jeromegagnonblog

Haiku as Discovery

Haiku sometimes arrive intact and read just right. But more often than not (at least in my case), they can benefit from revision. This process is the subject of the article, “Haiku as Discovery,” forthcoming in the fall issue of Seashores, #8 (https://www.haikuspirit.org).

Recent Haiku

old pine: Modern Haiku, issue #54.1, Fall 2022

empty swings: Haiku Corner, Japan Society, #34, 2022

walking (under redwoods): Seashores, issue #8, Fall, 2022 

Inquiry as a Poetic Tool

Questions naturally arise in first drafts but they can help during the later stages of composition, too, if we’re stalled, or seeking to develop a theme. The right question can move us from reason to intuition, from the prosaic to the unexpected.The following questions all have one thing in common — they ask “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” “why,” or “how:”

 “What is the world?”(from Book of a Monastic Life, by Rilke)

“Which side am I supposed to be on?” (from the poem of the same title by W.H. Auden)

“How can you look at the Neva…?” (from White Flock, by Anna Akhmatova)

“Oh, what will I do, what will I say, when…?” (from The Swan, by Mary Oliver)

“What can I say to someone…?” (from The Fire in the Center, by Rumi) 

“Don’t you want God to want you?” (from The Tradition, by Jericho Brown)

 “And what did I do today?” (from Kennedy’s Inauguration, by Robert Bly)

“When did we enter the heartless age?” (from Heartland, by Lisel Mueller)

Writing Opportunities

The Maine Review is open for submissions of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry (including hybrid forms) from September 1st to November 30th. A triannual online journal, MeR “publishes culturally significant writing by writers living in Maine, across the country, and around the world. https://www.mainereview.com

Third Coast Magazine, out of Western Michigan University, will be accepting poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction from September 15th to October 15th. Work published in Third Coast has gone on to win both O’Henry Prizes and Pushcart Prizes. https://www.thirdcoastmagazine.com

modern haiku is accepting haiku now until November 15th. www.https://modernhaiku.org