HAIKU NORTH AMERICA

If New Mexico is the Land of Enchantment and Santa Fe is the City Different, The Heron's Nest Associate Editor Scott Mason proposes that haiku poetry might just be the State of Wonder. Drawing from examples from The Heron's Nest over the years, which he has collected in his new book, The Wonder Code, published by Girasole Press, Mason discusses how "a state of wonder" speaks to a deeper truth about haiku than any more clinical discussion of the form or its components ever could.  He categorizes haiku into five types of wonder and provided examples of each type.  

Think Small
 (Theme Song: My Favorite Things from The Sound of Music)

peony buds--
can an ant
relax?
  - John Stevenson

Mason feels that "think small" poems stand in stark contrast to one of the prevailing values of Western, and especially American, culture: namely, the perceived need to “Think Big” and thus provide a counter-balance to the cultural bias.

Come To Your Senses
(Theme Song: I Can See Clearly Now  by Johnny Nash)

the tickle of bristles
I cover-up
my hickey
 - Yvette Nicole Kolodji

R. H. Blyth called haiku “a door half-opened, a mirror wiped clean.”  Thinking of it this way, haiku can help us "come to our senses" once again. 

Feel The Moment
(Theme Song: Anthem by Leonard Cohen)

winter night
the slow circling
of the bar rag
 - Bill Kenney

With advances in technology, our lives have become more busy not less so.  To paraphrase Basho, haiku allows us to focus on "what's happening right here, right now."

Prepare For Surprise
(Theme Song:Surprise, Surprise by Bruce Springsteen)

sudden gust--
the book opens to a poem
I like even better
 - Carolyn Hall

This group of haiku also operates counter to the prevailing cultural tendency to feel vulnerable by surprise, an thus trying to limit, predict, control it, instead of finding delight in the unexpected..

Only Connect
(Theme Song:We Are The World  or Circle of Life from the Lion King?)

migrating whales
all our footprints
wash away
 - paul m

The fifth category is perhaps a "meta-category" in that it encompasses all good haiku, which allows the reader to make a connection between the two parts of the haiku, and also between ourselves and the world.   Mason ended his presentation by inviting all to experience the wonder of life through haiku, with his final statement, "Life awaits...may its wonder be with you."

Ruth Yarrow delivered the keynote speech, "Skin Tones are Earth Tones," on Thursday morning from the Kiva Room (the main conference room for HNA at the Santa Fe Hotel, Hacienda, and Spa).  While affirming that the concept of race is a biological illusion, she shared haiku by many poets that revealed the ways bias and power in our society, based on skin color, affects all of our lives.

Ruth Yarrow is an environmental educator, activist, and organizer for peace, justice, and a sustainable planet.  She has been writing haiku for over forty years and has had six books of haiku published.  She lives in Ithaca, New York, near her two children and their families.  On Friday evening, she also read from her book, Lit From Within, as part of the Kaleidoscope readings.  Lit From Within received a Touchstone Distinguished Book Award from the Haiku Foundation.

                                              News Bulletin #16, September 21, 2017

This the 16th—post-conference—bulletin about Haiku North America conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 13–17 September 2017. We have a few items to add to our erlier postings.

Previous News Bulletins are posted on the HNA blog and our Facebook and Twitter pages. Please check there if you have missed a posting.

*  *  *  *  *

It Happened!

We are enormously proud of what took place in Santa Fe last week and most grateful to you all for coming and making it such a joyous occasion. It is you who made the conference!

*  *  *  *  *

Special Winners

There are really too many high points to enumerate here, but we need to report some special winners:

Scott Mason held the winning raffle ticket and took home the wonderful painting donated by Santa Fe artist William Berra. This painting also served as a prompt for the haiku contest, and at the banquet, Bill stood up and said how touched and amazed he was to have so many people writing about his painting!

