Poetry

Adventure 293 ~ Launch A Collaborative Poetry Project

/ intrepidjane

big renga projectI’m sure you may have realised  by now that I’m a bit of a haiku fan 🙂 . As part of the research for my book Seventeen Syllables ~ Cultivating Presence Through Poetry, I looked at the origins of the haiku form. What is now known as haiku was originally known as hokku, the first verse of a collaborative linked- verse poem called a renga.

The renga form has been around since the thirteenth century, and you can find out more about it here. In a nutshell, groups of poets works together to create a linked poem. The first stanza follows a 3-line 5-7-5 syllable format, just like the haiku. It also contains a kigo (season word) and a kireji (cutting word). The second stanza responds to the first stanza, but this time in a 2-line 7-7 syllable format. The renga then gets handed back to the first poet or handed on to the third who, again, works with what is offered in the second stanza but employs the structure of the first (7-5-7).

This sequence of 3-line and 2-line structures is then repeated until the poem is done!

I thought is would be fun to work with other poets to create a renga poem called “December” to capture the spirit of this month. As December will be the last month of my 365 Days Of Adventure project, it feels like collaborating with others might be a lovely way to end the year.

So, for today’s adventure, I’m launching The Big Renga Project and this is where you come in! I’m putting out a call for a crew of 23 poets to join me in creating a 25-verse renga. Whilst no previous poetry-writing experience is required to join the project, I’m looking for  people who are

  • Up for learning about, and respecting, the renga form
  • Keen to collaborate and be part of  a supportive, playful, creative community
  • Able to keep their commitments
  • Prepared to be responsive and present to the previous stanza
  • Respectful of the emergent spirit of the renga
  • Willing to record their stanza in video format (so I can create a film of the whole renga with all the poets involved)

The project will start on December the 1st and the final verse will be created on the 25th. I will create a private Facebook group to facilitate collaboration and information sharing. Each day during December, the poem will be updated so that people can see the renga grow.

If this sounds like this project could be for you, please drop me an email to jane@janetalbot.com in the first instance. If you know of others who might enjoy being part of  this collaborative venture, please feel free to share this information with them.

NOTE – it is not necessary for the poetry to be written in English. However, to support other poets, a translation into English will be required for a smooth stanza transition! For all non-English stanzas, subtitles will be required for the video 🙂 .

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 292 ~ Recite Matsuo Bashō’s Most Famous Haiku Poem In Japanese

/ intrepidjane

frog haiku Whilst my year of adventure is coming to an end, I am exquisitely aware of something new beginning in me. I’ve felt it for a while, and I’m not even sure I can put it into words yet, but it has something to do with my haiku adventure and something to do with trees and something to do with Japan.

As I’ve been doing research for my book, Seventeen Syllables : Cultivating Presence Through Poetry, I’ve become fascinated by the haiku form and its origins. The modern haiku form is most closely associated with the seventeenth century poet, Matsuo Bashō.

In 1686, Bashō composed one of his best-remembered haiku. Historians believe that this poem became instantly famous.

古池や蛙飛こむ水のおと
furu ike ya / kawazu tobikomu / mizu no oto
An ancient pond / a frog jumps in / the sound of water

For today’s adventure, I’m going to recite this haiku in Japanese. It’s not only considered to be the most famous haiku poem written by Bashō, it’s also considered to be one of the most famous haiku in the world! I learned how to recite the poem by watching this brilliant video on YouTube.

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 282 ~ Devise A Pre-Programme Questionnaire For My “17 Syllables” Test Group

/ intrepidjane

Seventeen SyllablesFor today’s adventure, I’m nudging my haiku book project a little further towards completion. The brilliant news is that, in addition to my peer reviewers, I now have 4 people who have volunteered to try out  the processes I describe in the book, Seventeen Syllables : Cultivating Presence Through Poetry (that’s the current working title).

Not only will these 4 people be able to give me feedback about the book and the processes, but I’ll also be able to measure the impact of working through the processes by taking a “before and after” measure. And that’s what today’s adventure has been all about : devising a questionnaire that will give me useful information about their motivations for joining the programme, that will give me clarity regarding their expectations about the programme, and that will let me know their starting point.

This feels very exciting. I know that the process had a profound, and positive, impact on me. Doing this upfront research with people who are genuinely attracted to the idea has the potential not only to provide me with a useful evidence base (and an important understanding of the range of impacts that might be experienced) but also with information that will help me to market my book in the right way.

In short, I’m setting about learning about my potential readership and how to communicate with them!

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 281 ~ Write A Collection Of Haiku Poems [30]

/ intrepidjane

eclipse haiku Okay. I admit it. I can’t actually help myself when an opportunity to haiku arises (I may just have made that verb up, but I like it 🙂 ). I was going to call my haiku collection complete at 30 (I was saving number 30 for the first frost) but today was too good an opportunity to miss, too rich an experience not to explore.

At 11.55 am BST today, the lunar eclipse was going to be at totality – there would be a second chance this year to see a blood moon. I watched the first total lunar eclipse in April, live-streamed from the Griffith Observatory in the US. It was a fantastic experience : I felt connected to the people at the observatory who were witnessing the celestial spectacle, and I felt connected to our small corner of the universe too. People were really enjoying their connection to the moon, shouting “Dragon be gone!” as they urged the orange-red dragon breath to disappear and give the moon back to Earth.

