Shasta Hatter

1. How did you get started with haiku?

I came to haiku in a backwards sort of way. When I was in the fifth grade I learned about haiku and loved the structure. My teacher actually got one of my haiku published. In the 1980s I had a bit of local success as a poet but drugs and mental illness kept me from really having a career. Poetry marched through my head but rarely made it to paper—never mind publishing. In 1998, my mental illness had left me nearly homeless when I started taking Zyprexa. Four days later, I was wondering what sane people did all day! The first two things that happened were I could hold a job, and poetry stopped marching through my head. I began to reconcile with my daughter. I believed I had a choice, write poetry that I was too crazy to market or hold a job and reconcile with my daughter. Truly it was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made but I chose my daughter. I felt incomplete and made sporadic attempts to write (or even read) poetry. In May 2016, I realized I had written haiku when I was ten. This is not important because I was so young, it is important because mental illness was not an issue in my life until I was thirteen. I could write haiku as a sane person. I decided to write a haiku every day, 5-7-5 with a seasonal reference, and post it on my Facebook page. A poet friend suggested a journal, and, in June, a poem was accepted. Through Poet’s Market I found the Haiku Society of America. Through the HSA newsletter, I found the Portland Haiku Group. Through PHG I learned haiku was not about a syllable pattern; it was about capturing moments. Listening to the group discuss poems expanded my understanding of what a haiku is. I learned about the Japanese masters, and found journals devoted to haiku. Jacob Salzer, Clayton Beach, and John Budan gave me books and essays to read. I joined a bimonthly zoom meeting where the comments of Michael Dylan Welch and Tanya McDonald were especially helpful in learning how to read and edit haiku and related forms. The sociability of the world of haiku keeps me writing. The amazing capability of haiku to capture moments in only a few words keeps me reading.

2. Tell us more about yourself.

I live in a suburb of Portland, Oregon called Gresham, one block from a light rail stop. We call our light rail the MAX. Because I live so close to the MAX, I often take the train to get around. The MAX is a great place to people watch, and to enjoy the changing scenery of “the city in a forest” that is the Portland metro area. I am a retired federal employee and fill my time by being a volunteer manager at a small St. Vincent de Paul food pantry. I have one daughter, and two grandchildren, a girl aged 24, and a boy just turned 18. My daughter and grandson also volunteer at the food pantry. Most of my siblings live in Lane County, Oregon, about 100 miles south. At least once a month, I drive down there for family events. I have a tuxedo cat that seems to think that the middle of whatever I am doing is the best place to sit. When she decides I’ve been on the computer long enough, she stands on her hind legs and pats my thigh. The most important thing to know about me is that I love butterflies. Butterflies to me are a symbol of rebirth. I regard my mental illness as the cocoon from which the butterfly that is me emerged.

3. What does NaHaiWriMo mean to you?

I like reading the responses to the daily prompts. It is amazing how a simple prompt like “stars” or “glacier” can generate dozens of poems, all different in tone, rhythm, and even imagery. The gentle prod to write something can be just the thing to open creativity on down days. It is fun to join this community of haijin on any given day.

4. What one piece of advice would you offer to those who are new to writing haiku?

I would say, find a group of like-minded individuals. Haiku poets are very generous with their time and talent. Your writing will flourish if you accept the influence of more established poets by reading the recommended books and journals; and considering any feedback you get.

5. Please share three of your favorite or best haiku.

Agent Orange

ending the war

one vet at a time

from “Three on a Match” haibun, Failed Haiku #83, October 2022

full moon

and one star

midnight city sky

Cold Moon Journal, October 27, 2023

roses on my cane

I wander through

the weeping willow

Deepening Leaves: 2022 Seabeck Haiku Getaway Anthology, 2023