The winners of the haiku contest were

Agnes Eva Savich — First Place

            evening falls
            with every breath
            another color

Don Wentworth — Second Place

            standing tall
            mountain to mountain
            shoulder to shoulder

Sandi Pray — Third Place

            grandmother’s shawl
            comforting a child
                        mesa twilight

Honorable Mentions (unranked)
 
Marcyn Clements

            Flame Skimmer
            wings steal
            the light of sunrise

Tom Painting

            powdered
            to create paint
            the hematite hills

Congratulations to the contest winners, gratitude to the donors of the prizes, and many thanks to the contest judges, Kathy Munro and Gary Hotham and the contest organizer, Sharon Rhutasel Jones.

*  *  *  *  *

Silent Auction and Book Fair results
 
Cynthia hasn’t yet drawn up the final figures, but we know both the Silent Auction and the Book Fair did extraordinarily well. The Silent Auction netted about $2,200 to benefit Haiku North America. At the Book Fair you guys exchanged more than $14,000 worth of books and other merchandise — none of that goes to HNA, of course. Please be patient about receiving your payouts; Cynthia has been flattened by a bad cold and can only put in an hour or so of work a day. Again thanks to all donors to the Silent Auction (especially Carolyn Lamb for all the wonderful items from the estate of her mother, Elizabeth Searle Lamb) and participants in the Book Fair.

*  *  *  *  *

List of Attendees
 
If you would like a list of conference attendees and their place of residence, please request one from me at trumbullc@comcast.net. On the other hand, if you would not want your name and city & state of residence (no e-mails) be passed around please let me know right away.

*  *  *  *  *

How’d We Do?
 
We would really like to have your frank assessment of the conference to help in planning future HNAs. Please take a few minutes to let us know your experiences and opinions on these questions:

1. What were the two or three most valuable sessions?
2. What were the two or three least valuable sessions?
3. Scope and balance of the presentations; what topics did you not find?
4. Views of the Book Fair, Silent Auction, and other events
5.  Feedback on the hotel (rooms, food, meeting rooms, etc.)
6. Feedback on the pre- and post-conference tours (Georgia O’Keeffe Museum & Bandelier)
7. How could we improve future Haiku North America conferences?
8. Additional comments.

*  *  *  *  *

Mark Your Calendars!
 
The next HNA will be held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in early August 2019.  We wish the new organizing committee — Lenard D. Moore, Dave Russo, Bob Moyer, Crystal Simone Smith, Terri French, and Julie Warther every success! And God bless them, each and every one!

*  *  *  *  *
Charles Trumbull (trumbullc@comcast.net)
​for the HNA 2017 Organizing Committee
 

Editors Michael Dylan Welch (left) and Scott Wiggerman (right) launched the 2017 Haiku North America anthology, Earthsigns, on Thursday at 9:00 am in the Kiva Room at the Santa Fe Hotel.  The entire anthology was read - participants who were present read their own haiku, and Welch and Wiggerman read the poems of those who hadn't arrived yet.

The anthology will be tweeted throughout the conference/following the conference until the entire anthology is tweeted.

We will be using #HNA2017 for the conference - so please tweet your photos and memories, too!

​
 
News Bulletin #15, September 10, 2017
 
This the 15th—and probably last—of a series of bulletins about arrangements and the program for the Haiku North America conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 13–17 September 2017.
 
News Bulletins are posted on the HNA blog and our Facebook and Twitter pages. Please check there if you have missed a posting.
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
Concerns and Prayers
 
The HNA planning team sends our deep concerns and prayers to our friends in the Southeast affected by the hurricanes. We sincerely hope you and your loved ones are safe.
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum Tours
 
This repeats the information of HNA 2017 News Bulletin:
 
The following attendees are signed up for the optional tours of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum on Wednesday afternoon:
 
3:00 p.m.: Gary Hotham, Karen Hotham, Marcyn Del Clements, Rebecca Hartog, Marietta McGregor, Jessica Tremblay, Vicki McCullough, Josette Pellet, Elizabeth Yahn Williams, Bob Lundy, Jill Lange, Carmen Sterba, Kathabela Wilson, & Rick Wilson
 
