Tea Ceremony: Hangzhou
for Shiao Wei
After twenty years, my mislaid past
falls unexpected from a book.
The photo of you says it all: still lovely,
self-possessed and elegantly young.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hot August Night
The window at the end of our apartment’s best
for watching evening gather in the light,
the sun drift down behind those feathery aspens
on the edge of town that screen us somehow
from the motorway. Looking out, I can see
across the neighbourhood, rooftops, gardens,
cars and people, everything that’s mattered
all these years. But it’s hot and humid tonight,
enough to have silenced the birds. Not a breath
of air, the feel of a downpour on the way.
A few wasps, their nest in our roof exterminated
just the other day, dangle lifeless from cobwebs
on the wall outside. They’ll be washed away
in no time once the storm that’s coming hits.
* Ken Head lives in Cambridge, England, although for many years he lived and worked in South-East Asia. His poems appear regularly in a variety of print and online publications, as well as in such recent anthologies as Anomalous Appetites (www.lulu.com) and Ink, Sweat & Years 2008. Ken’s work also featured in material developed by the Exeter Phoenix Arts and Media Centre (UK) for their 2008 exhibition of the work of Iranian-born artist Akram Rahmanzadeh and in Poems in the Waiting Room, Summer 2009. Anyone interested in hearing him read his own poetry will find him recorded online at Poetcasting and Non-Euclidean Café. He has published one chapbook, entitled Long Shadows, which is available to read or download at Snakeskin and his first full-length collection Listening For Light is on sale at www.poetrymonthly.com and www.amazon.co.uk
|
||||
|
Recent Comments
Recent Articles
Search
RSS Newsfeeds
Main Page RSS
Login
Month Archive
Links
Make a donation by PayPal
Amazon Ads
 |
Tuesday, July 21
Ken Head is attending a tea ceremony
by
Charles Christian
on Tue 21 Jul 2009 03:11 PM BST
Monday, July 20
Mike Berger is out among the sand dunes & dust
by
Charles Christian
on Mon 20 Jul 2009 11:53 AM BST
DUST
Undulating hills glistened in the sun. Sand dunes rose to a hundred feet tall. Walking was difficult. The sand shifted with every step. The sand absorbed the afternoon sun and waves in the air distorted the view as it tremble in the heat. Ominous dark clouds in the West sent waves of chills down our spines. A stiff wind came up in the sands began to shift. A dark brown cloud hugged the Earth only a few miles away. A dust storm was coming our way and fast. The wind became fierce and the sand before us mounted to the sky. There was no place to take shelter. We hunkered down with our backs to the wind and pulled our tents over us. The dust pelted our backs. The rustle of nylon being scraped sent dark chills through us. Loose nylon flapped until it was covered with sand. It became difficult to breathe. As quickly as it started the wind stopped. All of us were encased in the sand. We struggle to free ourselves. We were astonished the scene before us was entirely changed. Our photographers snapped a dozen stills of us as we did our best to dust ourselves off. We had just survived one of natures raths. What did she had in store for us next as we gathered our gear and moved on. * Mike Berger lives in Utah and says "I am 72 years old. I was a practicing psychotherapist for 30 years and am now fully retired. I have authored two books of short stories. I have published in numerous professional journals. I have freelanced for more than 20 years. My humor pieces Clyde and Goliath, Good Grief Columbus and If Noah Built the Ark Today have won awards. I am now writing poetry full-time. I have many pursuits which include sculpting, painting, gardening and baking bread. My forcaccia is to die for." Sunday, July 19
New online haiga journal launched
by
Charles Christian
on Sun 19 Jul 2009 06:23 PM BST
Here's an announcement about a new online haiga publication...
