July 17, 2010- David Lanoue and Luce Pelletier

Luce Pelletier and David Lanoue, July 2010

On Saturday, July 10, 2010, the Southern California Haiku Study Group hosted two special guests for a wonderful afternoon of haiku. Almost 40 people were in attendance, including Fay Aoyagi, who flew down from San Francisco for the day. The Pacific Asia Museum generously allowed us to move our meeting from the Blue Room to the larger auditorium to accommodate the extra interest.

Deborah P Kolodji welcomed attendees and launched a haiku read-around. Other participants in the order they participated were Eve Luckring, Maurie Garnholz, Phyllis Collins, Janis Lukstein, Naia, Josette, Genie Nakano, Fay Aoyagi, David Lanoue, Luce Pelletier, Billie Dee, Joan Day, Helen Graziano, John Bassell, Greg Longnecker, Marcia Behar, Elva Lauter, William Hart, Kimberly Esser, Peggy Castro, Kathabela Wilson, D'Ellen, G. Murray Thomas, Lynn Allgood, James Won, Maja Trochimczyk, Taoli Ambika-Talwar, Stevie Strang and Victor P. Gendrano.

Naia introduced Luce Pelletier, a bilingual poet from St. Basile-le-Grand, Quebec, Canada, who read in French and English. In honor of the heatwave we were experiencing, she read us some snow haiku from Quebec.

Next was Dr. David G. Lanoue, a translator of Japanese haiku, a teacher of English and World Literature at Xavier University in New Orleans, and a writer of haiku and "haiku novels." David presented "Reading the New Haiku 2: Further Examples," a continuation of his workshop at Haiku North America in Ottawa, where he presented translations of contemporary world haiku poets for discussion. We discussed poems by Ami Tanaka, Umberto Senegal, and Fay Aoyagi.

Afterwards, Deborah P Kolodji hosted a gathering in her home that was attended by over 20 of the workshop participants, continuing the haiku discussion late into the evening.