Saturday, January 31, 2009

Haiku Workshop - Sunday, Feb 1, 2009

The Southern California Haiku Study Group will be having an in-depth haiku workshop and winter ginko walk this Sunday, February 1st at the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden on the California State University, Long Beach campus.

The garden has reserved the "friendship garden" area for us from noon to 4 pm. The workshop is free and open to anyone interested in haiku. Please bring haiku to workshop and discuss.
Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden
California State University Long Beach
1250 Bellflower Boulevard
Long Beach, CA 90840
http://www.csulb.edu/~jgarden/
From 405 Fwy
Southbound Exit at Bellflower Blvd. Turn left from the off-ramp and then make an immediate right on Bellflower Blvd. Continue to Beach Drive and turn left into campus. Turn Left on Earl Warren Drive. At the second Stop sign turn Right, into Parking Lot 16
From 405 Northbound / 22 West/ 605 Fwy South
Exit at 7th Street and continue to Bellflower Blvd. Turn right at Bellflower Blvd and make another right at Beach Drive Turn Left on Earl Warren Drive. The Japanese Garden will be on your left side after passing the second Stop sign.
Parking on Sunday noon- 4:00 p.m. is free in student spaces.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

January 17, 2009 - Workshop and Kukai

Sharon Hawley reads the kukai haiku at the Pacific Asia Museum

On January 17th, a baker's dozen met in the Blue Room at the Pacific Asia museum for a productive haiku workshop. Michael Angerman, Sharon Hawley, Lindy Hill, Pauli Dutton, Lynn Halley Allgood, Genie Nakano, Deborah P Kolodji, Kathabela Wilson, Tom Bilicke, Ines Foley, Alvin Thomas Ethington, Susan Rogers, and Janis Lukstein were present.

The workshop kicked off with a read-around of haiku, followed by a review and discussion of the "haiku moment," reading and discussing pages 33-35 of Haiku: A Poet's Guide by Lee Gurga.

This was followed by our group's traditional discussion of the kigo pertaining to the current season. The following seasonal references were suggested by participants fo the writing session:

taking down the Christmas tree, blue sky/clear mountains, the closest moon, falling camellia blossoms, winter sunbathing, sunshine all day, cold wind, Martin Luther King's dream, chilling bones, Queen's tears (bromialiad), changing of the guard

Participants sat in the garden or in the blue room to write haiku on these seasonal references or those from the group kigo list. Each person entered two haiku in the kukai. Sharon Hawley was the reader. Here is a sampling of some of the highest scoring haiku:

chilly night
the dog barks
at the hallway door

- Ines Foley

dumpling soup
after the sun goes down
winter wind

- Tom Bilicke

Mercury retrograde
can't find my keys or where
I put my patience

- Lynn Halley Allgood

rooftop lion
a pigeon sunbathes
on his head

- Kathabela Wilson

orange and black
a koi fan dances
to waterfall music

- Janis Lukstein

the tree my daughter
decorated before she left
I wanted it to stay all year

- Pauli Dutton

Saturday, January 10, 2009

2009 SCHSG Post-Holiday Party

Stairs: Naia, Vic Gendrano
Susan Rogers, Michael Angerman, Rick Wilson, Kathabela Wilson

On Sunday, January 4, 2009, Wendy and Tom Wright hosted the Southern California Haiku Study Group's annual post-holiday party and New Year's haiga card exchange. After a wonderful dinner, we met upstairs in Wendy's poetry lounge. Each person passed out his or her haiga card and read the haiku from it. Some amazing haiku were shared. Rick Wilson played one of his antique flutes.

Wendy and Tom Wright, Naia and Clive, Kathabela and Rick Wilson, Peggy Castro, Margaret Hehman-Smith, Taura Scott, Sharon Hawley, Michael Angerman, G. Murray Thomas, D'Ellen, Alvin Thomas Ethington, Janis Lukstein, Deborah P Kolodji, and Susan Rogers were present for the festivities. It was a wonderful way to launch a new year of haiku.

Peggy Castro, Margaret Hehman-Smith, D'Ellen, Deborah P Kolodji