a new thought
my gaze shifts
from the page
*
the ink fading
as I print a haiku
about spring's end
Excellent Writing (July, 2011)
Senryu and photograph © Kirsten Cliff 2011
Showing posts with label Excellent Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Excellent Writing. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The Ink Fading
a new thought
my gaze shifts
from the page
*
the ink fading
as I print a haiku
about spring's end
Excellent Writing (July, 2011)
Senryu and photograph © Kirsten Cliff 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
June Round-Up - Visual Arts In Abundance
June has been a big and busy month. At week 26 of 2011, I'm half-way through my goal of submitting poetry to a publication or competition every week. You can read my post about that here. And thanks to fellow Facebookers, I got to see my haiku on the HSA Haiku Wall in Bend, Oregon. You can see some pics of mine and New Zealander's Pat Prime and Svetlana Marisova here.
Here's how I'm doing on my 2011 goal of submitting poetry to a publication or competition every week:
Photography - I went autumn leaf spotting with a side of graveyard visiting several times in June and got some wonderful shots. One quickly became the image to sit alongside my two senryu accepted for the June issue Excellent Writing: my first time putting a border around an image and changing it to sepia. Love the look! Will put it up on my Photography page once it's published.
I created some more photo haiga this month and submitted them to a publication for the first time (and had one accepted! Notes from the Gean). Then I embarked on a haiga calendar for my family for Christmas. This was great fun to do and a lot easier than I expected (using Vistaprint). It was fun choosing images from my own well-stocked (though terribly catalogued) photo library and thinking about what my family would enjoying seeing, and how that could fit with my haiku, instead of having literary merit in mind. A very freeing experience.
And addictive for some time as well! I would get up each day and work on it a little more; even found myself thinking about it at night before sleep: composing new haiku to fit seasonal images or fiddling with placement of words. I soon realised that I had little in the way of spring images so will have to wait until I can get a few early spring shots before I can finish this project off. I know my family will love it, and I look forward to holding a copy in my hands very soon :)
July sees me once again taking part in the River of Stones challenge, plus completing my vision board and that poor little collage haiga that's been waiting all month to be finished. Otherwise, I'm concentrating on my treatment: many blood tests, a haematology appointment and a bone marrow biopsy to get through in July. I'll see you in the river! (And don't forget that I'm giving away a book here during July: details here.)
Here's how I'm doing on my 2011 goal of submitting poetry to a publication or competition every week:
- week twenty-two - submitted two senryu to Excellent Writing, both accepted for July issue (with accompanying image)
- AND submitted two haiku to the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival 2011 Haiku Invitational (first time submitting here)
- week twenty-three - submitted two haiga to Notes from the Gean (first time submitting here & first time submitting haiga!), one accepted for September issue
- AND submitted seven haiku to The Heron's Nest (first time submitting here), awaiting outcome
- week twenty-four - submitted three haiku to The 6th Kokako Haiku and Senryu Competition, closes October 31st
- AND submitted a further two haiga to Notes from the Gean, awaiting outcome
- week twenty-five - submitted one haiku to Wednesday Haiku @ Issa's Untidy Hut
- week twenty-six - submitted six tanka to Eucalypt, awaiting outcome
Photography - I went autumn leaf spotting with a side of graveyard visiting several times in June and got some wonderful shots. One quickly became the image to sit alongside my two senryu accepted for the June issue Excellent Writing: my first time putting a border around an image and changing it to sepia. Love the look! Will put it up on my Photography page once it's published.
I created some more photo haiga this month and submitted them to a publication for the first time (and had one accepted! Notes from the Gean). Then I embarked on a haiga calendar for my family for Christmas. This was great fun to do and a lot easier than I expected (using Vistaprint). It was fun choosing images from my own well-stocked (though terribly catalogued) photo library and thinking about what my family would enjoying seeing, and how that could fit with my haiku, instead of having literary merit in mind. A very freeing experience.
