saiun

CRLiterature is holding a Parallel Prompt: Ogura Hyakunin Isshu event through December 31st.  


Select a poem from the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu (100 Poems by 100 Poets), a famous anthology of classic Japanese poetry, that inspires you.  Then choose a medium to respond to that poem in:

• Poetry:
  Write a tanka in response to your poem of choice. You can take 'response' however you want: whether you want to actually write to the original poet, like exchanging letters, or just use your chosen poem as inspiration.


• Art:
  Illustrate your poem of choice with some form of traditional media. If you want to carry on from Inktober and try classical ink painting, go for it! If you want to experiment, feel free to try pencils, paint, charcoal, markers, whatever you like.

You may submit as many entries as you like, so you can mix and match and work with different poems if more than one inspires you.  See their event journal for more details and a deeper discussion about the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

I just finished reading The Shepherd's Crown, the 41st and final novel in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, published shortly after he passed away in 2015.  Together it and Raising Steam were something of a last hurrah for the two main sets of characters.  I had been putting off reading it for quite a while, not wanting to acknowledge it was over.

Terry is without a doubt my favorite author, sharing a gentle wisdom and impish sense of humor that have always reminded me of my much-missed grandfather.  I really wish they were both still with us...

It's strange how you can get to know a person through their writing, and it has been a privilege and pleasure reading his works over the years.

Winners of the Haiku Club's 2016 Long Summer Contest have been announced! Thank you to everyone who contributed!


First Place goes to the boardwalk tanka by SekayiJette. This evokes images of east coast beach towns and smaller beach cities, the listing of visual cues mimicking the Japanese idea where visions of things in nature bring forth cultural memories and meanings. With a pleasant rhythm the author sets the table and the audience fills in details from their own experience. In this way the poet and audience partake in a shared cultural experience.

Second Place goes to lazy summer haiku by SilverInkblot. A wonderfully relaxed image, this presents the clearest haiku moment. It employs a clever use of negative space, mentioning the shadows and dust while inviting the reader to paint in the sunbeams themselves.

Third Place goes to fireworks haiku by Weidenlied. Beauty is fleeting in this summertime moment which playfully contrasts the roots of hanabi, the Japanese word for fireworks. The word is composed of two kanji, 花 (hana, meaning flower) and 火 (bi, meaning fire).


Honorable Mentions go to:

a very long summer haiku by neurotype-on-discord. A surprising and funny twist in this perfectly summery slice of life.

the hills are alive... sijo by haijinik. Beautiful scenery viewed through the lens of history.  Oh to have a car full of history majors on every road trip!


Special thanks go to Haegun, RedDragonfly, and moyanII for judging the contest.

I really like this performance poetry piece by two-time National Poetry Slam champion Kyle Guante Tran Myhre found on Button Poetry's Facebook page.  It's an exceptional message delivered with a delightful cadence.

If you liked that, check out his book: a love song, a death rattle, a battle cry