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