And addictive for some time as well! I would get up each day and work on it a little more; even found myself thinking about it at night before sleep: composing new haiku to fit seasonal images or fiddling with placement of words. I soon realised that I had little in the way of spring images so will have to wait until I can get a few early spring shots before I can finish this project off. I know my family will love it, and I look forward to holding a copy in my hands very soon :)
July sees me once again taking part in the River of Stones challenge, plus completing my vision board and that poor little collage haiga that's been waiting all month to be finished. Otherwise, I'm concentrating on my treatment: many blood tests, a haematology appointment and a bone marrow biopsy to get through in July. I'll see you in the river! (And don't forget that I'm giving away a book here during July: details here.)
Thursday, June 2, 2011
May Round-Up - Dreamy, Crafty, But Always Poetry
It's hard to believe I'm writing a round-up for May already: the month has seemed to fly by! (Time to find some savings, like Orbitz and plan a winter holiday!) I should have received two journals during the month with my work in them, Haiku Presence and Eucalypt: A Tanka Journal, but they are still yet to arrive.
I did, however, receive the copy of Stepping Stones: a way into haiku by Martin Lucas, which I ordered from Snapshot Press. I look forward to digging into that in a week or two, once I finish Haiku Mind by Patricia Donegan, which I've been reading a haiku and commentary a day from since February.
Here's how I'm doing on my 2011 goal of submitting poetry to a publication or competition every week:
During the month I posted quite a few haiku on the NaiHaiWriMo Facebook page in response to prompts by Cara Holman. It was great to connect up with so many people writing haiku. I'll definitely be dropping in there most days to read and enjoy all the poems people are sharing.
I created two collage haiga for my collection exploring my leukaemia journey, for a new total of 28 pieces. I have another one half completed but am lacking the ingredients to finish it just now: some IV tubing. Hopefully I can ask the nurses at the Cancer Centre for some when I'm there later this month.
To catch the last of the autumn foliage, hubby-to-be took me to Mclaren Falls Park for the first time, and what a gem I'd been missing out on! Beautiful trees, lakes, gardens, grounds, walking tracks, sitting spots and look outs. Will definitely go back there again.
So now it's June and the beginning of winter in New Zealand. I look forward to the June issue of Excellent Writing where I have a quick tip for freelance writers appearing, and the June issue of Four and Twenty, which will be sporting one of my images on the cover. I wonder what else the month will bring...
I did, however, receive the copy of Stepping Stones: a way into haiku by Martin Lucas, which I ordered from Snapshot Press. I look forward to digging into that in a week or two, once I finish Haiku Mind by Patricia Donegan, which I've been reading a haiku and commentary a day from since February.
Here's how I'm doing on my 2011 goal of submitting poetry to a publication or competition every week:
- week eighteen - submitted eight senryu and five kyoku to Prune Juice (first time submitting here) two senryu accepted for Issue 6 (July, 2011)
- week nineteen - submitted two haiku, seven tanka and a haibun to Kokako 15, awaiting outcome
- week twenty - submitted ten haiku to haijinx (first time submitting here), awaiting outcome
- AND submitted three haiku to the Sketchbook May/June Haiku Thread (first time submitting here)
- week twenty-one - submitted two haiku to the International "Kusamakura" Haiku Competition
During the month I posted quite a few haiku on the NaiHaiWriMo Facebook page in response to prompts by Cara Holman. It was great to connect up with so many people writing haiku. I'll definitely be dropping in there most days to read and enjoy all the poems people are sharing.
I created two collage haiga for my collection exploring my leukaemia journey, for a new total of 28 pieces. I have another one half completed but am lacking the ingredients to finish it just now: some IV tubing. Hopefully I can ask the nurses at the Cancer Centre for some when I'm there later this month.
To catch the last of the autumn foliage, hubby-to-be took me to Mclaren Falls Park for the first time, and what a gem I'd been missing out on! Beautiful trees, lakes, gardens, grounds, walking tracks, sitting spots and look outs. Will definitely go back there again.
So now it's June and the beginning of winter in New Zealand. I look forward to the June issue of Excellent Writing where I have a quick tip for freelance writers appearing, and the June issue of Four and Twenty, which will be sporting one of my images on the cover. I wonder what else the month will bring...
