Meetings of the Haiku Society of America - 2021 Virtual Conference

Haiku Society of America Meetings

Haiku Society of America meetings are held at various locations throughout the U. S. The HSA also supports other local, national and international haiku activities.

The locations, times, and programs for the meetings appear in the HSA Newsletter and on this page of the HSA Web site. Announcements and details of HSA regional meetings appear in the HSA Newsletter. Inquiries regarding regional meetings can also be addressed to the appropriate Regional Coordinator. Dates, times and locations are subject to change. Please verify your travel plans with the coordinator for each meeting.


Haiku Society of America 2021
National Virtual Conference

The conference was on ZOOM
Saturday, June 12 — Sunday, June 13

The presentations made at the 2021 HSA Virtual National Conference are now available on YouTube. Here are the links to each:

2021 HSA Conference Opening Address and Remarks by HSA President, Jay Friedenberg — https://youtu.be/WM8E2_6NAj0

Kire and Kire-tsuzuki | cut and cut-continuation by Kala Ramesh — https://youtu.be/oWIv-TGNdwA

What Makes for a Winning Haiku? A Statistical and Semantic Analysis — https://youtu.be/yqN1EMTegwA

Taking Haiku Off the Page: Haiku Movies and Social Media by Jamie Wimberly — https://youtu.be/Afx7KrCnQJs

Open Mike Poetry Readings — https://youtu.be/iVrqauAGGhA

Exploring Haiku Prompts by Anne Burgevin — https://youtu.be/_Y2dVnNJG4Y

The Haikupedia Project: Everything You Wanted to Know About Haiku in One Place by Charles Trumbull — https://youtu.be/gu_3S5S7Rys

Opening Comments on Day 2 of the 2021 HSA Conference by HSA President, Jay Friedenberg — https://youtu.be/ahEteftUHss

Signature Style: How Identity Informs Voice in Haiku by Robin Anna Smith (aka GRIX) — https://youtu.be/dhjX8BT6Abs

Utilizing the Senses When Writing Haiku by Adelaide Shaw — https://youtu.be/gaDQ-YZTSDg

Word and Image: Exploring Modern Haiga by Annette Makino and Linda Papanicolaou — https://youtu.be/UgpHYA_fQbAHSA 

Repetition in Haiku: A Presentation and Workshop by Brad Bennett and Jeannie Martin — https://youtu.be/e6k5kG9ruqw

'Back and Forth: The Rengay Revolution by Sherry Grant — https://youtu.be/K0TU9kJn97Q

Fine Feathers: A Dozen Favorite Haiku Written by Editors of The Heron’s Nest by Scott Mason — https://youtu.be/fWgGXdQyDMI

Conference Closing Remarks by HSA President Jay Friedenberg — https://youtu.be/21Nw8py5hVg

 


Haiku Society of America 2021
National Virtual Conference

June 12 & 13, 2021

We are pleased to announce registered attendance for the
Haiku Society of America 2021 Virtual Conference
has more than doubled that of last year!

The conference is scheduled for
Saturday, June 12 — Sunday, June 13

See below for the schedule and program for the conference.


Haiku Society of America 2021
National Virtual Conference Schedule

HAIKU SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021 NATIONAL VIRTUAL CONFERENCE PROGRAM AND SCHEDULE

Saturday, June 12 - Sunday, June 13, 2021. U.S. East Coast Times (EDT)

Saturday June 12th

10:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
HSA Presidential Address and Opening Statements
Moderator: Ignatius Fay

Jay Friedenberg has been President of the Haiku Society of America since the start of 2020. He will speak on some of the new initiatives at the organization and provide an overview and introduction to the conference.

2021 HSA Conference Opening Address and Remarks by HSA President, Jay Friedenberg — https://youtu.be/WM8E2_6NAj0

11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m
Kala Ramesh - Kire and Kire-tsuzuki | cut and cut-continuation
Moderator Randy Brooks

As haikai poets we all know that the ‘cut,’ called ‘kire,’ is the essential element that makes the haiku art form different. While reading about N? drama, I came across the term ‘kire-tsuzuki’ or ‘cut-continuity.’ The commonest example of this is the pause between every exhalation of air from the lungs and the next inhalation. Both these aesthetic nuances go hand in glove and they will be explained in some detail with appropriate examples. A short quiz, just for fun, will be conducted at the end to test whether the participants have understood these techniques! 

