HAVING FUN WITH HAIKU
(and even shorter poems!)
For the last three years I have been introducing children and adults of all ages to the joy and immediacy and nuance of haiku poetry. Working from my deep love of the form - and some Japanese language ability! - I have been demystifying the process through workshops run both in and out of doors.
After a brief introduction to a few guidelines and examples from classic haiku poets (and not getting too stressed by syllable count!) participants take a notebook and fill it with raw sensory memories or observations. Then we start to write - and rewrite - and polish.
Finally, the poems are hung from a tree or a classroom wall to flutter in any passing gentle breeze. (Like snowflakes or blossom, depending on the season!)
![haiku_workshop040719b](files/haiku_workshop040719b.jpg)
Students hunting for haiku in Ampthill Great Park July 2019
![Ampthill_notebooks](files/ampthill_notebooks.jpg)
Fieldwork notebooks
![LP_haiku_blizzard2](files/lp_haiku_blizzard2.jpg)
Finished haiku fluttering in the breeze at Leighton Park School