Emerald13 POETRY

 ~     I hesitate. Stepping sideways through the unfamiliar door, I shuffle between sagging, purpose-built shelves, moving slowly to give my eyes time to adjust. A spill of cracked spines, piled one on top of the other bulging floor-to-ceiling marked by the occasional cock-eyed, hand-written sign, a promise of some kind of order. shadows curtain the alcove— a beard coughs Sections run into each other;  Literature, Do-It-Yourself, History, Cooking  is separated from  Self Help  turning a corner You will find  Tasmania  along a wall down the hallway, past a sprawling jumble of random miscellany and comics. There is nothing here for me. I head for the street. Fantasy by the disappearing staircase I hesitate. ~~~ published Haibun Today Feb 2009 slight changes above compared to the one accepted below ~ I hesitate.   Stepping sideways through the unfamiliar door, I shuffle between sagging, purpose-built shelves, moving slowly to give my eyes t...

I enjoy 'found poetry' very much - there are a few techniques around this, each providing a found poem. (© Gina altered book found poem) In essence found poetry is finding the poetic in the non-poetic and reimagining existing language to create something new and meaningful. Here are a few possibilities and techniques. 1.  ERASURE/BLACKOUT POETRY - find an existing text and working your way down the text, lightly circle with a pencil the words that appeal to you i often read and re read the words i have pencilled to see how they run together - with meaning and or logical sequence you are looking to reinterpret the text to create a new meaning or focus using a tool such as texta, whiteout or digital editing begin to blot out all the other words until only the 'poem' is left/revealed. 2. CUT UP POETRY - Cut up words, phrases or sentences from one or more source texts rearrange them to create a new poem, often with a different meaning or focus than the original text 3.  CEN...

  ©Regina Piroska (Gina) Catchment edition4 Australian Haiku Society   21 June 2025

  ©Regina Piroska (Gina) Catchment edition4  Australian Haiku Society   21 June 2025

©Regina Piroska (Gina) Catchment edition4  Australian Haiku Society   21 June 2025

  ©Regina Piroska (Gina) Catchment edition4  Australian Haiku Society   21 June 2025

TANKA  - a brief explanation below of the form taken from  poets.org  website : From  A Poet’s Glossary The following additional definition of the term  tanka  is reprinted from  A Poet's Glossary  by Edward Hirsch. The tanka is sometimes separated by the three “upper lines” ( kami no ku ) and the two “lower ones” ( shimo no ku ). The upper unit is the origin of the haiku. The brevity of the poem and the turn from the upper to the lower lines, which often signals a shift or expansion of subject matter, is one of the reasons the tanka has been compared to the sonnet. There is a range of words, or  engo  (verbal associations), that traditionally associate or bridge the sections. Like the sonnet, the tanka is also conducive to sequences, such as the  hyakushuuta , which consists of one hundred tankas. The tanka, which comprised the majority of Japanese poetry from the ninth to the nineteenth century, is possibly the central genre of Ja...

 After a zoom session with Michael Dylan Welch I posted pt1 here. WHAT IS HAIKU ANYWAY? LISTEN to the poems and notice how each one makes you feel Consider which poems you like the most, or which ones might puzzle you Share your thoughts on haiku you hear - what are come of the strongest characteristics they share in common. KEY TARGETS - NOT RULES IN THE WRAPUP A BIG THANK YOU to Michael and Japan Fair. ©Notes taken directly from the session with Michael

What a fabulous 2 hour session on the subject of haiku we had with Michael on a zoom call organised by Japan Fair.   Participants from many countries including Wales, Canada, India, many states across the US, Australia and Tasmania and beyond. I have been writing haiku for 25 years and still come across something 'else' to consider within this short form, as well as solidifying targets in my own writing.   'Targets' as Michael put it.   not rules which are obligations, but 'targets' which are opportunities.   Choose to make a poem better.   KEY TARGETS NOT RULES As Mary Oliver says : Pay attention   be astonished and tell about it SHARE HAIKU Haiku is to be shared - it is the core purpose of the art form   Sharing haiku is sharing what it is to be human WHAT IS NOT A HAIKU   - This is not an haiku.   >>>>>> - this is an instruction. >>>>>> you cant take a photo of the phrase it is non-sensory   cl...