Haiku as Participation

Call it Haiku, by vincent tripi (bottle rockets press, 2018), comments on his own and others’ haiku, offering insight into the process and possibilities of practicing this brief form.  The first segment looks at direction, providing several examples from his own work.  Other segments explore “giving and taking,” “repetition,” “meaning,” and “where.”  Here’s a random sample of what you can expect to find in these pages: “A mere shift from consideration of haiku as heightened awareness to the consideration of haiku as a moment of participation can influence abundantly the quality of one’s work.”  And this: “Every haiku, by nature, is a nurturing balance between what must be said, what’s not to be said, what’s already been said, and what we are learning to say…”  A small classic with a generous heart, and a must-read for anyone who writes haiku.

Teaching Haiku

Jeannie Martin’s article, “Thoughts on Teaching and Learning Haiku,” offers some practical tips for teaching haiku to adults.  It’s available in PDF on the Haiku Society of America website at www.hsa-haiku.org.  With over ten years of experience in the field, Martin writes that “teaching haiku is something like the form itself: direct, immediate, and responsive to time and place…..not a matter of expert-to-student but instead a participation in the deep sharing of the present moment.”  She presents three interactive lesson plans that are designed to get students writing haiku from the first session.  Also available on the site are plans for several haiku workshops, including one taught by Bruce Ross in tandem with his book, How to Haiku, A Writer’s Guide to Haiku and related Forms (Tuttle, 2002).

PEN America Fellowships

Since 1971, PEN America’s prison writing program has helped thousands of incarcerated writers.  They provide a Handbook for Writers in Prison, sponsor an annual prison writing contest, and conduct a Mentorship Program.  In addition, the Writing for Justice Fellowship “commissions writers — emerging or established — to create written works of lasting merit that illuminate critical issues related to mass incarceration…” For more information and Fellowship applications visit www.pen.org.

See: “Poetry in the Age of Mass Incarceration: Challenging the Dichotomy of Innocence vs. Criminality,” by Christopher Soto (www.poetryfoundation.com).   “How Poetry Can Free a Prisoner’s Mind,” by Dan Kedmey (www.ideas.ted).  “Tips for Teaching Poetry in a Women’s Prison,” by Dylan Peers McCoy & Shaina Cavazos (www.chalkbeat.org).

ESL

Do poetry and other forms of creative writing have a place in English as a Second Language classrooms?  Studies suggest that “experiences with creative writing — as writers, readers, or listeners — can enhance ESL writers’ linguistic and cognitive experiences with English, thereby helping them to better understand their worlds through English” (Dvorak, 2004; Hanauer, 2003).  While few language teachers are likely to have the luxury of devoting a lot of time to creative writing, most should be able to present a poem or other short work in class occasionally.  Students can discuss their reactions in short-writes or journals, prompted by questions such as, “What is your reaction to the poem?”  “Were there any specific words that caused you to feel that way?”  “What did you like/dislike about the poem and why?”  “Have you ever had any similar experiences?”  Any one of these questions can also be discussed by students in small groups and then summarized for the class by group representatives, providing valuable speaking and listening practice.

See: “Introducing and Reading Poetry with English Language Learners,” by Kristina Robertson, www.colorincolorado.org; “A Lesson Plan for ESL/EFL Students Using an Emily Dickenson Poem,” by Viorica Condrat, Internet Tesol Journal, www.iteslj.org.