Kala Ramesh is the founder of TRIVENI, an organization to get Indian haikai poets under one umbrella. Her latest book of tanka and tanka prose will be published in July 2021 by HarperCollins. She received The WE Trailblazer Poet Award 2020, instituted by Women Empowered – India.

Kire and Kire-tsuzuki | cut and cut-continuation by Kala Ramesh — https://youtu.be/oWIv-TGNdwA

12:00 p.m. - 12:50. p.m.
Michael Dylan Welch - Even in Kyoto: Place Names in Haiku
Moderator Himanshu Vyas

We need more place names in haiku! This interactive PowerPoint presentation by Michael Dylan Welch celebrates Bash?’s iconic haiku, “even in Kyoto / hearing the cuckoo / I long for Kyoto,” and features numerous parodies and allusions to the poem as examples of utamakura or place names in haiku and explores how this poem has inspired many others. This presentation also touches on the Welsh word hireath, a sweet sort of homesickness, and the Roman concept of genius loci, or the pervading spirit of place. Also includes an invitation to try writing your own “even in Kyoto” variations, with optional sharing and discussion.

Michael Dylan Welch likes to be surprised by empathy and gratitude in haiku, has been active with haiku for more than 40 years, and joined the Haiku Society of America in 1987. He founded his press, Press Here, in 1989, edited Woodnotes from 1989 to 1997, and Tundra from 1998 to 2001, and is currently coediting First Frost. Michael cofounded the Haiku North America conference in 1991 and the American Haiku Archives in 1996, and founded the Seabeck Haiku Getaway in 2008 and National Haiku Writing Month (www.nahaiwrimo.com) in 2010. His website, devoted mostly to haiku, is www.graceguts.com.

This presentation was requested to not be shared as video content.

1:00 p.m. -1:50 p.m.
Aaron Barry - Introduction to Social Club and Social Mixer 
Moderator Aaron Barry

Aaron will speak for a few minutes on the HSA Under 40 Social Club. Afterwards participants are free to communicate with one another using the Chat function and by audio-video conversation. Break out sessions will be provided for groups who wish to interact separately.

Procedings in breakout rooms were unavailable.

2:00 p.m. -2:50 p.m.
Lunch Break - Take a Breather and Come Back!

3:00 p.m. -3:50 p.m.
What Makes for a Winning Haiku? A Statistical and Semantic Analysis
Moderator Shelley Baker-Gard

Historically there has been extensive commentary on contest winning poems by judges. However, there has been no experimental study of what makes for a winning haiku. To investigate this question we examined all 23 years of Herald G. Henderson haiku contests dating from 2006-2019 both in terms of their surface level phonetic organization and deeper semantic and conceptual level content. We discovered that these excellent haiku are all characterized by similar constraints on syllabic line structure, number and arrangement of words within lines and symmetric ordering. A keyword analysis revealed that most of them also utilized mystery, the relationship between nature and human nature, sensory qualities, seasonal references, and the use of allusion. Following this presentation, we will conduct a short workshop applying these criteria in the construction of winning style haiku.

Jay Friedenberg is President of the Haiku Society of America and served for two years as Associate Editor of the organization's journal Frogpond. He is a member of the Spring Street Haiku Group that meets monthly in New York City. Jay has had his poetry accepted in numerous U.S. and international journals and has published several book collections of his work. He has won multiple U.S. and international haiku contests.

What Makes for a Winning Haiku? A Statistical and Semantic Analysis — https://youtu.be/yqN1EMTegwA

Small file size PDF of slides: Friedenberg-(1.2mb)-WinningHaiku-HSA2021.pdf

Large file size PDF of slides: Friedenberg-(5mb)-WinningHaiku-HSA2021.pdf

4:00 p.m. -4:50 p.m.
Jamie Wimberly - Taking Haiku Off the Page: Haiku Movies and Social Media
Moderator Shelley Baker-Gard

Haiku is increasingly being shared through social media using a variety of forms: video, photos, podcasts, etc. In this presentation, we will be looking at examples of haiku in social media and discussing best practices. We will be viewing some of the collaborative work I have been doing with young filmmakers to create "haiku movies." Please join me for an exciting tour of haiku in the world of multi-media.

