: webpage link about Offham, Kent

STREETMAP:
Streetmap webpage

MULTIMAP:
Multimap webpage