This year, I set a goal for myself of publishing a set number of poems. Having achieved that, I'm wondering what an appropriate goal would be for next year. Should I strive for more prestigious journals? Put together a chapbook-length piece or a manuscript? Focus on contests? Is there a sort of standard progression that most poets follow?
Thanks in advance for giving me a peek into your poetic journey.
jublke
Congratulations on accomplishing your goals this year. Bravo!!
I am very interested in hearing answers to your question. I'm at the stage of thinking that I might be ready to try to get my first haiku published in a journal.
Alan had suggested that I consider writing a series of haiku about my family. I have been working on that and am having fun with that.
Then another friend suggested that I tackle a sequence, which was a new idea for me. I need to research that a bit more, but I like the concept!
One of my projects for this year is to organize HaikuNow (the huge annual haiku contest for the Haiku Foundation). Would you like to help me with that?
Laura
Hi Julie,
I don't know which haiku magazines you've been published in, or how many, but I guess once you have between 50 and 100 haiku published in respected haiku magazines, online and print, then you have a chapbook's worth of material. You can then either wait to be approached to be published in a book or self-publish.
It's always good to enter and do well at a couple of haiku competitions at least, and also appear in a few anthologies. This is so your chapbook will have all the haiku published with a credits list of good respected magazines, one or more competition placements, and an anthology or two.
You've seen some magazines suggested here, and it's good to get published in a good variety of magazines but not just from your country of origin. There are good haiku magazines in Britain, India, mainland Europe as well as other countries.
Alan
Congratulations on meeting your goals, Julie!
I'm not sure if there's a standard progression that poets follow, but I'll be interested to hear what others have to say. Personally, I don't like focusing too much on publication because I view it as more of a result. I focus more on trying to write at least a few haiku every week, submitting on a regular basis, targeting new markets, etc.
I will, however, choose one or two markets and then set my mind to submitting to them until they accept something--that's pretty much the closest I get to setting publication goals. I don't think long-term too much either. I figure that if I keep learning, writing, submitting, and targeting new markets, the rest will take care of itself. :)
Thanks, everyone. It sounds like I should work on getting a few more publications in some respected haiku journals first. Laura, if you have some work that I could do long-term to help you out with HaikuNow, ping me off-list and I'll see what I can do. I'm not much good with the short-term stuff because I still have a little one underfoot at home.
Hi! I'm not sure how to email you separately. My email is LauraSherman at earthlink dot net. Feel free to write to me. I'll be on vacation for a few days, but will return Dec 22.
I have three young children, so I completely understand. I'll need help with compiling and admin, as well as promoting. We're also inviting sponsorship this year, as well. People can donate $100 and get a link on the HaikuNow site. I could use some help getting the word out on that!
Let me know what appeals and I'll appreciate any help you can offer. :-)
Laura
To the above very fine comments I would like to add this. If you avoid publishing a chapbook prematurely, then you'll have an easier time gleaning truly good haiku later for a stronger book. The temptation of publishing too early can lead to a collection that is mechanically proficient but lacking a unifying impact or falling a little short of projecting a distinct aesthetic sensitivity.
Also, if a collection is a random collection of haiku--a sampler box of chocolates--then as a whole it may be limited in "meaning" something. That is, there may be no sense of "book statement." The more you write over time, the more you find what it is that you can say.
Note that if you can provide a publisher with 3 times as much material as would be needed, you're allowing that person to pinpoint your finest strengths.
Finally, I think it takes a number of years for one's haiku to reflect a cohesive sensibility. First the craft must be learned. In time, that craft starts to express what one is. There is an interior discovery process in this that can take a while.
Hello, Julie,
I totally second merlot -- excellent advice.
Collections work best when there is a unity of theme, a conceptual organization, an emotional arc. And that means writing enough haiku to discover your, for want of a better term, "big subjects", and perfecting your craft. A collection that lacks thematic unity is, as merlot says, "a sampler box of chocolates".
