Tag: haiku

Uncategorized

Turning Japanese? No, Just Appreciating Some Japanese Things …

carolyncordon

I’ve been enjoying writing for the Medium.com online platform, especially exploring different subjects to write articles about. This one that I posted today is relevant in part to this blog, and another two of my blogs as well, I suppose. But this ‘Writer’ site is the most relevant one to the Medium piece.

If you’re interested, this is the link to it: https://kittycordo.medium.com/senryu-haiku-or-just-short-three-lined-records-of-moments-f5b238e78364

I included two Japanese-style short poems in the article, and cover a little about Bonsai and Japanese food too. I like my Bonsai trees, may they continue growing for a great many years into the future! And while I don’t eat Sushi, I do enjoy Tempura and Yakitori!

Obviously there are things about the Japanese culture of which I am ignorant, but that could also be true of other countries, and probably unless you live it, and perhaps were born into it, you can never truly understand what really goes on …

I enjoyed sharing those two pieces I wrote about our dog, Missy, one about last night and her fearful reaction to the electrical storm, with lightning and the scariest part, the thunder. This is I think the third time Missy has had such an extreme reaction to thunder, and I was so sad, seeing her trembling the way she was.

That’s why I was so happy to see her curled up on her lounge chair, peacefully snoring, with ‘not a care in the world’ as the saying goes. I really hope we don’t have too many more such storms, poor Missy wouldn’t like it, not at all. And at the age of fourteen, Missy has had enough time to learn about what she does and doesn’t like, that’s for sure!

Fourteen, times by seven to find her age in human years? That makes for a very old dog indeed! But when you do the calculation, you can see the folly of paying too much heed to that one. Missy is sound still in mind and body, eating well, and while she loves her naps, she’s still an interested hunter, when the opportunity arises …

Missy is certainly not a Japanese dog, her breed, the Pharaoh Hound is thought to be from Malta. But of the Japanese breeds of dog to choose from, I’m not all that taken with the larger breed, the Akita – the small breed, the Shiba Inu is a cute little dog though. I don’t know anything about their temperament, but I never saw any signs of nastiness from one, back in my dog show days.

If we get any more stormy weather, may Missy snooze through it all, so we don’t have to worry about her, like we did last night. Oh, being a dog owner can be troublesome sometimes … The good times, though, are excellent, and I’d hate to be without a dog. Dogs, gardens and books, lovely!

Uncategorized

Haiga Poetic Form, What Is It?

carolyncordon

Well, I’m not an expert in these things, not being a scholar of years on study, but as the saying goes -‘I don’t know much about art, but I know what I like!’

I have written a little about this form with an example here Go to the site and have a look, if you wish.

Haiga is the marrying of a Haiku, with an image. The two together may connect in some way, and bring about a deeper understanding. I have written Haiku off and on for many years, and have more recently begun looking at images, and matching them up with Haiku, and so creating Haiga.

This is an enjoyable way to go, putting these two different art forms together, and while I may not be creating the world’s best ever Haiga, I feel happy with what I have been achieving. If I am the only one who sees the connection, so be it …

If you like Haiku, and Haiga, please feel free to leave a message. And if you want to see the Haiga I created today, please feel free to go here to take a look! Many thanks …

covid 19, poetic forms, poetry

Some Short Poetry Forms

carolyncordon

One short form of poetry we all know is the Limerick. Who amongst us haven’t had a giggle at a rather risque limerick at some stage in our lives? Being a bit naughty, or worse, isn’t a necessity for the poetry form, it isn’t one of the poetic ‘rules’ for a limerick. What makes a poem a limerick is the rhyme, and the number of stresses, or ‘beats’ in each line, and the number of lines.

In a Limerick, the first, second, and fifth lines all rhyme and have three ‘beats’ in each line, and the third and fourth lines both rhyme and have two ‘beats’. If that sounds a bit confusing, here is a limerick I penned recently, on the theme of Covid-19, which seems to have taken up most of my attention, and much of this blogsite.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

This awful Covid virus

Sent here by Nature to try us –

It may cause some shrugs,

But I want my hugs!

It’s a blessing for those with shyness.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Japanese poetry forms, Haiku and the similar Senryu don’t rely on rhymes, they are more focused on line lengths. These forms are the same, except for subject matter. In the traditional Japanese format, they are both of 5, 7, and 5 syllables in the three lines that make up the poem. In more contemporary and wes, they may be shorter than that, but they are never a lengthy poem, and they focus on a moment, and the reading of the poem is done within a single breath, is one way I’ve seen it described.

The Haiku tends to be Nature focused, while the Senryu more focused on people, and it is more likely to show humour. There are many rules about these Japanese forms, too many for this blog post, but this site has a good explanation on what Haiku is, to help you to write your own. As I said above, Senryu has the same rules regarding form but not subject matter.