So, today the impulse to watch the live-stream of the second total lunar eclipse of the year took me by surprise. It wasn’t going to be a brand new experience, and I knew how total lunar eclipses worked, so I wondered if the experience might feel “less than” my first experience.

I tuned into the livestream from the Griffith Observatory about 20 minutes before totality. This time there were no crowds, just a few commentators. It wasn’t being celebrated in the same way, and yet I did experience the witnessing of this event as a much deeper, primitive, somatic celebration. I didn’t feel connected to the people in the same way, and yet I did feel connected to the human story in a very profound way. And this experience not only took me by surprise, it took my breath away.

During a total lunar eclipse, the Earth stands between the Moon and the Sun. The Earth covers the Sun – but not completely. If you were to look at the Earth during a total lunar eclipse, you would see a halo of fire around its entire circumference. The halo you would observe is every sunset and sunrise happening on Earth simultaneously!

As the Moon moves into the Earth’s shadow, the light from the Sun is “bent” around the Earth and causes a bloody, ferrous glow . The Moon becomes blood-red because it reflects this ferrous glow. The Moon is reflecting back to the observer all the sunrises and sunsets on Earth – all at once!

Now, when you stop for a moment and really consider what you’re witnessing … well, you could see how that might take your breath away, right? And when you stop and really consider the symbolism of simultaneous beginnings and endings, of births and deaths, of eternal and inevitable cycles … and when you stop and really consider that you are observing this happening on a planet-size scale … and that you  are seeing everything all at once… you begin to realise that a total lunar eclipse eclipse is, in fact, a haiku in its own right. The Sun and the Moon work together to write a haiku of cosmological proportions across the night sky . During the totality of an eclipse, you  get to witness the essence of existence … in its totality… all at once. To be more precise, you don’t just witness it, you feel it in your body in such a way that it causes you to reflect too… just like the Moon.

Today reminded me that every moment is new. Every experience (even repeated) offers something new. And for the first time, I understood (I mean I REALLY got) the value of the haiku. For me, beneath the words of today’s haiku sits “everything”… all at once… in one breath.  And that bone-deep understanding doesn’t just take your breath away, it makes you cry.

You can read today’s haiku here, and I read it out loud on today’s video blog.

I am just going outside and I may be some time.

JT

Adventure 279 ~ Reach Out For Book Review Help

/ intrepidjane

haiku book invitationIf you’ve been following my adventures, you’ll probably know that I’m getting ready to embark on a self-publishing adventure. My haiku poetry collection is nearly complete, and I’m just about to pull the whole project together to make it ready for publishing.

It’s more than just a poetry collection. The book is also a process of personal discovery and personal development. It’s geared towards helping the reader reap the rewards of the haiku-writing process for themselves.

Through my haiku adventures I’ve become more present to the outside world (particularly to nature) and more present to myself (and my own nature). I have felt the world slow down, I have felt more alive. I have gained a clarity about what life really means to me by engaging with the world through the haiku form.  I am more productive. I am less hassled. I feel more creative : I’m generating new solutions to old problems. Problems seem smaller. I have a different perspective. I am remembering who I really am. I am remembering my place in the world.

I’ve put the month of October to one side so that I can spend the time putting the finishing touches to my book . As my book moves towards completion, it will be peer-reviewed by people from the mindfulness community, by people from the therapeutic/coaching community, by other writers and poets, and by people with a strong connection to nature (who work with nature to facilitate healing).

And this is where you come in! (Yes, you 🙂 ). For today’s adventure, I’m reaching out to you. I’m looking for 2 people to read my book and to work through the processes I have included in my book. You’ll get to learn about the structure and purpose of haiku poems; you’ll get to learn how to connect with the world around you (and with yourself); you’ll get to learn how to explore the essences of the natural world (and the essence of you); you’ll get to learn how to develop exquisite levels of presence; you’ll get to write poetry; and you’ll get to reflect on your experiences.

If you’re feeling a little disconnected from the world and yourself right now, this opportunity could be for you! If you’re feeling a little burned out and world-weary, this could be for you! If you’ve forgotten the beauty of the everyday, this could be for you! If you’re stuck in the past or you’re busy worrying about the future, this could be for you! Oh – and if you’ve always wanted to write poetry (but you didn’t think you could), this is definitely for you!

If you’re interested in trying my process out (and reading my book), please contact me by email in the first instance and we’ll take it from there. It’s completely FREE – all I ask is that you give me your honest feedback 🙂 .

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 277 ~ Write A Collection Of Haiku Poems [29]

/ intrepidjane

acornToday, I returned to Portglenone Forest with my dog. The floor was damp with mulching leaves; the fallen acorns had been ravaged by local predators; and the beech nuts had been squelched open by heavy-footed walkers. I had the sense that Time had picked up its pace, like a runner in a race that had caught sight of the finishing line : the Winter threshold is almost visible,

There’s a part of me that’s quite sad that my haiku adventures are coming to an end. I planned to write 30 for my self-publishing adventure, and today is haiku 29. The process of writing haikus has brought me closer to the outside world and brought me closer to my inner world. I feel more present, more aware and more connected. I’m noticing much more and I’m appreciating much more. And I’ve slowed right down.