Jamie Wimberly is a long-time haiku poet and painter. His work appears regularly in the leading haiku journals and his first book of haiku, Before I Forget Them, was published last year. Jamie's "haiku movies" have won a number of awards and can be viewed at: www.jamiewimberlypoetry.com 

Taking Haiku Off the Page: Haiku Movies and Social Media by Jamie Wimberly — https://youtu.be/Afx7KrCnQJs

Small file size PDF of slides: Wimberly-(1.2mb)--HaikuOffPage-HSA2021.pdf

Large file size PDF of slides: Wimberly-(16mb)--HaikuOffPage-HSA2021.pdf

5:00 p.m. -5:50 p.m.
Open Mic Poetry Readings - Bring your favorite poems and share them!
Moderator Michael Henry Lee

Open Mike Poetry Readings — https://youtu.be/iVrqauAGGhA

6:00 p.m. -6:50 p.m. Anne Burgevin - Exploring Haiku Prompts
Moderator Seretta Martin

Inspiration for haiku at times can feel mysterious or elusive. We turn to prompts when we need a boost or a little inspiration to get us writing. Where do prompts come from? In this workshop we are going to explore the many places prompts reside. After a brief presentation, followed by a group discussion and time to write, attendees will leave with a couple of new haiku and lots of inspiration about how to use prompts to energize their own writing process. 

Anne Elise Burgevin is a teacher, poet, naturalist and environmentalist. Her haiku are an expression of her passion and concern for every living being, for whom she has deep regard, including weeds. Standing near a clump of seven foot Joe-pye weed in her yard one summer’s day, Anne’s neighbor told her, “Your yard looks wild and untended,” which Anne took as a compliment. Wild and untended are key words in Anne’s world.

Exploring Haiku Prompts by Anne Burgevin — https://youtu.be/_Y2dVnNJG4Y

Small file size PDF of slides: Burgevin-(1.5mb)-HaikuPrompts-HSA2021.pdf

Large file size PDF of slides: Burgevin-(95mb)-HaikuPrompts-HSA2021.pdf

7:00 p.m. - 7:50 p.m.
Charlie Trumbull - The Haikupedia Project: Everything You Wanted to Know About Haiku in One Place
Moderator: Celia Powles

Haikupedia, a modest project to establish an online encyclopedia of everything about haiku, went live exactly a year ago, in June 2020. With a tiny staff but amazing support from The Haiku Foundation, which maintains the Haikupedia website in parallel with the main THF site, and involvement of a growing body of contributors from (so far) Europe and North America, Haikupedia already offers some 300 articles. Editor Trumbull will talk about the evolution of the Haikupedia concept and the actualization of the project. We’ll also make time for your questions, suggestions, and offers to volunteer to help out!

Charles Trumbull co-manages Haikupedia on The Haiku Foundation website. He began writing and studying haiku in 1991. He served as newsletter editor (1996–2002) and president (2004–2005) of the Haiku Society of America. He was a founder of the Chicago-area haiku club (1996), an organizer of Haiku North America--Chicago (2001), proprietor of Deep North Press (1999-), editor of Modern Haiku 2006–2013, and Honorary Curator of the American Haiku Archives, 2013–2014. Before retirement in 2007 he was an editor at Encyclopædia Britannica and earlier was employed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc., and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The Haikupedia Project: Everything You Wanted to Know About Haiku in One Place by Charles Trumbull — https://youtu.be/gu_3S5S7Rys

____________________________________________________________

Sunday June 13th

10:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. HSA Presidential Address and Opening Statements
Moderator Ignatius Fay

Opening Comments on Day 2 of the 2021 HSA Conference by HSA President, Jay Friedenberg — https://youtu.be/ahEteftUHss

11:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m
Robin Anna Smith - Signature Style: How Identity Informs Voice in Haiku 
Moderator Ignatius Fay

What creates a memorable body of haiku? And how does the poet's identity affect the individual poems? In the 21st Century, we have an international community practicing English Language Haiku. Universality is relative and often it is difference that makes a haiku sing. We'll look at samples from different haiku poets and analyze how identity has shaped their work, making their poems recognizable and memorable. We'll also discuss how staying true to oneself and one's experiences can solidify the underlying thread that ties each individual poem together into a body of work that is a unique representation of the writer and how they experience the world.

