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With warm poet-to-poet camaraderie, six stimulating presentations about various aspects of Japanese and world haiku, and an enjoyable English-language haiku workshop, the joint meeting of HSA and the Meguro International Haiku Circle held last month in Tokyo (March 14-15) was a great success. The Saturday morning speakers representing HSA included: me speaking on the challenges of haiku education in the U.S. in the context of HSA's mission; Philip Rowland, who shed light on contemporary experimental haiku; and Shokan Tadashi Kondo, who examined Ezra Pound's "In a Station of the Metro" poem as the beginning of English-language haiku. Representing the Meguro Circle, Juichi Masuda spoke on the historical underpinnings of Japanese gendai (modern) haiku; Simone K. Busch talked about the haiku movement in Germany; and Masaaki Oka, a former student of R. H. Blyth, shared some fascinating personal recollections about this important haiku translator and critic.
Between 25 and 30 people participated in at least one of the sessions: the Saturday morning presentations, the Saturday afternoon workshop, and the Sunday haiku-writing excursion to Kamakura, where we visited the neighboring graves of D. T. Suzuki and R. H. Blyth, as well as the daibutsu: Kamakura's massive bronze statue of a seated Buddha. As expected, more participants came from the Meguro group than from HSA, so I made sure to give each non-HSA attendee a copy of our latest member's anthology and informational handouts, including a membership form. Recent issues of Frogpond were also displayed and distributed.
The HSA owes a debt of gratitude to Yasuomi Koganei, the leader of the Meguro Circle, for his cheerful and helpful cooperation.
Later in the month, I had the opportunity to represent HSA at several renku meetings in Tokyo and Kyoto, including a major national meeting of the Japan Renku Association on March 22nd. At the banquet following the latter conference, I served as toastmaster, drinking to (in the best Japanese that I could muster) continuing ties of friendship between HSA and the Japan Renku Association.
That same week, I paid a visit to Tokyo's Museum of Haiku Literature, where I was graciously welcomed by Shugyo Takaha, President of the Association of Haiku Poets. With Emiko Miyashita kindly serving as translator, I told Mr. Takaha about HSA's upcoming 50th anniversary in 2018, and suggested that a series of international haiku conferences held in the United States might be an appropriate part of our year-long celebration. I told him that I hoped he would use his connections with leaders of the three major haiku associations in Japan to facilitate invitations to one of these conferences, if this plan comes to fruition, preferably on the west coast to make it convenient for Asian and Pacific Rim visitors. He seemed willing to help with this initiative, and later took me on a tour of the archive, where he showed me the first issue of Frogpond (Feb. 1978; HSA annual dues were only $6.00!) and, even more impressively, the first issue of Hototogisu, edited by Shiki in 1897. Needless to say, I filled my phone with pictures.
My sabbatical travels are not yet over. This month, I fly to Bulgaria to work on various writing projects and to give a talk at a haiku conference in Blagoevgrad. In the meantime, in my absence, I'm grateful that First Vice President Mike Montreuil continues to run the monthly conference call meetings of the Executive Committee.
I'll be back in May. Until then, take care!
David Lanoue
HSA President
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Haiku Be-Bop
Spring Quarterly Meeting
Haiku Society of America
Orlando, Florida
May 16 - 17, 2015
Schedule of Events
Saturday, May 16
8:00 - 9:00 am
Registration, Rollins College,
Bush Bldg. Room 201
9:30 - 10:30 am
"The Haiku Be-Bop of Jack Kerouac & the Beats," special guest speaker, Stanford M.Forrester
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Tour of the Jack Kerouac House www.kerouacproject.org with lunch on the grounds (please bring cash for lunch) and short business meeting
1:30 - 2:30 pm
Ginko walk at park near Kerouac house
3:00 - 3:30pm
Back to Rollins, time to peruse book table
3:45 - 4:30pm
"Howling Hipsters reading Haiku," audio presentation, with Q & A Dinner on your own
8:00 pm - until
Open mic haiku reading at Stardust Video & Coffee (they have light fare and bar)
Sunday, May 17
Ginko boat cruise for those interested (please let me know if you are interested as I'll have to reserve for group of 10 or more. $12 pp)
Lodging
Park Plaza Hotel www.parkplazahotel.com
Alfond Innwww.alfond-inn-winter-park.hotel
Comfort Inn & Suites Winter Park Village Area
www.comfortinn.com/hotel-orlando-florida
Contact
Terri L. French terri.l.french@knology.net
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HSA
Washington Region's First Annual Meeting
Saturday, May 9th, is the Haiku Society of America Washington Region's first annual meeting. We'll meet at the Fremont Library at 10:00 am, have a haiku walk stopping at some of the more interesting and quirky sights in the neighborhood, have lunch at one of the local restaurants, and attend the afternoon meeting at the
library with several presentations and sharing of haiku.
The theme of the day is Urban Haiku. Attendance is free, although the cost of lunch will be each person's responsibility. Let me know if you're planning to attend ( HSA-9AT@comcast.net), so we can make lunch reservations.
Hope to see you there.
Angela Terry
Washington Region Coordinator
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MEMBERS'
The Haiku Society of America publishes an annual anthology of haiku and senryu by members, edited and
produced by one or more editors appointed by the executive committee. All members will receive a free copy of the anthology.
We are pleased to announce that the editor for 2015 Members' Anthology is
Catherine J.S. Lee.
Deadline
In hand by May 31, 2015.
Theme
This year's theme is water. In all its manifestations, from
vast oceans and mighty rivers to fountains and springs to wet weather to sweat and tears, water sustains life on our blue planet. This year's anthology will celebrate the beauty,
power and inspiration of water, and its effects on our lives and psyches.
Eligibility
All HSA members.
Submissions
Submit five unpublished or previously published haiku and/or senryu. Poets new to these genres should submit
ten poems to provide a better selection. If a previously published poem is submitted, please include the name of the publication, volume, issue,
and year. (For example, "Frogpond, Vol. 34, No. 3, 2011"). Poems should not
have appeared in any other HSA anthology. Members submitting work are guaranteed to have one poem selected for publication. Email submissions are preferred.
Email Submissions
with 'HSA 2015: your name, city, state/province, country' in the subject header. (For example, "HSA 2015: David G. Lanoue, New Orleans LA USA").
Submissions should be typed
or pasted into the email message, single-spaced, with one blank line between each poem. Please do not use columns or tables. If you have special formatting instructions, you may attach your formatted poem as an rtf, txt, or
Microsoft Word doc file.
Include your mailing address and phone number in the text
of your submission.
Postal Submissions
For those without Internet access, submit your poems typed in a single column, five poems per sheet of paper. Please type your name, address and phone number at the top of each sheet.
Mail your submission to:
HSA Members' Anthology
c/o Catherine J.S. Lee
P.O. Drawer J
Eastport, ME 04631-0911
USA
For U.S. submissions, include
a self-addressed, stamped envelope for notification of which poem is selected. For international submissions, please note that International Reply Coupons (IRCs) are no longer accepted by the U.S. Postal Service. Instead, please include a self-addressed envelope and a $1 U.S. bill to cover postage (we hope this is cheaper to acquire than a money order).
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Ignatius Fay
HSA Bulletin Editor
Haiku Society of America Comments or concerns about your membership? Please contact the HSA officers - click here | |
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A reminder to everyone to click the link above and like us on Facebook. Share news, poems and discussion! See photos from some recent gatherings of the poetic kind.
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If you have not had a chance to check out the ".haiku" column at the HSA webpage, please do so! Gene Myers shares tools and tips available to haiku poets. Click here for the archives. | |
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Membership in the Haiku Society of America includes a year's subscription to the society's journal, Frogpond (three issues yearly). In addition, members receive the newsletter, Ripples (three issues yearly), the annual information sheet, and an annual address/email list of HSA members.
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