The writing process has helped me to explore, and realise,  my creative potential, and it’s encouraged a sense of growing confidence in some capabilities that I’d forgotten I possessed! Haikus have woken me up. That’s the best way of putting, I think. Haikus rouse you from the sleep of remembering and bring you into the aliveness of presence. I didn’t realise that 17 syllables could have such power!

I’ve chosen to write a haiku about the acorn today – its associations with potential and growth seem fitting for this part of my haiku journey. You can read my poem here, and I read it out loud on today’s video blog too.

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 276 ~ Write A Collection Of Haiku Poems [28]

/ intrepidjane

rain haikuToday’s been a really grey and wet day here in Northern Ireland. When I took the dog out for his walk this morning, I looked up the sky, but it didn’t look far away at all : it was like it was nose-close. It was like it was threatening me! And it wasn’t just “one rain” :  rain, it seems, is a powerful collective, capable of synchronous action. It’s more of a “they” than an “it”.

It didn’t take long for the rain(s) to start. It wasn’t heavy but it was persistent enough to feel oppressive, to feel like it was playing with me, to feel like it was letting me know that it was in charge. That they were in charge.

It’s the kind of weather that would give you a headache, you know? The strangest thing of all though is that when you’re inside , the sound of falling rain is actually quite comforting!

What I’m learning through writing these haiku poems is that it’s the more familiar things (like rain) which I’m finding difficult to capture or “edge closer” too. To touch the nerve of the thing I’m describing, I’m having to cut through swathes of preconceptions and memories. I want to make sure that I’m describing the rain I experienced today, rather than old memories of rain, if that makes sense?

So today’s haiku is called Rain and you can read it here. You can also listen to me read it out loud on today’s video blog.

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 272 ~ Write A Collection Of Haiku Poems [27]

/ intrepidjane

Holly Breen WoodYesterday I took my dog for a walk in Breen Wood, near Ballycastle. It’s one of the few surviving ancient woodlands in Northern Ireland ; oak trees have been on this site for more than 200o years.

Many local forests (such as Portglenone) were plundered in the seventeenth century but not this one. People think that it wasn’t touched because of its association with fairies (its name means fairy palace in Irish) : if the forest was harmed, whoever cut the wood would have expected bad luck (or worse!)

The feel of Breen Wood is very special – and completely different to the feel of Portglenone Forest. It feels as old as it looks. It is dense, lush and holds a “far-away” quality to it.. almost like you just stepped behind a curtain. I also think it has its own micro climate. Autumn is not as advanced in this place – but it’s definitely creeping in.

As you’d expect, there are a lot of oak trees. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen so many oak trees in my life! But what I didn’t expect was the proliferation of holly – it was everywhere. Not many of the holly trees were in berry, but I did find one.

oak leafReading a bit about the holly tree, I discovered that only female trees bear fruit, and the green berries will turn red as we move closer towards Winter. I also discovered, when researching the lore of the oak tree, that the holly and the oak are locked in an eternal symbolic battle cycle. The “Oak King” symbolises the waxing year, and the “Holly King” symbolises the waning year. As the holly berries begin to turn red, heralding the arrival of the darkest months of the year, the oak sheds its acorns and prepares to sleep before the Battle Of Mid-Winter. The Oak King always wins the battle for lengthening days – and he always loses the Battle Of Mid-Summer, sacrificing himself so that life can be renewed.

Today’s haiku is about the holly tree, and you can read it here. I also read it out loud in today’s video blog.

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 271 ~ Write A Collection Of Haiku Poems [26]

/ intrepidjane

conker horse chestnutYesterday’s seed collection and planting adventure inspired me to write a haiku about the horse chestnut tree. As I stood underneath the tree, I noticed how its leaves look like large hands and how the casings of the conkers looked like medieval battle flails . Flails are spiky metal balls on chains, used to wield heavy blows and cleave into armour.

Because a knight could swing a flail, it could deliver a much more powerful blow than it’s cousin, the mace (and it could also reach over, and around, armour and shields).

I have tried to include the idea of the tree having hands, and being loaded with weapons, in today’s haiku. Having read that the conkers are ready for planting when the casings are just splitting open – I squeezed that information in too!

You can read today’s haiku called “Horse Chestnut” here. I also read it out loud on today’s video blog.

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 266 ~ Set Up An Account With CreateSpace

/ intrepidjane

"Seventeen" by Jane TalbotI’m super busy with work at the moment, so today’s adventure was just a “quickie” :  taking the next step towards publishing my poetry collection. Today, I created an account with CreateSpace, the self-publishing arm of Amazon – my book even has its own Title ID!

Whilst this adventure might appear very small on the outside, it feels very big on the inside. In spite of some of the formatting challenges that are probably ahead of me, I’m feeling really excited!

I only have 5 more poems to write, and then I’m ready to pull everything together 🙂 .

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT