I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 31

The taste

    of rain

– Why kneel?

~Jack Kerouac 

Something a little different today, on my birthday. Above is my favourite haiku, which I wrote about here. You can either write a haiku response to today's "quote" or, seeing as it is a haiku, you can choose to write the prose portion of the haibun. It's up to you. Have fun! I look forward to reading your responses.

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 30

"To begin writing haiku, and to make progress to any significant extent, requires two gifts: the ability to be alert to the subtleties of sensory or psychological experience (i.e. to notice things); and a sensitivity to the subtleties of language (i.e. to be able to express things). However it isn't necessary to know that you possess these gifts before beginning to write: the gifts are very often revealed – and developed – in the writing. The haiku path is an unfolding process of discovery , and the only magic words of access are the words of each haiku that you read and write. If there is some special or exceptional condition called 'haiku mind' then I, for one, don't have it. As far as I'm concerned, there are as many haiku minds as there are readers and writers of haiku."

~Martin Lucas, Stepping Stones: a way into haiku

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 29

“The only reason for wanting to be a writer is because you love doing it. All the rest is confetti.”

~Susan Hill

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 28

“The richer our sensory environment and the greater our freedom to explore it, the more intricate will be the patterns for learning, thought and creativity.”

~Carla Hannaford 

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 27

“The idea that memory is linear is nonsense. What we have in our heads is a collection of frames. As to time itself – can it be linear when all these snatches of other presents exist at once in your mind? A very elusive and tricky concept, time.”

~Penelope Lively

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 26

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about."

~Rumi

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 25

"Certain things catch your eye, but pursue only those that capture the heart." 

~Ancient Indian Proverb

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 24

"If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced."

~Vincent Van Gogh

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 23

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

~Maya Angelou

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 22

"Jung observed that dreams perform restorative, corrective, compensatory, prophetic, and developmental roles in our psyche; that to attend to our dreams is to attend to the cry of the soul."

~ Jill Mellick in The Art of Dreaming 

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 21

"True morality consists not in following the well-beaten track, but in finding out the true path for ourselves and in fearlessly following it."

~Mahatma Gandhi

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 20

"Once I knew only darkness and stillness... my life was without past or future... but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped to the rapture of living."

~Helen Keller

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 19

"You sometimes think you want to disappear but all you really want is to be found."

~Kid Cudi

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 18

"Let you life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf."

~Rabindranath Tagore

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 17

"Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go."

~Hermann Hesse

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 16

"I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding."

~John O'Donohue

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 15

"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."

~Mark Twain

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 14

"It doesn't interest me 
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
& if you dare to dream
of meeting
your heart's longing."

~Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 13

I am

A hole in a flute

That the Christ's breath moves through –

Listen to this

Music

~Hazif

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 12

Suppose someone told you

that there was something that spoke to you every night,
that always presented you with a truth about your own life and soul,
that was tailor-made to your individual needs and particular life-story,
and that offered to guide you throughout your lifetime,
and connect you with a source of wisdom far beyond yourself.
And, furthermore, suppose that all of this was absolutely free.
Naturally you would be astonished that something like this existed.

Yet this is exactly the way it is with our dreams.

~John A. Sanford in Dreams and Healing

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 11

"I wear my heart on my sleeve, only to find I have to wipe my nose on it later."

~A friend

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 10

"The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience."

~Emily Dickinson 

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 9

“When the heart weeps for what it has lost, the spirit laughs for what it has found.”

~Sufi saying

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 8

"That's where writing comes in. It is necessary for the survival of my haughty sanity as bread is to my flesh."

~Sylvia Plath, Journals, September, 1951.

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 7

“We are all dreaming children as we read. And as we write.”

~Tessa Hadley

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 6

"Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the dawn. So he began to walk faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer he called out, 'Good morning! What are you doing?' 

The young man paused, looked up and replied, 'Throwing starfish in the ocean.' 

'I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?' 

'The sun is coming up, and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die.' 

'But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach, and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!'

The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, 'It made a difference for that one.'"

~Author Unknown

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 5

"This we know, the earth does not belong to man – man belongs to the earth.

All things are connected – whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of the earth.

Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it – whatever he does to the web, he does to himself!"

 

~Chief Seattle

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 4

“Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?”

~Frida Kahlo

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 3

"If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come."

~Chinese proverb 

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 2

This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath,

May prove a beauteous flower when next we meet.

~Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene 2, Shakespeare 

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

 

I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 1

“Looking at a rainbow is a very personal experience, as even someone standing close to you is actually seeing a rainbow created by a different set of raindrops.” 

~Unknown

Your challenge is to write a haiku or tanka (or choose one of your previously published works) that has a connection with the themes/feelings/images of the above quote, without just restating what has appeared in the text, to create a haibun. Play around with it and see what you come up with. Enjoy!

Click here for the first post on how I Quote, You 'Ku works. Every poet who posts a poem this month will be entered into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8.

My July Challenge: I Quote, You 'Ku

Welcome to July, dear readers! The month of my birth in which I want to celebrate haikai with you.

Everyone loves a good quote, has a favourite or two, whether they're a writer or not. I am no exception and so have gathered together 31 quotes that have touched me for the month of July to bring you “I Quote, You 'Ku”. 

What you'll need to do to take part: write a haiku or tanka inspired by the daily quote posted on Swimming in Lines of Haiku to form a haibun (or tanka prose). Place it in the comments section, and then enjoy reading other participants 'ku! You can write a new haiku or tanka each day, or feel free to post previously published poems, or a mix of both.

This daily challenge was inspired by Aubrie Cox's I Doodle, You 'Ku, practices in Margaret D. McGee's Haiku - the sacred art (where she writes haiku sparked from bible passages), and Jim Kacian's Haibun Masterclass at the 2012 New Zealand Haiku Conference.

My gift to you: everyone that posts a poem in the comments section as least once will go into the draw to win a copy of A New Resonance 8: Emerging Voices in English Language Haiku (eds. Jim Kacian and Dee Evetts, Red Moon Press 2013). The last day of July is my birthday, but I'll do the draw on August 1st so that the Northern Hemisphere has caught up.

Call it a challenge, call it an experiment, call it a learning exercise, call it a daily writing prompt, call it a community collaboration. Either way I do hope that you'll call it fun!

• Find I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 1 here and post your 'ku in the comments section there.
• Find I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 2 here and post your 'ku in the comments section there.
• Find I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 3 here and post your 'ku in the comments section there. 
• Find I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 4 here and post your 'ku in the comments section there. 
• Find I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 5 here and post your 'ku in the comments section there. 
• Find I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 6 here and post your 'ku in the comments section there. 
• Find I Quote, You 'Ku - Day 7 here and post your 'ku in the comments section there.