Nature in my front yard

Haiku can be difficult to get just right, and so can Senryu, this is one of my more successful Senryu, I feel:

My mind wanders –

watching birds & people 

also wandering …

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

So they were two of my favourite short forms of poetry, if you like them, why not leave a message and let me know!

covid 19

A Note Regarding Poetry in “Plague Invasion”

carolyncordon

“Plague Invasion ” – It began as a short phrase in my head, and my poetry brain loved the assonance of the phrase and wanted to do more with the words. That ‘a’ sound in the two words seemed important, and worthy of something, something big. I could have written a poem, an important and worthy one. But I wrote something else, I wrote this blog post, and so it all started.

“Short poetry forms give the opportunity to share more thoughts, because four haiku will fit easily on one page … and so one ‘suite of Haiku’, can count as one poem. This may well mean each contributor will be able to share some more of their thoughts, poetically than for instance, on three lined Haiku, they will be able to submit for of them all on one page, as I did in this blog post, previously.

Hmm, I’ll write a post about that, and perhaps will received more small poems to showcase in this book. Haiku and the related Senryu, Clerihew, Tanka, Clerihew, Limerick. An A4 page of one of each will be one submission regarding poetry. The Editor has spoken!”

This was a comment on that previous blog post titled ‘Lines While in Lock down’. The comment was from John Malone, a friend and poet, who is again going to write a back blurb for a word related book for me, this book, . John is a regular commenter on this blog, and I value his thoughts. They often add value to what I have written.

John writes poetry, with a particular skill with short and pithy little poems, which he shares on his blog. In John’s small poems can be much that is important to think on. And isn’t that what good poetry can do, scale back the huge truths that are there, and present it to you, in a neat little package your mind can then unpack and think further about …

So, given all of these thoughts, the upshot is that I, as the editor of this worthy book, “Plague Invasion”, will accept submissions of a page of short forms of poetry, as one ‘poem’. So a ‘suite’ of five Senryu, for example, will count as one submission of poetry. I hope this is understandable, and if you need further clarification, post a question on this blog post, and I will do my best to answer any questions regarding this.

If you want to be involved in this, send poetry and/or prose to kittycordo@gmail.com – up to three poems of thirty lines or fewer, and/or up to 3,000 words of prose in up to three pieces. I will consider your submission, and let you know if it is accepted for this anthology. Contributors whose work is accepted will receive a free copy of the book. If they are Australian residents, the book will be posted to them, if they cannot attend the book launch.

People residing outside of Australia will receive a copy of the book on payment of the cost of postage and handling, with will be advised at a later time, when the costs is known. Stay well, write about what you’re experiencing, and we may meet up at the launch of this book. In the meantime, stay in contact here, on my blog, it’s my home away from home, at my home!

I value any feedback, please leave comments here, we can discuss things further.

covid 19, inspiration, poetry

Lines While in Lock Down

carolyncordon

My time has been spent at home, most of the time, I’ve only been going out to visit my Mum on some Fridays, when usually, pre-Covid-19, I visited her almost every Friday. a phone call has filled in for the visit, but it’s definitely not the same. No hugs with a phone call … But when I am able to visit her, that usual hug is even more precious …

So I’m staying at home, not doing as much moving around as I know I should, and could do, if my mind did the right thing by my body, and was able to convince me to do it … But my mind is busy doing other things, so I can’t be too hard on myself. I have a writing project, which I’ve spoken about quite a bit on this blog, and on Social Media, to get more interest in it, and so improve the project enormously.

That project is to create a book, an anthology, containing words written about this Covid-19 crisis we are all going through, in our various ways. So I’ve been collecting the words sent to me, having written some of my own to go in there too, but my own creative writing has been going slower. Yesterday I decided I might mend that, and wrote a Haiku. But I decided if I was going to put my Haiku into the anthology, I should have more than just the one Haiku poem, so earlier today, I wrote some more.

I’m not sure if they’re good Haiku, or the best I’m capable of, but they’re Haiku, and they cover some of my thoughts about Covid-19. I thought before I put them into the “Plague Invasion – Creative Writing Responses to Covid-19” Anthology, I’d share them here first, to show some of my own ideas about it all, and to give ideas to any readers who pop by, to think on what they may write, and submit their words to me – up to three poems of up to thirty lines, and/or up to three pieces of prose of 2,000 words in total.

Sent them to me here (kittycordo@gmail.com), with “Plague Invasion submission” in the subject line.

So here are my Haiku responses to Covid-19, on this occasion I have stuck to the westernised 5 7 5 syllable count for the Haiku, there are other acceptable formats elsewhere:

Kitchen greenery

The herbs coming along well –

Food security?

*****************************

Giving cyber hugs –

Safe perhaps, but not as good …

I’m missing my friends.

*****************************

Medical visit –

Outing, and safety challenge.

Doc’s mask hides his smile.

*****************************

My window view, birds 

swish themselves clean in bird bath.

Stuck home, not alone …

*****************************

Some of my herbs growing in kitchen.
Just me, the TV and my laptop …

If you are inspired by my words here, please think about getting involved. All contributors whose work is accepted will receive a free copy of the book (postage and handling must be paid for, if not an Australian resident). I hope you’re feeling inspired by this, and want to take part. The book will be launched in early 2021, if things go well. further details will be announced on this blogsite, when known.

Thank you, I look forward to reading your Covid-19 submission!