Robin Anna Smith (aka GRIX) is an award-winning poet whose work has earned numerous accolades including Touchstone Award for Individual Poem and inclusion in A New Resonance 12. They are the Founding Editor of Human/Kind Press, Associate Editor at Sonic Boom and Yavanika Press, reader for kontinuum, and Co-founder of the Trailblazer Contest.

Signature Style: How Identity Informs Voice in Haiku by Robin Anna Smith (aka GRIX) — https://youtu.be/dhjX8BT6Abs

Small file size PDF of slides: GRIX-(4mb)-SignatureStyleIdentity-HSA2021.pdf

Large file size PDF of slides: GRIX-(13mb)-SignatureStyleIdentity-HSA2021.pdf

Powerpoint slide notes: GRIX-(103kb)-NOTES-SignatureStyleIdentity-HSA2021.pdf

12:00 p.m. - 12:50. p.m. Adelaide Shaw - Utilizing the Senses When Writing Haiku
Moderator Bill Deegan

There are five senses by which we absorb stimuli: sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. The sense of sight is perhaps the most used when writing haiku. Other senses are not immediately noticed, but evocative haiku can be written utilizing these senses that are being stimulated all the time, especially sound. Touch, smell and taste are not written about as much, but these senses can stimulate a strong response. The emotional experience may be a combination of stimuli, not just what is obvious. If we slow down we can become aware of them. All our senses can be trained to be more aware. Close your eyes and listen and smell, reach out and touch what you’ve seen, sniff it. We cannot taste all that we see, but consider that our reaction to what we taste may be influenced by the other senses. 

Adelaide B. Shaw has been creating Japanese poetic forms for fifty years and has been published in several journals. Her three collections of haiku, An Unknown Road, The Distance I’ve Come, and Travel Souvenirs are available on Amazon. Examples of her published work are on http://www.adelaide-whitepetals.blogspot.com

Utilizing the Senses When Writing Haiku by Adelaide Shaw — https://youtu.be/gaDQ-YZTSDg

1:00 p.m. -1:50 p.m. Social Mixer
Moderator Aaron Barry

During this time period participants are free to communicate with one another using the Chat function and by Audio-Video conversation. Break out sessions will be provided for groups who wish to interact separately.

2:00 p.m. -2:50 p.m.
Lunch Break - Take a Breather and Come Back!

3:00 p.m. -3:50 p.m.
Annette Makino and Linda Papanicolaou - Word and Image: Exploring Modern Haiga
Moderator Nick Gutierrez

Annette Makino will first share a brief slide show of some of her watercolor haiga over the past ten years. Her presentation will draw from the first full-length book of her art, called Water and Stone, with publication in June 2021. Linda Papanicolaou will then explain approaches to linking and shifting between the words and image in haiga, with examples. For the bulk of the session, participants will try their hands at writing haiku to accompany several provided images. There will be time to share the results of this foray into creating haiga. 

Annette Makino is an award-winning haiku poet and artist who draws inspiration from the natural beauty of Northern California. In 2011 she launched an art business, Makino Studios, to share her Japanese-influenced art with the world. (www.makinostudios.com). Annette’s poems and artwork regularly appear in the top journals and anthologies of haiku and haiga in English. Her poems have taken honors in the Touchstone Awards, the Harold G. Henderson haiku contest, the Gerald Brady senryu contest, the Museum of Haiku Literature Award, the Porad Haiku Award, and the Jane Reichhold Prize, among others.

Linda Papanicolaou is an art teacher living in the California Bay Area. A haiku writer for over 20 years, she has edited Haigaonline since 2005, and is an active member of the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society and Haiku Poets of Northern California. 