Haiku and haiga enthusiasts will have an opportunity to explore these forms in a new way, with the launch of DailyHaiga. DailyHaiga is an edited online journal of contemporary and traditional haiga, available online at www.dailyhaiga.org Following the format of sister publication DailyHaiku this journal will present a new piece each day from one of their contributors. Those new to the form will find that haiga moves beyond the boundaries of written verse – pairing haiku with an image that expands or juxtaposes the moment explored in the haiku. Over the next few months, DailyHaiga will feature work from renowned invited artists, including: an’ya, Susan Constable, Billie Dee, Lary Fraser, Allison Millcock, Sakuo Nakamura, Linda Papanicolaou, Carol Raisfeld, Ray Rasmussen, Emily Romano, Alexis Rotella, and Liam Wilkinson. The site features sophisticated archiving and search functions with easy navigation between current and previous haiga. DailyHaiga also syndicates content, and is available through your favorite RSS or Atom feedreader. General submissions opened on 1st July. Guidelines for email submissions can be found at www.dailyhaiga.org. In addition to new haiga, we will also consider haiga that pair new images with previously published literary components (eg haiku and related poetic forms). We will not consider haiga that have previously appeared online in any form. DailyHaiga staff can be contacted at dailyhaiga@gmail.com – Editor: Linda M. Pilarski (ISSN: 1918-851X) Knowing that this will not consider previously published material caveat is a contentious issue (we think it is a ludicrous affront to creative artists and poets) we tackled Linda Pilarski on this point. She replied "The previous publication is perhaps an issue but we go far beyond nearly everyone else in that we encourage use of previously published poetry. Nobody else allows that and it precludes use of some of the best haiku and other forms. We don't want to be an anthology, though anthologies are certainly good things, but people remember images and get bored if they keep seeing things that have already seen before. The online haiga are there forever and can easily be found on a search. We want our content to be fresh and new for people. Some journals do not even allow work that has been workshopped for that reason, but we do consider workshopped pieces. I guess it is always a balance." Readers should note this definition will also hit any haiga you may have published on your own websites or blogs. We say this indicates a lot of publishers have yet to grasp the reality of online publishing in the age of digital media – they should stick to their postage stamps and fountain pens. Saturday, July 18
Animated poem by Lisa Jarnot
by
Charles Christian
on Sat 18 Jul 2009 10:17 AM BST
It's been a while since we've last had any animation on Ink Sweat but here is Poem Beginning With A Line From Frank Lima by Lisa Jarnot. The animation is part of
Poetry Everywhere, produced by the Poetry Foundation in association
with docUWM at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Animation by
Chris Amhaus. Enjoy.
Friday, July 17
Mather Schneider is struggling to reach spiritual perfection
by
Charles Christian
on Fri 17 Jul 2009 06:36 PM BST
KRISTY AND SAM
The new age lesbian lovers come into the bar sit down at the end and immediately open their hardcover copies of The Celestial Prophecy. I guess today they will not save the world or correct our grammar or tell us how to raise our children. They are too busy making use of this perfect reading environment even turning their pages at the same time. They have quit smoking too and in every way are shining examples for all of us. They realize to reach their level of spiritual perfection is a difficult thing for clods like us but they are patient as we struggle as holy people should be. * Mather Schneider says "I am a cab driver in Tucson. I came upon Ink Sweat & Tears while googling Justin Hyde." Thursday, July 16
David LaBounty has written a poem about Third World babies
by
Charles Christian
on Thu 16 Jul 2009 06:47 PM BST
on the way
to the boss’s party and darling let’s not talk about foreclosures and failure let’s just smile and blend in with the rest of our demographic as the liquor and laughter flows with the shit stream of small talk and I-agrees we’ll just nod our heads and pretend that we belong ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ another poem about third world babies and they are on the TV screen with their bulging eyes and bloated bellies surrounded by swarming flies that are fanned by a mother’s cracked and bony hand. almost haunted I get up go to the kitchen & grab another Diet Coke * David LaBounty's third novel Affluenza – a tale of debt, consumerism, sexual addiction and pyromania told through the financial rise and fall of an insurance executive who lives beyond his means – will be published late in 2009. Wednesday, July 15
Jonathan Pinnock is waiting for Godzilla to return
by
Charles Christian
on Wed 15 Jul 2009 07:19 PM BST
Hokusai -v- The Smog Monster
In the shadow of Fuji the air is thick with myths ancient and modern. Whilst the women dream of many-tentacled passion, their husbands keep a watchful eye on the horizon; Godzilla may yet return. * Jonathan Pinnock is married with two children, several cats and a 1961 Ami Continental jukebox. He doesn't know a lot about poetry but he seems to have had a few pieces published recently at places like this one and he's even made it onto a couple of competition shortlists. His imaginatively-titled website can be found at www.jonathanpinnock.com Tuesday, July 14
Yesterday spam, today blogging...
by
Charles Christian
on Tue 14 Jul 2009 11:00 AM BST
Yesterday we ran a haibun about email, now Roberta Swetlow takes a swipe at political blogging...
