Poet Profile

Giselle Maya

Things I find inspiring: Plants, cats, haiku, haibun, tanka, tanka prose; spring and autumn, days of haze and sun, to write a poem I still like as time passes, the view from my window - the mountain’s cloak of russet-gold autumn brocade & tea-green, spring mantle of oaks, rivers and their sources, to walk outdoors with swallows foxes & wildflowers -- favorites: snowdrops anemones primroses columbines peonies daylilies . . . My mother gave me the gift of seeing & cherishing beauty, My father love of animals, gardening, elephants, My daughter and son are lights to me (most of the time), The cat Anise was/is my zen master after Ujiyama roshi of Antaiji in Kyoto. Now Tora a young tiger cat shares my house and garden; my garden of roses and vegetables are a daily delight. I like the Japanese poetic genres, lived in Japan for two years, near Boston in Lexington thereafter and now in Provence. Perhaps I am living backwards like Merlin, youthening. . . Heidelberg and the Odenwald were my first haunts as a child – ferns, moss, mushrooms, red sandstone castles and the spring of the old god Odin from which I sometimes drank clear elfish water. . .

Awards and Other Honors: Some of my awards: moonset (several awards); The Winter Moon Awards for Haiku (Honorable Mention, 2008); the Saigyo Awards for Tanka (two honorable mentions (2008).

Books Published: Handmade books: Haiku [Basho, Issa, Buson, Hyakuchi in Japanese, English and French. Original text written with brush and ink by a Japanese master calligrapher. Contemporary haiku by June Moreau and Giselle Maya. Longer poems by Ryokan] (56 pages, 1998, reprinted 2009); Cats [Haiku, tanka and cat tales. A collection of poems by well-known contemporary poets in praise of cats, in English and French. Reviewed by Jane Reichhold in Lynx Journal and by Robert Spiess, editor of Modern Haiku. Calligraphy by Yasuo Mizui. Illustrated with drawings by Aisha, artist and dancer living near Avignon.] (56 pages, 1998, reprinted 2009); The Four Seasons [in English and French; haibun, haiku and drawings of life in a Provencal mountain village with pen and ink drawings and watercolors by Aisha. Translation into French by haiku poet Patrick Blanche of Nyons.] (56 pages, 2000, reprinted 2008); Tea Ceremony [A collection of haiku, tanka and renga by ten contemporary poets well known in the world of haiku and tanka on the subject of tea; its history, ceremony and roots in Japanese culture. Illustrated. Calligraphy by Yasuo Mizui. Partially translated into French by haiku poet Patrick Blanche. Reviewed in Asahi Evening News, Tokyo, Japan and in Modern Haiku.] (56 pages, 2000, reprinted 2007); Just Enough Light [Haiku and tanka by well-known New England poet June Moreau, illustrated. Reviewed by Jane Reichhold in Lynx.] (34 pages, 2000 reprinted 2009); Moondust [Haiku and tanka sequences, renga and renku by seven contemporary poets: Edward Baranosky, Christopher Herold, Mari Konno, Giselle Maya, June Moreau, Pamela Miller Ness and Linda Jeannette Ward. Illustrated. Reviewed by Jane Reichhold in Lynx.] (60 pages, 2001); Sacred Trees [A tanka sequence by Giselle Maya celebrating Trees of Provence the author has become friends with over the last ten years, with photos and calligraphy, in three languages; translated into French and German by Maryse Staiber, University of Strasbourg. Calligraphy by Yasuo Mizui. Reviewed by Jane Reichhold in Lynx.] (52 pages 2002, reprinted 2009); The Tao of Water [Haiku and tanka by seven well-known poets: an'ya, Christopher Herold, Kirsty Karkow, Mari Konno, Giselle Maya, Michael McClintock and June Moreau, illustrated with calligraphy by Yasuo Mizui and photos by Martin Timm.] (52 pages, 2007, reprinted 2009); Poem Tales [a handsome volume bound in almond green handmade paper: Five poets, five works each, and five calligraphies in ink on paper. The focus is on animals, ancient and modern tales, the poets are: Jim Kacian, Ingrid Kuhnschke, Giselle Maya, Patricia Prime, and Jeffrey Woodward. Reviewed in Modern Haiku, haibuntoday, and Lynx.] (32 pages, 2010); Insects [Three haiku sequences celebrating the elusive beauty of insects: dragonflies, bees, butterflies etc. by June Moreau, Jane Reichhold and Giselle Maya with watercolor illustrations by Dao Yan Hu and calligraphy by Yasuo Mizui.] (52 pages, 2004); Insects (Mushi) [Haiku sequence with the theme of insects in English by Giselle Maya translated into French by haiku poet Patrick Blanche of Nyons. With illustrations of insects by Dao Yan Hu.] (32 pages, 2004, 2006 & 2009); Song of an Old Cherry Tree [70 tanka poems relating to outer and inner seasons by Giselle Maya, with photos ŒRiver of Clay by the author. 36 pages, 2004 & 2008); Sanctuary [Renga by Mari Konno, Giselle Maya, June Moreau, Jane Reichhold, Illustrated.] (60 pages, 2004 & 2009); Peace [Haiku, tanka and renga on the theme of peace by eleven poets: an¹ya Ion Codrescu, Christopher Herold, Kirsty Karkow, Mari Konno, Elizabeth Searle Lamb, Angela Leuck, Giselle Maya, June Moreau, Pamela Miller Ness, Jane Reichhold. Illustrated.] (36 pages, 2006); Birds and Felines [Haiku by June Moreau and Giselle Maya, preface by Michael McClintock, president of the Tanka Society of America, calligraphy by Yasuo Mizui. Illustrated with drawings by Aisha.] (40 pages, 2007); The Four Seasons in A Village in Provence [Haiku by Giselle Maya with watercolors of the landscapes and village by Aisha. A charming book evoking seasons and delights of Provence. In English, with French tanslation by haiku poet Patrick Blanche.] (60 pages, 2008 & 2010); Garden Mandala (2011) [Haiku, haibun, a few tanka with medieval woodcut prints of plants, a drawing of sunflowers by Aisha, 52 pages almond green handmade paper cover; reviewed by Jane Reichhold in Lynx, by Marjorie Buettner and Patricia Prime]; Anemones (2011) [A slender volume of new tanka, with drawings and photos by Amanda Spencer-Cooke, both residents of Provence]; Treewhispers, by Giselle Maya (Koyama Press, Saint Martin de Castillon France, 2013) [a collection of published tanka, with preface by Michael McClintock and foreword by David Rice; reviewed in Ribbons, Cattails, Gusts, Skylark]; Shizuka (Serenity), by Giselle Maya and Patricia Prime (Alba Publishing, U.K., 2015) 100 pages, calligraphy on cover by Nao; reviewed in Blithe Spirit, Skylark, Ribbons, Cattails, Kokako, Gusts).

scent    
of raked leaves—
an old wound

first snow
the cat sinks
into the down quilt

fresh sprouts
two old paulownia trees
have escaped pruning

snailshells
on bent winter grasses
gust of mistral wind

evening star
children's intimate whispers
before they reach home

midnight
in the pond
a star trembles

Credits: "scent" – The Heron's Nest XIV:1 (2012); "fresh sprouts" - snapshots 10 (1999); "evening star" – The Heron's Nest II:7 (2000); "first snow" - Honorable Mention, The Winter Moon Awards for Haiku (2008); "snailshells" - Modern Haiku XXVIII:3 (1997); "midnight" - Persimmon 9 (1999).