3:30 p.m.: Bill Pauly, Mary Sommer, Ellen Ryan, Deborah Kolodji, Yvette Kolodji, Eileen Benavente-Blas, Carol Judkins, Erin Castaldi, Jennifer Sutherland, Scott Mason, Alexis Rotella, Robert Rotella, Lynne Jambor, & Doris Ann Hayes
 
4:00 p.m.: Bob Ertman, Phyllis Culham, Susan Diridoni, Cyndi Lloyd, Craig Lloyd, Mary Heron, Rocky Wilson, Karina Young, KJ Munro, Bill Mann, Kala Ramesh, Carolyn Fitz, Betty Arnold, & Margaret Chula
 
Tour-goers are requested to be in the lobby five minutes before departure time for the bus to the museum.
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
Kaleidoscope Book Launches / Readings
 
Owing to some cancelations as well as clerical errors on my part, some changes have been made to the roster fro the Kaleidoscope readings. Reorganized to show the reader rather than the author first, the following list has been posted on the HNA 2017 website:
 
Wednesday, 8:00–9:30—1st session (10 minutes per reader(s))
 
• Charles Trumbull reading from Donna Bauerly — Raymond Roseliep; L.A Davidson, My Fifty Favorite Haiku; & Masaoka Shiki (trans. John Brandi & Noriko Martinez), A House by Itself
• Charles Trumbull reading for Sonia Coman-Ernstoff — Passages
• Brad Bennett — A Drop of Pond
• Penny Harter, reading for Terry Ann Carter — Tokaido
• William Scott Galasso — Silver Salmon Runes
• Bill Kenney — The Earth Pushes Back
• Robert Lundy & Elizabeth Williams — HAIKU for an Artist / HAIKU para una Pintora
• KJ Munro — Body of Evidence: a collection of killer ‘ku’
• Kathabela Wilson —  Driftwood Monster
 
 
Thursday, 7:30–9:00—2nd session (10 minutes per reader(s))
 
• Elaine Adams — Haiku Bouillabaisse
• Jim Kacian — after image
• Deborah P Kolodji — Highway of Sleeping Towns
• David G. Lanoue & contributors — Write like Issa
• Patricia J. Machmiller — Utopia: She Hurries On
• Vicki McCullough — Sisyphus: Haiku Work of Anna Vakar
• Jacquie Pearce — The Jade Pond
• Claudia Coutu Radmore — the business of isness
• Cristina Rascón Castro -- Flor del alba
• Francine Banwarth — The Haiku Life
 
 
 
Friday, 7:30–9:00—3rd session (10 minutes per reader(s))
 
• Carolyn Hall — Calculus of Daylilies
• Kala Ramesh — beyond the horizon beyond
• Alexis Rotella — Between Waves
• Carmen Sterba — An Amazement of Deer
• Don Wentworth — With a Deepening Presence
• Ruth Yarrow — Lit from Within
• Yoko’s Dogs — Rhinoceros
• Michael Dylan Welch & Tanya McDonald — Seven Suns / Seven Moons
• Karina M. Young — Eucalyptus Wind
 
Further changes are possible, of course. I will have a printed schedule of readers available at the conference.
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
Charles Trumbull (trumbullc@comcast.net)
for the HNA 2017 Organizing Committee

News Bulletin #14, September 3, 2017
 
This the 14th of a series of bulletins about arrangements and the program for the Haiku North America conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 13–17 September 2017.
 
News Bulletins are posted on the HNA blog (http://www.haikunorthamerica.com/blog) and our Facebook and Twitter pages. Please check there if you have missed a posting.
 
If you would rather not receive these e-mails, let us know and we’ll take your name off the mailing list. On the other hand, your feedback is welcome.
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
Where to Send Media for Your Presentation
 
Ben & Alissa Trumbull, our AV gurus, advise all HNA attendees who plan PowerPoint, video, audio, etc. presentations to send an advance copy to this mailbox--click here (it may take a few seconds to open).  Ben & Alissa will verify that your media will run on our equipment at the Conference and will arrange the various presentations in order to minimize hassle at setup. For serenity’s sake, we also advise that you bring a backup, failsafe copy of your slideshow or video to the Conference on a thumb drive.
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
Freebies
 
