Writing

Writing Haiku

English: Haiku of Basho (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Kyoto Gardens

Photo by Paul Atroshenko

The Kyoto Garden photos were taken in 1977 by Paul Atroshenko, an old friend and artist whom I met in Bondi during the sixties. He spent five weeks photographing some of the most beautiful gardens in Japan. See his website at http://www.atroshenko.com/

I am not an expert on writing haiku, but I am fascinated by this form of poetry. What I like about this form of poetry is the discipline it requires. You must write, using the minimum of words, about an experience often set in nature, often linked to the seasons, without using similes or metaphors, rhyming, punctuation, personification or abstract images and language. A haiku is always untitled. Juxtapositioning of images, typically oppositional ones, is usual, as is the depiction of a moment in time (an aha! moment).

This latter aspect was driven home to me recently when a member of a haiku group arrived by car with an egg-bound spider, exclaiming: ‘Help! A haiku moment!’ as she proceeded to take the creature carefully outside into the garden.

When I googled “Haiku” and “How to Write A Haiku” recently, I found surprisingly good, if a little technical, summaries under Wiki. The Wikipedia article points out that “the essence of haiku is ‘cutting’… often represented by the juxtaposition of two images or ideas and a cutting word between them.” And, according to Wikihow: “The Japanese haiku and the English language haiku have several critical differences. In Japanese the haiku is composed of 17 sound units divided into 3 parts–one with 5 units, one with 7 units and another with 5 units. Since sound units are much shorter than English syllables, it has been found that following the Japanese example results in a much longer poem.” The haiku in English has been written for about seventy years and the form is still evolving. It often contains around 8-12 syllables. The trend has been to shorten the number of syllables in each line, and to represent the ‘cut’ by way of linking two of the lines, either the first two or the last two.

Basho (1644-1694), considered by many to be the master of haiku in Japan, wrote: “Haiku are a way of seeing, hearing and feeling, a special state of consciousness… Learn from the pine about the pine, from the bamboo about the bamboo…No matter how well worded your poems may be, if the feeling is not natural, if you and object have not become one, your poems are not true haiku, but merely imitations of reality.”

September 27, 2012 2 comments

Craft of Writing Writing

Understanding Creative Non-Fiction

I have finally purchased a Kindle. Amazon has now released this bigger model (9″ diagonal) that suits me well, since I wear reading glasses and suffer from tired eyes from time to time. I love the pictures, focusing on famous literary figures of the past, like this one, “Sybilla”, that appear on the screen when you turn it off.

the-art-of-creative-nonfiction I am just starting to learn about the main features, of which there are many, and am already nearly through my first downloaded book: The Art of Creative Nonfiction by Lee Gutkind. He’s a great writer and an excellent teacher. This is a good one to start with, as it contains excerpts of creative nonfiction essays in the appendix.

Like the good academic that he is, Gutkind defines the term “creative nonfiction” in the beginning, before proceeding to give examples of, firstly: Creative Features, viz the importance of Scenes and Dialogue, Framing, Imagery, Characterisation, Theme—just like in fiction; and then, the Nonfiction aspect, i.e. the story or content, which he likes to think of as the teaching part. During his discussions, he uses examples from his own writings and places them in the context of his “immersion” technique that involves merging with the lives of the people he is depicting, such as at the transplant hospital, the Mayo Clinic, in his own city of Pittsburgh. And in the appendix there is a lot of important information for new writers, admittedly focusing on American input, but also applicable in general.

What I think I will download next is his book that presents more examples of this genre of writing: The Best Creative Nonfiction.

September 27, 2012 0 comment

Writing

Organising a Book Launch

I have been very busy these last few weeks and months, assisting with the organising of the “Bondi Tides” Anthology. We have had to make decisions on the venue; food and drink; readings; invitations; publicity; flyers; the person to launch the book; sale of books; and protocol.

The editor of the anthology, Carol Chandler has had experience with book launches before, and has been instrumental in making final choices. We in the BWG are are all excited about this coming event, which is to be held on St Patrick’s Day, 17th March, at the Waverley Library in Bondi Junction. We might even pick up some of the many Irish backpackers who inhabit Bondi Beach. The Mayor of Waverley John Wakefield, has agreed to attend, along with the president of the Fellowship of Australian Writers NSW, Trevar Langlands.

Bondi Writers had long been part of the Fellowship, and sponsored and supported by them, as well as by the Waverley Library.

The Fellowship of Australian Writers was launched in Sydney in 1928 by a group including Mary Gilmore, and has fostered the skills of well-known writers, such as Miles Franklin, down through the years. The Bondi Writers Group was the Eastern suburbs branch of the Fellowship, and was founded in 2004. Members have had success in competitions, been published in literary magazines and anthologies, and had books published. The NSW Fellowship quarterly bulletin “Writers Voice” contained competitions and information from the branches, of which there are more than twenty in all.

Other Commitments of the last four weeks: I have nursed my partner after an ankle replacement; assisted my daughter with a newborn baby and toddler; presided over Bondi Writers’ Group blog; started adding content to a new website; tried to keep writing creatively; attended an uncle’s funeral; and took part in family get-togethers with extended families from places as far afield as Sydney, Darwin, Mullumbimby and the Hunter Valley. Enough excuses for neglecting my blogs …

September 27, 2012 0 comment

Book Reviews Writing

A Young Adult Novel: My French Barrette

Cynthia Rowe was a long-term member of Bondi Writers Group. She was President of the group for nearly four years and is currently the Editor of ‘Haiku Australia’. Cynthia is a successful writer of fiction and poetry. See her website at http//cynthiarowe.com.au. My review of her book follows:

This is the latest book in the Genna Perrier series, following on from Our Hollow Sofa, Ants in My Dreadlocks, and Stinger in a Sugar Jar.

I must admit to thoroughly enjoying this latest one in the Genna series from so many points of view. It has an exciting plotline to picque the interest of any young adult (and young-at-heart oldie!). Other interesting elements include: mystery, romance, humour, strong characters, and New Caledonian cultural, political and linguistic references.

September 27, 2012 0 comment