In my experience, it's best to write without thinking about publication anyway. Once a poem is done, then is the time to consider where to send it, or whether to group it with other poems for a future collection.
cat
cat and merlot, I really appreciate the comments on chapbooks and the whole being patient and not trying to publish too early bit. Having started to get some things published myself, I have found myself compelled to try and put a chapbook together. Looking it over, it really is a box of chocolates type of collection. I was wondering if you two could recommend some single poet haiku books that you like and that you feel demonstrate the "book statement" idea. I have primarily been reading anthologies and journals to expose myself to as much as possible, but these don't really capture what you are referring too.
Hello, Ben,
Here are a few I would recommend:
The Unworn Necklace by Roberta Beary
A Wattle-Seed Pod by Lorin Ford
A Seal Snorts Out the Moon by Colin Stewart Jones
Sketches from the San Joaquin by Michael McClintock
To Hear the Rain by Peggy Willis Lyles
Late Geese Up a Dry Fork by Burnell Lippy
cat
Sunrise by Peter Yovu
and Inside Out by Christopher Herold, both available on the Red Moon website. http://www.redmoonpress.com/
Some excellent choices of books, and as Cat mentions The Unworn Necklace by Roberta Beary, I had the pleasure of organising a haiku event for Roberta at the Royal Festival Hall in London. It's a must have book. ;-)
It was a finalist for the Poetry Society of America's William Carlos Williams Award.
I'm hoping to organise the booklaunch of the hardback edtiion in the City of Bath (England) with Roberta, which I know will be great fun! You can order this book at: http://www.snapshotpress.co.uk/books/the_unworn_necklace.htm
Another great book I can highly recommend is:
http://area17.blogspot.com/2010/06/water-on-moon-haiku-collection-by-helen.html
Let me know if you can't get the book from the publishers as it may have sold out. Helen might still have some copies left, and you'd get it signed too! I had the pleasure of writing the introduction and acting as a consultant editor.
Alan
Another book which is a must is John Stevenson's book:
John Stevenson: Live Again
www.redmoonpress.com 2009 isbn: 978-1-893959-83-5 $12.00
Here's the review if you don't subscribe to the excellent Blithe Spirit magazine of the British Haiku Society:
John Stevenson: Live Again
www.redmoonpress.com 2009 isbn: 978-1-893959-83-5 $12.00
John Stevenson's haiku "the reversible jacket" prompts me to feel there is, in many of us, only one side of that jacket we show to the world for work and play as we go out in a costume, even when there is no fancy dress party.
reversible jacket
the side
I always show
Often we only show the other side of that jacket to a chosen few. This author takes us on a multi-faceted trip round that side yet avoids the pitfalls of over earnest outpourings, of burying us in an avalanche of self-confessions that would require a mountain rescue dog to save us.
seated between us
the imaginary
middle passenger
If this wasn't enough, we can learn we are the core of our own material: those intimate themes within the circumference of our body space that provide resources to write for ourselves: the author writes "so much/of what I do/involves my body."
Some of those resources from this will be poignant, painful, awkward.
checkout line
my dad
could talk to anyone
midnight sun
I know for a fact
the bottle's half empty
Of course there are weaknesses in the collection, although intriguingly I've come back to them, and found I'm reducing them one by one. There is a cohesion to this collection, and possibly outside that structure one or two haiku aren't strong enough to stand on their own two feet. At 92 haiku and senryu; fifteen tanka; one renku; and two haibun I defy anyone to keep such a low count.
This book is divided into two parts: Live; Again. I'll be going back to this book again and again: sometimes to dip into, sometimes to read cover to cover. It won't always be easy...
I put myself/in the shoes/of a dying friend./He'd moved on by then/in his bare feet...
But sometimes...
A child's/ wide eyes/stares at me./If I could/I'd have a look too.
