Poet Profile

Sandra Mooney-Ellerbeck

Sandra’s passion for haiku is in its ability to capture a present moment and preserve it, and in its nature and human nature contrasts that create enchanting elements. Having a haiku-mind is her way of keeping connected to each moment and feeling fully alive. She entered the publishing world of haiku first through the UK publications Presence and Snapshots. She continues to be delighted to share with other haiku enthusiasts, recently in US publications: Acorn, Modern Haiku, Simply Haiku and The Heron’s Nest; Canadian publications: Frogpond; Featured contributor: Daily Haiku (April 2007 - Sept 2007; Fall 2009 - Winter 2010); Five photos and two paintings with haiku featured in 2010, four photos with haiku in 2011 on Daily Haiga. Her haiku "the many ways to resolution," first published in Modern Haiku was selected to appear in where the wind turns: The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku 2009 (Red Moon Press, 2010). Right Heart Press published a broadsheet of her haiku with her cover illustration, titled: Bliss. A tanka was selected to appear in Countless Leaves (edited by Gerald St. Maur – inkling press). Sandra’s poetry continues to reflect a diverse spectrum: appearing in literary journals, magazines, anthologies, newspapers, cafes, visual art, songs, radio and online throughout Canada, the US and UK. She instructs art and poetry workshops and lives between her residence in St. Albert and her Pembina River Retreat, one hour away, where haiku is in every breath she takes. She recently encountered the world of "déjà-ku" (where one poet's haiku is strikingly similar to another's). Her haiku: "more darkness/more stars/moving on" appeared in Daily Haiku in January 2010. She was surprised to see a similar haiku published in 2011 in a different publication. When she investigated the incident, other poets made mention of the "déjà-ku" encounter. In one of the first articles published about "déjà-ku", John Stevenson wrote: "Two and Two," Frogpond, 34:2 (2011), pp. 93-5. Then another discussion appeared in A Hundred Gourds 1:1 (2011). And yet another appeared in "Read It Slowly, Repeatedly," Chen-ou Liu at http://www.haikuhut.com/ahg/ahg11/exp_liu.html.  Her haiku “chipped nail polish/the red/of a leaf falling,” originally published in Daily Haiku (2009) was reprinted in the textbook Learning to Perform: An Introduction [co-authored by Bruce Henderson, Professor of Speech Communication, Ithaca College] (Northwestern University Press, 2010).

Awards and Other Honors: Sandra's poetic-joy in 2012 was when her poem "Imprints" won tickets to an inspirational performance by Maya Angelou!

Books Published: What Can Be Held Onto [includes a collection of "Random Haiku"] (Right Heart Press, 2011).

white clover scent
cumulus clouds
reflect on the lake

the panties
on the clothesline—
autumn colors

silence
the shapes between
aspen leaves

late autumn rain
the garden potatoes
still on the porch

the many ways
to resolution—
scattered apples

sold sign
the nest
in the leafless tree

Credits: "white clover scent" - Snapshots 12 (Snapshot Press, 2006); "silence" - Acorn 22 (2009); "the many ways" - Modern Haiku 40:1 (2009); where the wind turns: The Red Moon Anthology of English Language Haiku 2009 (Red Moon Press, 2010); "the panties" - Daily Haiku (Winter 2010); "late autumn rain" - Simply Haiku 6:3 (2008); "sold sign" - The Heron’s Nest IX:3 (2007).