NaHaiWriMo daily writing prompter for December 2015
I was introduced to haiku during poetry
lessons at school, although back then it seemed to be all about counting
syllables, so it didn’t make much of an impact. When my husband and I returned to
Ireland after more than a decade studying and working in England, I had more
time to focus on writing. After joining several online writing forums, I became
reacquainted with haiku—albeit on a very superficial level. When I submitted
some of my first haiku to Scott Metz, then editor of the journal Roadrunner, they were understandably
rejected. I asked Scott how I might improve and he was very encouraging. He
suggested that I read as many good haiku as I could get my hands on and gave me
a link to Haruo Shirane’s article, “Beyond the Haiku Moment: Bashō, Buson, and Modern Haiku Myths.” He also advised me to read anything written by Richard Gilbert, and to connect with The
Haiku Foundation. It was then that I began to read the work of haiku poets from
all over the world and became hooked.
2.
Tell us more about yourself. I left my home in Warrenpoint on the east
coast of Northern Ireland in 1983 to take a degree in French and linguistics in
Belfast, during which time I spent a year in France as an English assistant.
After graduating, I moved to Bristol, England, and gained a post-graduate
diploma in French and business studies. My first job was as a bilingual
personal assistant with the Channel Tunnel Project contractors, followed by
over a decade in a research and technology organisation as a marketing and
corporate communications manager. Since returning home I have been employed on
a part-time basis in a local nursery school and I teach my children and their
cousins French. The rest of the time I enjoy live music gigs, cooking—particularly
Indian cuisine—and oil painting, which, like my poetry, is often inspired by
the scenery in this area.
3.
What does NaHaiWriMo mean to you?
NaHaiWriMo is a great place to read haiku
from a wide range of poets from across the globe. It’s great to read the different “takes”
on prompts and at the minute I am particularly enjoying some wonderful haiga
from Mike Duffy, Grace Galton, Pat Geyer, and Sandi Pray. It’s also good to
have the challenge of responding to a prompt on a subject you might not
normally write about. I have also written a few French haiku on NaHaiWriMo en français
and I look forward to contributing even more in February of 2016, when it
will be run by my poet friend, Hélène Duc. 4.
What one piece of advice would you offer to those who are new to writing haiku?
As Scott Metz advised me back in 2011, I
suggest newcomers read as much haiku as they can get their hands on and also
read as much about haiku as they possibly can. That way, even if they don’t
employ all the techniques available, they will at least be aware of them. 5.
Please share three of your favourite or best haiku. riptide unable to help myself coffee and Danish
the Mountains of Mourne
dusted with snow jardin
d’hiver
la
balancelle de mon père
toujours
grinçante winter garden
my father’s swing seat
still creaking
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