The next Haiku gathering will be held Sunday, August 11 at 2:00 PM at The
Foundry Books, 105 Commerce Street in Mineral Point.
Rather than our traditional workshops, this will be a CONVERSATION WITH
RICHARD GILBERT, Faculty of Letters, Kumamoto University, Japan. Gilbert is a
distinguished haiku scholar, poet, and author of Poems of Consciousness:
Contemporary Japanese and English-Language Haiku in Cross-Cultural
Perspective. The central essay of Poems of Consciousness is the essay "The
Disjunctive Dragonfly," originally published in Modern Haiku Journal in 2004.
The essay has been revised and expanded and has just been published in
book form as The Disjunctive Dragonfly: A New Approach to English-
Language Haiku. The event at Foundry Books on August 11 will also be an
"unofficial" kickoff party for the new edition (with 275 poems illustrating 24
techniques, revised and updated, July, 2013).
This collection of Richard Gilbert's theoretical papers, critical essays and
interviews with contemporary Japanese (gendai) haiku poets attests to
Gilbert's central position in laying the foundation for the haiku of the 21st
century. His cross-cultural approach and interest in ecocriticism and the
politics of poetry make this essential to understanding why things are
changing, and how that will affect us. He is also the formulator of the new
vocabulary for haiku, which gift is likely to shape its dialogue for decades to
come.
Gilbert will read from and discuss his book. I anticipate a lively discussion.
Following the discussion there will be a potluck "finger-food", beer and wine
reception. If we are still hungry, we can all adjourn to the Japanese
restaurant for dinner.
Gayle Bull - The Foundry Books
105 Commerce Street - Mineral Point, WI 53565
608-987-4363 - info@foundrybooks.com