Notes & Whatnot
January 1, 2021
On December 12th I was honored to receive the third place award in the English category of the 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest. Domo Arigato!
_______________________________________________________
November 29, 2020
hanging basil
and canning tomatoes
what’s left of summer
and canning tomatoes
what’s left of summer
Semifinalist October 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
_______________________________________________________
November 13, 2020
rods and cones
the reds and grays
of autumn days
the reds and grays
of autumn days
_______________________________________________________
October 25. 2020
summer lingers
in the cool evening air
a few fireflies
in the cool evening air
a few fireflies
Semifinalist September 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
_______________________________________________________
October 6, 2020
Haibun
Haibun is a literary form originating in Japan and pioneered by the 17th-century haiku poet Matsuo Basho. This poetic form ties together a piece of prose and one or more haiku. Below is a haibun I wrote that was recently published in Frogpond, the journal of the Haiku Society of America. While Basho used haibun to chronicle his travels around Japan, in this piece, I fantasize about a different type of travel.
A Backspace in Time
Once again, my train of thought gets derailed by a steady stream of unconsciousness, bits and bytes of random and somewhat related data, taking me further and further away from myself. At times like this, I dream about going back in time; back to the days when rotary telephones and typewriters were state of the art technological wonders. Is there an app for that?
My DeLorean is in the shop, so I pull the plug and hop onto a 1954 Smith Corona Silent-Super. The rhythm of my analog digits dancing on Bakelite keys accompanied by the sound of typebars smacking into a fresh ribbon invokes visions of Kerouac and Ginsberg, bebop and scat; clickety-clack, I’m back on track.
ringing bells
and rattling bones
smith corona
Frogpond - vol. 43, #3 - Autumn 2020
smith corona
Frogpond - vol. 43, #3 - Autumn 2020
_______________________________________________________
October 1, 2020
Haiga
Haiga is a Japanese art form that combines an image with a haiku poem. Traditionally haiga featured Japanese-style brush painting and calligraphy, but over the years, the term has grown to include other types of media, including photography and digital images.
With a background in photography and haiku, it was a natural progression for me to start creating photographic haiga. My first published haiga appears in the October 2020 issue of failed haiku: A Journal of English Senyru. The is an image of a fungus with an oxymoronic name, gilled polypore, growing on an oak log, a piece of wood that remains unburned after an unseasonably warm winter and a short maple sugaring season.
Haiga is a Japanese art form that combines an image with a haiku poem. Traditionally haiga featured Japanese-style brush painting and calligraphy, but over the years, the term has grown to include other types of media, including photography and digital images.
With a background in photography and haiku, it was a natural progression for me to start creating photographic haiga. My first published haiga appears in the October 2020 issue of failed haiku: A Journal of English Senyru. The is an image of a fungus with an oxymoronic name, gilled polypore, growing on an oak log, a piece of wood that remains unburned after an unseasonably warm winter and a short maple sugaring season.
_______________________________________________________
September 28, 2020
heatwave—
the cricket's song interrupted
by a lovers' quarrel
Semifinalist August 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
the cricket's song interrupted
by a lovers' quarrel
Semifinalist August 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
_______________________________________________________
September 7, 2020
A song I wrote and recorded Labor Day weekend 2012 for all the working people of America and around the world.
September 2, 2020
_______________________________________________________
Busy Bees
busybodies
spreading gossip
they call it news
spreading gossip
they call it news
Failed Haiku #57, September 2020
_______________________________________________________
August 22, 2020
fading light—
in the spider’s web
a firefly
July Semifinalist 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
in the spider’s web
a firefly
July Semifinalist 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
_______________________________________________________
July 25, 2020
sandlot heroes the roar of cicadas
June Semifinalist 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
_______________________________________________________
June 27, 2020
mother’s day—
a bouquet of flowers
in sixty-four colors
a bouquet of flowers
in sixty-four colors
May Semifinalist 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
_______________________________________________________
May 14, 2020
_______________________________________________________
April 8, 2020
_______________________________________________________
March 28, 2020
 |
| Cabin fever in New York, 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic |
_______________________________________________________
March 2020
_______________________________________________________
February 2020
New Year’s Day
a blanket of snow
covers our tracks
January Semifinalist 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
February 19, 2020 a blanket of snow
covers our tracks
January Semifinalist 2020 Ito En Art of Haiku Contest
_______________________________________________________
the cat watches
a squirrel watching me
tap a tree
_______________________________________________________
February 4, 2020
even the cat
sleeps late
a cloudy day
_______________________________________________________
January 27, 2020
bump ditty bump
ditty bump bump bump
banjo haiku
ditty bump bump bump
banjo haiku
_______________________________________________________
January 17, 2020
my new laptop a '58 rocket
 |
| Hermes Rocket |
_______________________________________________________
January 3, 2020
Congratulations!, Omedeto! to all the winners of the 2019 Ito En Haiku Grand Prix.
dandelions
fill the little girl’s poem
with wonder
fill the little girl’s poem
with wonder
 |
| New York Seikatsu Press January 1, 2020 |
_______________________________________________________
January 1, 2020
Happy New Year!
looking back
my twenty-twenty
hindsight
my twenty-twenty
hindsight
_______________________________________________________
December 13, 2019
Domo Arigato!
My wife and I attended the 2019 Ito En Art of Haiku Grand Prix awards ceremony at the Nippon Club in N.Y.C. where I received my third place award from Rona Tyson, Vice President of Ito En North America. Many thanks to the folks at Ito En, NewYork Seikatsu Press, and the Nippon Club for making the contest and wonderful awards ceremony possible.