John, I think you allow us to do just that from time to time:
we're here
we might as well build
a sandcastle
- end of review by Alan Summers, Blithe Spirit Vol. 20 No. 4 (December 2010) -
Book details:
http://www.redmoonpress.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=110&osCsid=999ae19e1524519b1d8e3b3d9a96d75b
Live Again, haiku by John Stevenson $12.00
Live Again is John Stevenson's third full-length book of haiku and related forms (Some of the Silence, 1999 and quiet enough, 2004, First Prize winner of the Merit Book Award from the Haiku Society of America (HSA), and his fourth collection overall (something uneraseable, 1996). The author has served HSA as President, Treasurer and Editor of Frogpond, its international membership journal. He is currently managing editor of The Heron's Nest.
Red Moon Press
pub. 2009
isbn: 978-1-893959-83-5
Pages: 64
Size: 5.25" x 8"
Binding: perfect softbound
A fabulous thread!
I have just posted a review of Peter Yovu's book, Sunrise, on the Haiku NewZ website, please go here:
http://www.poetrysociety.org.nz/node/530
Happy reading, you'll soon have a library and wonder how that happened!
Good link to your review Sandra.
Just another must have book, thank you!
One of my earlier highly influential books other than Bill's Haiku Handbook and Ross Clark's Local Seasonings, was the first New Zealand Haiku Anthology which also contained haiku by Michael McClintock.
I'd certainly recommend that book still, as well as the second anthology as well.
Alan
Wow! Thank you all for the great reading suggestions. I have already ordered both of Sandra's suggestions as I already have an account at Red Moon Press. Looking forward to digesting them once they arrive. I am especially looking forward to Sunrise after reading Sandra's wonderful review. After those two it will be on to others from the list. Thanks again, everyone!
I also already have read the Haiku Handbook, loved it, have just finished The Haiku Seasons and am in the middle of Haiku World. I also have and have read more than once To Hear The Rain by Peggy Wills Lyles. I owe a lot to her and miss her dearly. I was wondering if anyone could comment on its Book Statement. Since it's a book that I have and have also already read it might help to give me a better understanding on this idea.
Hi Ben,
You said:
I also have and have read more than once To Hear The Rain by Peggy Wills Lyles.
I was wondering if anyone could comment on its Book Statement. Since it's a book that I have and have also already read it might help to give me a better understanding on this idea.
Which part, or angle, of the statement do you mean? It's a great book. ;-)
Alan
To save paper and colour ink cartridges it might be better to copy and paste into a word doc and print. ;-)
Alan, My apologies. It was a little convoluted. I am really interested in merlot's earlier comment:
Also, if a collection is a random collection of haiku--a sampler box of chocolates--then as a whole it may be limited in "meaning" something. That is, there may be no sense of "book statement."
I had asked if anyone could suggest some books that would illustrate the "book statement" idea. A lot of people responded, including you, with a fantastic collection of titles. Cat's list included Peggy's book. It was the only book listed by anyone that I currently own and have read. Because of that I felt that it could be a good book for further discussion.
Also, I just wanted to say that your posted review of Live Again was superb. I really look forward to reading that one soon. "the reversible jacket" poem blew me away. I also thank you for stating you could try and get me a signed copy of Water On The Moon. This is very kind of you, though I wouldn't want to put anyone through the trouble.
Helen's is a really strong collection and carries a constant thematic approach.
I was a consultant to Helen so I'm biased, but Helen is a writer to watch out for and learn from.
You can also catch a dozen of her works at haijinx:
www.haijinx.org
If you'd like the book I can happily contact Helen. :-)
Alan
Alan, thank you. I would love a copy. I'm in the States so let me know what I'd need to do for payment and I'm in. Also, thanks for the link to haijinx. I've not heard of the site before. I liked your pieces in their most recent issue.
Thanks Ben, although I never want to be so again as I was for those books in each room. :-)
I'll contact Helen re Water on the Moon, it really is an exceptional collection and accessible to American audiences as Helen is well published in the states.
Alan
I'm happy to report that my copies of Inside Out by Christopher Herold and Sunrise by Peter Yovu arrived in the mail today. I am very much looking forward to reading these and then making my way through the rest of the recommendation list. Thank you all again for the wonderful recommendations!
Ben
A useful article has just been posted on the haijinx website.
