HAIKU NORTH AMERICA

If you have not had a chance to check out Jessica Tremblay's "Old Pond Comic" you simply have to!  She gave a talk today about how it all started, and how she continues it today.

http://oldpond.voila.net/

Without other people writing posts, you're sure to get a bit of a skewed view of the HNA Conference here.

I am currently sitting in a Cafe Ladro coffee shop, across from the Seattle Art Museum, where Haiku poets are checking out the free exhibits... I lost a bunch of poets already at Pike Place Market.  I love that people just want to do what they want, and explore Seattle as they see fit.  

This morning I went to a great talk by Jim Kacian about the history of one line haiku in practice.  It was a great discussion and enlightening, especially for those who don't even realize they're writing great one line haiku, and forcing it to three lines for form's sake.  I heard Penny Harter say in the Canadian Haiku Panel discussion later this afternoon say something along the lines of "it's a genre, not necessarily a form."  Jim's discussion was a good one.  Richard Gilbert asked a question having to do with the generation (me!) who likes to be plugged in and text, tweet and post in short bursts.  Can their short tweets be constructed into a type of haiku that has yet to be defined?  Is this the future of haiku?  I don't know the answer to that- I do acknowledge that I prefer to do short postings and such on FB and Twitter vs. the longer blog posts.  I like to get my views and questions out in small bursts and engage a conversation before writing long posts on other topics.  But here I am writing a long post!  

Next, I went to a talk by Richard Tice.  He was discussing place in Haiku.  He had translated some poems from the Japanese to English, and discussed place specifically.  He asked some great questions about when we speak about place in English language haiku.  Do we acknowledge place names in American English haiku?  Place can be brought up in haiku the following ways:  presentation,

Again, visit our Facebook page for photos and some short videos of the presentations.

Yesterday at dinner, a group of us wrote up a short 12 line Renku.  Check it out!

Wow!  What a first day!  I hope to find some time this afternoon to give you all some updates about what a great time we had.

Until then, a great way to stay tuned is on our Twitter Feed- that's the fastest way for me to update, and it is easy with Tweet Deck to update Twitter and Facebook at the same time.

Gene Meyers posted a short video of Michael Dylan Welch doing a reading last night during our Open Mic time. Go to Facebook to view!

It's a quiet start to Haiku North America so far.  People are working on getting our displays up in the Fidalgo, Lopez and Orcas meeting rooms.  Our Silent Auction and Raffle Items are ready to go (I am resisting setting bids before registration actually opens).  Angie Terry has been handing out our thick registration packets.  These packets are filled with some awesome goodies! 

First, you will be greeted with the HNA Seattle Organizing Committee's haiku booklet for you.  We also have packed it with a visitor's guide to Seattle, tour map, 2 packs of coupons and a guide to both Queen Anne and South Lake Union. 

The Anthology is also included in your registration packet! 

We also have a map of Seattle Center and a hand-drawn map by Tanya MacDonald of some of our local eateries. 

The Schedule is in there, and a more detailed listing of the speakers and panels at Haiku North America this year.

You will also find ads and promotions in the packet.

And pick up your HNA name tag and t-shirt!