The Freebie Table is a hallowed tradition at Haiku North America (and most other haiku meetings). Often, haiku poets like to share their accomplishments with others by making broadsides, fliers, poem cards, book ads, and random ephemera. Who are we to flaunt such traditions? There will be a large table in the corridor between the two conference meeting rooms on which attendees may leave their freebies for the enjoyment of the conference-goers and the literate public. Attendance figures are hovering around 215, so you can plan accordingly.
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
 
More about the Book Fair
 
Are you planning to bring a large number of titles to sell at the Book Fair— but maybe only one or two copies of each one?  (I am guilty—I’ll have dozens of one-off copies of books). Well, we’re a little worried about the amount of table space that we’ll have available, so we’re suggesting that you consider showing your single copies flip-style in bins. We’ll have a number of 11˝ x 8½ ˝ x 4½˝ plastic baskets on hand for just such use.
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
Charles Trumbull (trumbullc@comcast.net)
for the HNA 2017 Organizing Committee

​
News Bulletin #13, September 1, 2017
 
This the 13th of a series of bulletins about arrangements and the program for the Haiku North America conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 13–17 September 2017.
 
News Bulletins are posted on the HNA blog (http://www.haikunorthamerica.com/blog) and our Facebook and Twitter pages. Please check there if you have missed a posting.
 
If you would rather not receive these e-mails, let us know and we’ll take your name off the mailing list. On the other hand, your feedback is welcome.
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
Conference Haiku Contest
 
All attendees are invited to participate in the HNA Haiku Contest, which will run throughout the conference. The prompt for the contest is a painting by William Berra (a different painting from the one described below) which will be displayed at the Registration Desk and periodically on the conference screens. The contest will be judged anonymously.  At the Registration Desk there will be index cards and a box to deposit your entry. Please write your haiku on one side of the card and your name on the other side of the card and deposit in the box. One entry per person only. First Prize is a painting by William Berra, a Santa Fe artist whose work has recently been on view at the prestigious Nedra Matteucci Gallery (see https://www.matteucci.com/william-berra.  The painting, “Open Spaces Finch 1,” is an oil on metal leaf.  Paintings from Berra’s “Finch” series now appear in numerous private collections. Second Prize is a pair of signed Hopi inlay earrings. The inlay is constructed from two layers of sterling silver.  A design is traced on a sheet of silver and is then cut out by hand with a jeweler’s saw and imposed on the second piece. Third Prize is a platinum photograph by Dan Geist.  Geist’s work appears in a variety of collections including those of the New Jersey State Museum and the Johnson Matthey Corporation.
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
HNA 2017 Silent Auction
 
HNA 2017 will continue the tradition of having a Silent Auction, proceeds of which help defray the costs of the HNA Conferences.
 
A highlight of this year’s Silent Auction is a large consignment of books and other valuable items from the estate of Elizabeth Searle Lamb, “The First Lady of Haiku,” donated by Elizabeth’s daughter, Carolyn Lamb. Red Moon Press has also donated a number of its annual anthologies. And for the first time, donated copies of books by authors in the Book Fair, will be grouped and auctioned off.
 
We have room for more—but give us a heads-up, please (contact: Scott Wiggerman at swiggerman@comcast.net). We encourage all attendees to comb through belongings and donate appropriate things to the HNA Silent Auction. We would especially appreciate items that relate to the “earthtones” and Southwest themes of HNA 2017: books, art, jewelry, etc. Donations are tax-deductible in the United States. (At this point, it’s best if you bring items with you to assure that they make it in a timely fashion rather than shipping them to Scott or the Hotel Santa Fe.)
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
Book Fair
 
Thanks to all the booksellers who have sent in their Book Inventory forms. If you haven’t sent yours yet, please e-mail (cynthia.cats@comcast.net) or snail-mail it to Cynthia as soon as possible. We already have almost 300 titles for the Book Fair!
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
Weather Forecast for September 13–17
 
Fall is definitely in the air here in Santa Fe! We usually feel the season change about Labor Day, so we’re right on schedule. Conference days should be sunny and bright, but it will probably be chillier than you are expecting. The 14-day forecast for Santa Fe calls for daytime high temperatures in the mid-70°s and nighttime lows to be in the high 50°s—bring warm clothing!
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
Charles Trumbull (trumbullc@comcast.net)
for the HNA 2017 Organizing Committee
 

 
News Bulletin #12, August 27, 2017
 
This the 12th of a series of bulletins about arrangements and the program for the Haiku North America conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 13–17 September 2017.
 