To One Who Complains That Political Blogs Are Biased and Hostile to Other Viewpoints: Perhaps we can encounter truth only in frank surprise, through naked eyes not framed with lenses manufactured skillfully from nurtured fear, to focus on familiar thick-bordered aspects of our world, our lives; they minimize distractions - labeled “lies” if we should chance to notice them at all. When we approach a stranger of a type perceived as hostile to our own close clan, we go prepared, take from an armoured case, emblazoned with traditional designs, those spectacles which will protect our minds. Enlightenment disturbs us, startles, wakes our souls when we forget to bar our gates. * Roberta Swetlow observes and confronts the world in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Monday, July 13
Mike Montreuil is waiting for the cheque to arrive in the post
by
Charles Christian
on Mon 13 Jul 2009 11:00 AM BST
* Regular IS&T contributor Mike Montreuil writes... "Somehow spam mail is making its way through all the filters. I took one of the messages and made a haibun out of it (with a few corrections)."
Dear in Christ, I know this letter will come to you as quite a surprise, especially as it comes from a stranger. I am Mrs. Regina Lewis and I was married to the late Mr Robin Lewis, from the Brunei embassy here in the Ivory Coast, who died in the year 2005 after a brief illness. Before my husband died, we were both faithful Christians and he deposited the sum of ($3.6 Million) USD in a Financial Security Company here in Abidjan to help the orphanages and elderly widows. Recently, my doctor confirmed that I have lung cancer and that I am a candidate for a stroke. I am now in a hospital and have decided to donate the money to any Christian home or Christian individual that will utilize this money. Please reply urgently as to assist me, before I die. Yours faithful, Sister Regina Lewis in a crowded room of people and computers a return email of greed Sunday, July 12
What kind of haiku monkey are you?
by
Charles Christian
on Sun 12 Jul 2009 11:00 AM BST
We've just had this note in from Mike Dershowitz, which we reproduce in full...
I wanted to announce to you the launch of MonkeysTapping.com – a haiku poetry, collaborative writing, self-expression, writing game experiment. Our intent is to spur ordinary people – who might not otherwise be so inclined – to read, write, and share haiku, as a form of social interaction and self-expression. Users can enter their first haiku right on the home page. They’ll be asked to sign up and become Author-Monkeys – a process that takes about 20 seconds, and then their haiku will appear at the top of the Newest Haiku tab. After signing up, users will notice that all actions taken on the site earn Bananas and by clicking on the Top Monkeys tab, users will see the top 10 Author-Monkeys based on the number of bananas they’ve earned. One of the unique features we think you'll be most interested in is that users can branch a haiku – in other words, create a new version of the haiku based on the first line (or first two lines) that a previous author wrote. This feature makes it possible to create a virtually infinite number of haiku based on a single starting line. Just like monkeys tapping at a typewriter, we're harnessing the crowd-sourcing potential of the Internet to generate literature, in the form of a fun, slightly competitive, easy, yet intellectually stimulating game. And, the community defines quality at MonkeysTapping.com where each haiku can be voted on by guests (Critic-Monkeys) and registered Author-Monkeys alike. Users can see not only which haiku are getting recent votes, but also which haiku have the most votes on the site. So how about it... are you a Critic-Monkey, or an Author-Monkey? What kind of monkey are you? Thank you very much in advance! Mike Dershowitz Site-Monkey – for more details visit www.monkeystapping.com |
Recent Photos
Categories
Who's there?
Google Ads
Twitter Updates 
|
||