Word and Image: Exploring Modern Haiga by Annette Makino and Linda Papanicolaou — https://youtu.be/UgpHYA_fQbAHSA 

4:00 p.m. -4:50 p.m.
Brad Bennett and Jeannie Martin - Repetition in Haiku: A Presentation and Workshop
Moderator Celia Powles

Repetition is one of many wonderful tools in the haiku poet’s toolbox. During this presentation and workshop, we will first examine some of the major ways repetition can be used effectively in haiku and we’ll read some famous and not so famous examples. Then participants will be able to try their hand at using this technique via a writing prompt. At the end, we’ll give folks a chance to share their haiku. 

Brad Bennett has published two collections of haiku, a drop of pond, which won a Touchstone Award from The Haiku Foundation, and a turn in the river. He is currently haiku and senryu coeditor of Frogpond. He teaches creative writing to kids and haiku to adults. Brad thinks Jeannie is a virtuosa at using repetition in haiku.

Jeannie Martin, haiku poet, teacher, and retreat leader, is the author of 11 chapbooks of haiku and two books, one with vincent tripi, of haiku reflections. A social worker, she brings haiku to marginalized and vulnerable populations, including homeless and those with memory loss. Jeannie is a member of several haiku writing groups and is pleased to be presenting with Brad at the HSA. 

Repetition in Haiku: A Presentation and Workshop by Brad Bennett and Jeannie Martin — https://youtu.be/e6k5kG9ruqw

5:00 p.m. -5:50 p.m. Sherry Grant - 'Back and Forth: The Rengay Revolution'
Moderator Ignatius Fay

A poet’s world is often lonely, but less so if ideas are bounced off one another. In this workshop, Sherry will explain the basics of the rengay form and share her experience of collaborating with poets from around the world. The participants will then be paired to create their own rengay to share at the end. The goal is to make friends and have fun writing together.

Sherry Grant is a NZ concert pianist, cellist and poet. Originally from Taiwan, she started writing poems in June 2020 and within a year, she wrote over 2000 poems and has been published by many journals. She is the author of ‘Bat Girl’ (co-authored by her then 6-year-old daughter Zoe, www.batgirlbook.com) and is planning to publish 7 more poetry collections including one with rengay (www.artsinfinitypress.com). Sherry was short listed at the 2020 NZ Heritage Literary Awards. She is currently the International/National Communities Outreach Officer at the New Zealand Poetry Society and has a passion to collaborate with creative minds of various art forms.

'Back and Forth: The Rengay Revolution by Sherry Grant — https://youtu.be/K0TU9kJn97Q

Small file size PDF of slides: Grant-(688kb)-Rengay-HSA2021.pdf

Large file size PDF of slides: Grant-(31mb)-Rengay-HSA2021.pdf

6:00 p.m. -6:50 p.m.
Scott Mason - Fine Feathers: A Dozen Favorite Haiku Written by Editors of The Heron’s Nest
Moderator Jamie Muth

Scott Mason shares and discusses twelve favorite haiku, one apiece by each individual (other than himself) who has served as an editor with the haiku journal The Heron’s Nest since its inception in 1999. Scott’s commentaries will touch on a number of the qualities that can help haiku poets elevate their own work from publishable to memorable and perhaps even celebrated. 

An editor with The Heron’s Nest since 2011, Scott Mason is author of The Wonder Code: Discover the Way of Haiku and See the World with New Eyes (winner of the Distinguished Books Award from The Haiku Foundation and a Merit Book Award [Prose] from the Haiku Society of America; also named by Kirkus Reviews as one of the “Best 100 Indie Books of 2019”) and, last year, Gratitude in the Time of COVID-19: The Haiku Hecameron. Both are available at thewondercode.com. Scott’s own poems have received the top award in more than two dozen international haiku competitions.

Fine Feathers: A Dozen Favorite Haiku Written by Editors of The Heron’s Nest by Scott Mason — https://youtu.be/fWgGXdQyDMI

Small file size PDF of slides: Mason-(1.4mb)-FineFeathers-HSA2021.pdf

7:00 p.m. - 7:10 p.m. Closing Remarks - HSA President
Moderator: Ignatius Fay

Conference Closing Remarks by HSA President Jay Friedenberg — https://youtu.be/21Nw8py5hVg

• • •

Moderator Nick Gutierrez was participating the entire day as a backup host throughout the conference.

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