The article, the third in a series, by Richard Krawiec for haijinx, is a useful one for all of us to read, and not just newcomers to haiku.
The weblink can be found on the homepage of haijinx: http://www.haijinx.org (http://www.haijinx.org)
Alan,
haijinx co-editor
Alan,
Agreed that the article is a good one. And it raises a lot of good points. I am a contributing editor to River Styx, and it is hard to give every poem your full attention when reading through the large volumes of submissions. The bit about knowing your own good work from your bad work is very important. However, it does get tricky to limit which poems you submit. Part of the learning curve is through submission/rejection (especially for we newbies). And then when you get something published, it's very informative to try and figure out at why that piece was selected, what went right with the poem and then to take a look at what needs work in those poems that didn't make the cut.
Thanks for pointing out the article! It was a good read!
Ben
Hi Ben,
I'm very late to this, sorry. I don't have a lot to add, but in considering a first book of one's own, first take into account the haiku (as others have said & gone into detail about) , then consider how you will group/ sequence them (unless you have an editor you trust to do this for you), cull your haiku ruthlessly! even the published ones (the old general writing advice to "kill your darlings" :) ) and go over it with a fine-tooth comb re sloppiness (typos, spellos, consistency in punctuation...it all counts) , choose a suitable and attractive cover.
'To Hear the Rain', which you have, is a superb collection by a master haiku poet. Many haiku books of different kinds work. To get an idea, check what has worked for some people. Rather than relying only on reviews, though these can be informative and I recommend Matthew Paul, who reviews for 'Presence', as a refreshingly unbiased and candid reviewer, I'd advise that you check the various haiku book competitions for results and judges' comments. The recent Touchstones Book Awards is one (scroll down past the 'individual poems' section) :
http://www.thehaikufoundation.org/awards/touchstone-archive/
The annual HSA Mildred Kanterman Memorial Merit Book Awards is another:
http://www.hsa-haiku.org/meritbookawards/merit-book_archive.htm
- Lorin
Thanks Ben,
The review is now posted at the current issue of haijinx too. ;-)
http://www.haijinx.org/quarterly/haijinx-iv-1/
Don't forget to submit work for the next issue. Submissions now open until May 21st.
http://www.haijinx.org/quarterly/haijinx-iv-1/
all my best,
Alan
Quote from: Ben Moeller-Gaa on January 12, 2011, 10:22:55 PM
Alan,
Agreed that the article is a good one. And it raises a lot of good points. I am a contributing editor to River Styx, and it is hard to give every poem your full attention when reading through the large volumes of submissions. The bit about knowing your own good work from your bad work is very important. However, it does get tricky to limit which poems you submit. Part of the learning curve is through submission/rejection (especially for we newbies). And then when you get something published, it's very informative to try and figure out at why that piece was selected, what went right with the poem and then to take a look at what needs work in those poems that didn't make the cut.
Thanks for pointing out the article! It was a good read!
Ben
Lorin -- There is no such thing as too late unless it's a submission deadline. :) Thank you for the insight. As I continue to grow with my haiku, your comments will be increasingly on my mind. It is interesting to look at my work in sequences and to start to see patterns and themes start to arise. I can definetly see how some work may make the cut for a book and some work would not based on how things group together, and how some darlings get sacrificed for the greater good of the collection. Also, thank you for pointing me to the touchstone section of this website. I hadn't ventured there yet!
Alan -- I really have enjoyed the most recent issue of haijinx and am excited to see so many names there that I have become familiar with in my reading. Thank you for the reminder about the call for submissions. I just sent through 6 haiku for consideration.
All the best!
Ben
Thanks, everyone, for your thoughtful comments. Here I am, nearly two years later, pondering the same questions, but the advice cuts a bit more deeply for me now. Once again, I've been contemplating a chapbook, but when I laid my poems out - and culled the weak ones - I don't think I'm quite ready yet. But I'm closer. And I'm developing a voice. It's kind of fun to look at the progression of my haiku writing - I can see growth. But I think it's time to add a few individual poets' collections to my reading, to get a feel for what strong collections look like.