Unless stated otherwise, all poetry on Swimming in Lines of Haiku is Copyright Kirsten Cliff and may not be reprinted in any form without written permission from the author. kirsten(DOT)cliff(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photography. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

April Calendar Page

My apologies to all of my readers out there for letting my blog fall silent this month. I have big plans in the works and they've taken up most of my creative time. But I thought I'd at least put up the April page of the calendar I did last year with my husband, for our friends and family. Enjoy!



April 2014 - Photo & Haiku by Kirsten Cliff (click on image to enlarge)

Some good news to share: the haiku I choose as the winner of the NZPS Haiku Competition (junior section) last year has been shortlisted for a Touchstone Award. I nominated this haiku by Harry Frentz and am delighted to see it's made the cut. You can read my judge's report here and find The Haiku Foundation shortlist here. Congratulations to all the shortlisters!

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Skylark Gallery

I have a collaborative haiga in the winter online Skylark Gallery. The image was taken by me in Fiji last year, and the tanka is by Seánan Forbes. Just click here to see it (once there there is no need to click on the image, each one will roll over in a slide show for you). Enjoy! (Sneak peak below!)


Thursday, December 5, 2013

December Daze

Things have gotten hectic this month. Even if you're not a big Christmas person you certainly can't help but get caught up in the rush of others as they proceed to shop, celebrate, and ready themselves for the big day. All this extra buzz and busyness makes things like supermarket parking difficult and appointments for haircuts hard to come by, even in a small country town!

So you'll find me at home making some Christmas cards for family and putting the finishing touches on my 2014 calendar of haiku and photography, which I invited my hubby to be a part of this year. We have six months each and it's pretty cool to have our two styles represented within the pages for our family to enjoy.

Below is my last calendar page for 2013. Click on image to enlarge.


I achieved some big things this year: the biggest of all being completing my first poetry collection and sending it in to the Snapshot Press Book Awards. It will be a long few months yet before I hear anything back about the contest, but it's exciting enough to have fulfilled my goal and the rest is out of my hands for now. 

Another big highlight of my writing year was being part of A New Resonance 8: Emerging Voices in English-Language Haiku (Red Moon Press). I still have copies of this for sale, so please get in touch if you'd like one to give as a Christmas gift to yourself or to someone else. Just send me an email.

2013 also included writing tanka sequences with Pamela A. Babusci and Seánan Forbes (a delight); judging the junior section of the NZPS International Haiku Competition (great fun); coming 5th in the open section of the NZPS International Haiku Competition (yay!), and editing a month of dream haiku thanks to The Haiku Foundation's 'Per Diem:Daily Haiku' feature. Hard to believe it's all coming to an end . . .

So, what does 2014 hold? In regards to the writing realm I'm not sure, but stay tuned!

Sunday, November 3, 2013

My November Calendar Page

(click on image to enlarge)
This shot was taken about this time last year just down the road from where I live. The haiku appeared in The Heron's Nest volume XV, number 1 (March 2013). Love this page! :-)

You can find other pages from my 2013 Calendar of Haiku & Photography here, and the 2012 one here. Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

October's in the Air

October page: 2013 Calendar of Haiku & Photography (click to enlarge)

See other pages from my 2013 calendar here and my 2012 calendar here. It really is time to start on 2014 . . .

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Fiji Wedding

Last month I spent a wonderful six days on Fiji's Castaway Island with my family for my brother's wedding. Here's a photo of the happy couple . . .







Fiji wedding--
between their vows
the sound of waves










At the wedding reception there were quiz cards, which they had devised to encourage mingling. I was so pleased to see that one of the questions was: Who is a recognised poetry judge? Answer: Kirsten Cliff :-)

Me with my brother Cameron after the wedding ceremony.

I love to swim and so enjoyed the beautiful blue ocean and warm weather away from New Zealand's winter. I swam with the fishes, without having to worry about jelly fish! I also saw the coral reef in a glass-bottomed boat.



It was cool exploring the rock-pools when the tide went out, something I remember doing as a child. I saw crabs, sea snails, and the striking blue starfish that is the symbol of Castaway Island.




And the sunsets!


I also had some wonderful meals, including a traditional Fijian feast complete with entertainment. All in all a fabulous holiday, and an emotional time seeing my brother get married. I would definitely go back, but doubt that's happening any time soon! Maybe I'll make a Fiji calendar for my family for 2014, though . . .

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

"A" is for August and Apple and Art

I thought it was about time I posted some more of my calendar pages. August is below:

(click on image to enlarge)

My 2013 calendar of haiku and photography was created by me for my family. You can see all the pages to date on this new page: Kirsten's 2013 Calendar of Haiku & Photography

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

With Each Slow Step . . .





I start again
my search for freedom…
with each slow step
the cow's udder sways
side-to-side 



Tanka and photo by Kirsten Cliff


Thursday, April 4, 2013

Through the Fog






winter solstice ...
a hawk glides on
through the fog



Kokako 18 (April 2013) 
Haiku & photograph by Kirsten Cliff


Monday, March 25, 2013

Autumn Night Alone

                    
                    











                    
                    on this last
                    autumn night alone
                    it hits me --
                    I no longer question
                    my love for him


 Kokako 18 (April 2013)
Tanka & photograph by Kirsten Cliff

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Horses and The Heron's Nest
















                    
                          heat shimmer
                    a heron drinks
                    from the horse trough




Haiku and photo by Kirsten Cliff