A Puzzle of Poetry

I'm pleased to say that I have begun playing with the puzzle that is my first poetry collection, Patient Property. I've been writing for this collection since being diagnosed with leukaemia in March 2010, and it's only recently that my treatment has finally come to a conclusion. That's a lot of experiences to draw on!

At this stage all the relevant haiku, senryu, tanka, and haibun I've written over the past 2+ years is printed out and blue-tacked onto the back of my study door. From there I'm working out in what order the poems should appear, what stays and what goes, and if there are any gaps in my story for which new works need to be written.

Having never done this before, I can tell you it's a challenging job; though no bigger a task than I had expected it would be. I think I'll be a good few months working my way through the ups and downs of this process. I'm very grateful that a few fellow poets have already put their hands up to be early readers.

In the meantime (and long before my book sees the world!) will be my appearance in A New Resonance 8: Emerging Voices in English-Language Haiku. I'm very excited to have my haiku chosen for this volume, which will see a sizable body of my work published in one place for the first time. Many thanks to editors Jim Kacian and Dee Evetts, and all those who have supported my haiku habit over the past six years!

Now I just have to get over the small shock I feel every time I close my study door and am suddenly confronted with a wall of poetry! How is it that I keep forgetting it's there . . .