News Bulletins are posted on the HNA blog (http://www.haikunorthamerica.com/blog) and our Facebook and Twitter pages. Please check there if you have missed a posting.
 
If you would rather not receive these e-mails, let us know and we’ll take your name off the mailing list. On the other hand, your feedback is welcome.
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
Final Program Schedule Posted
 
The HNA 2017 Program Schedule, complete with dates, times, and room assignments, is now available on the HNA 2017 website --here. This is the 24-page PDF document that we will submit to the printer on Aug. 28, so it’s as final as it’s going to be! Also included in the Program are Presentation Abstracts (short descriptions of Conference events), Biosketches of all presenters, and a page or two of other cultural goings-on in Santa Fe during the Conference. If you go to this web page, you’ll probably have to click on the “Fullscreen” icon (4 arrows pointing outward) in the lower right to see the full pages and to be able to scroll from page to page.
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
All Presenters at the Conference Please Note
 
Are you reading, lecturing, or running a workshop? Will you have any slides, videos, or other AV needs?  If you do, please contact Charlie at trumbullc@comcast.net and specify the kind of presentation you will have, the digital format  or computer program in which it was created, and the type of computer & operating system you used, for example:
 
slide show — PowerPoint — Mac
music — .mp3 — PC
 
Soon we will also be asking you to send an advance digital copy of your presentation if possible so our AV techs can be sure we have the wherewithal to run them and to minimize the hassle of changing the media from one session to the next. We’ll set up a Dropbox or something similar for you to use.
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
Book Fair
 
Please submit your Book Fair inventory sheets to Cynthia as soon as possible, by mail or e-mail.  We are anticipating a record number of sellers and need your inventory to estimate the number of tables we will need to have set up.
 
Note that the Book Fair closes at noon on Saturday, and all books must be removed from the room no later than 2:00 p.m. to allow the hotel staff time to set up for the banquet-barbecue. If you will be removing more books than you can carry home by plane or train, please think through how you will be getting them back. The UPS stores should all be open until 5:00 p.m. Saturday, and they open at 8:00 on Monday morning.  I will have the addresses for UPS and FEDEX at the checkout desk.
 
Thanks so much for your cooperation and help.  Together we can make this the best HNA book fair ever!           Cynthia, cynthia.cats@comcast.net
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum Tour Rosters
 
The following attendees are signed up for the optional tours of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum on Wednesday afternoon:
 
3:00 p.m.: Gary Hotham, Karen Hotham, Marcyn Del Clements, Rebecca Hartog, Marietta McGregor, Jessica Tremblay, Vicki McCullough, Josette Pellet, Elizabeth Yahn Williams, Bob Lundy, Jill Lange, Carmen Sterba, Kathabela Wilson, & Rick Wilson
 
3:30 p.m.: Bill Pauly, Mary Sommer, Ellen Ryan, Deborah Kolodji, Yvette Kolodji, Eileen Benavente-Blas, Carol Judkins, Erin Castaldi, Jennifer Sutherland, Scott Mason, Alexis Rotella, Robert Rotella, Lynne Jambor, & Doris Ann Hayes
 
4:00 p.m.: Bob Ertman, Phyllis Culham, Susan Diridoni, Cyndi Lloyd, Craig Lloyd, Mary Heron, Rocky Wilson, Karina Young, KJ Munro, Bill Mann, Kala Ramesh, Carolyn Fitz, Betty Arnold, & Margaret Chula
 
*  *  *  *  *
 
Charles Trumbull (trumbullc@comcast.net)
for the HNA 2017 Organizing Committee