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| Mclaren Falls Park, Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, NZ by Kirsten Cliff 23/5/2011 |
Thursday, May 5, 2011
April Round-Up - My First NaPoWriMo Complete!
NaPoWriMo kept me super busy over April as I followed the daily prompts at InkSeeds on personal mythology, writing a poem-a-day (PAD). I got four days behind on these prompts mid-way through due to illness, but still managed to write a poem each of the days I had off, penning a haiku from my sick-bed.
All the poems are up here at Swimming in Lines of Haiku: haiku, senryu, tanka, small stones, free verse and rhymed verse. I'm happy with all my poems (though some could do with a little fine tuning) and cherish the insights I've gained through this process.
The personal mythology prompts explored dreams, the elements, archetypes, memories - all that makes up your personal story. They're so much more than mere prompts - they're a conversation with your soul. And will be remaining up on InkSeeds: you can check out the first one here - Recycling the First Dream.
You can also read the poems other people wrote in response to the prompts on Fiona and Kaspa's Writing Our Way Home on-line community under April 2011 InkSeeds Poetry Project. Poems are still being posted and discussed here - come join us!
Here's how I'm doing on my 2011 goal of submitting poetry to a publication or competition every week:
I also spent some time playing around with text on photos. I put a few of my previously published free verse poems onto images and think they look amazing. It's a striking way to showcase both my writing and photography on the Internet. I made a few into haiga, doing some with tanka for the first time. I use an old version of PhotoStudio as my editing software, which is limiting. So I'm going to look into downloading the free OpenSource software (as I'm already using OpenOffice as my word processing software) and see if this is easier to work with.
I'm enjoying getting more involved with my prose again. One of my articles was a Friday "Speak Out!" guest post on the WOW! Women On Writing blog - "Writing Each Day Keeps The Doctor Away". And three of my quick tips for freelance writers will be appearing in issues of Excellent Writing - an e-newsletter for writers edited by Janie Sullivan. You'll see above that I also sent her a poem as a filler, which was accepted for the May issue. My post about that here.
This month I look forward to creating some more collage-style haiga and reading and sharing haiku on the NaHaiWriMo Facebook page where many people continue to write a haiku-a-day.
All the poems are up here at Swimming in Lines of Haiku: haiku, senryu, tanka, small stones, free verse and rhymed verse. I'm happy with all my poems (though some could do with a little fine tuning) and cherish the insights I've gained through this process.
The personal mythology prompts explored dreams, the elements, archetypes, memories - all that makes up your personal story. They're so much more than mere prompts - they're a conversation with your soul. And will be remaining up on InkSeeds: you can check out the first one here - Recycling the First Dream.
You can also read the poems other people wrote in response to the prompts on Fiona and Kaspa's Writing Our Way Home on-line community under April 2011 InkSeeds Poetry Project. Poems are still being posted and discussed here - come join us!
Here's how I'm doing on my 2011 goal of submitting poetry to a publication or competition every week:
- week fourteen - submitted 15 haiku to the Anthology of English-Language Haiku by Women
- week fifteen - submitted tanka prose to Haibun Today (first time submitting here)
- week sixteen - entered three haiku in the Klostar Ivanic International Haiku Contest, closes May 31
- week seventeen - submitted my poem "A Journey in Three Masks" to Excellent Writing (first time submitting here)
I also spent some time playing around with text on photos. I put a few of my previously published free verse poems onto images and think they look amazing. It's a striking way to showcase both my writing and photography on the Internet. I made a few into haiga, doing some with tanka for the first time. I use an old version of PhotoStudio as my editing software, which is limiting. So I'm going to look into downloading the free OpenSource software (as I'm already using OpenOffice as my word processing software) and see if this is easier to work with.
I'm enjoying getting more involved with my prose again. One of my articles was a Friday "Speak Out!" guest post on the WOW! Women On Writing blog - "Writing Each Day Keeps The Doctor Away". And three of my quick tips for freelance writers will be appearing in issues of Excellent Writing - an e-newsletter for writers edited by Janie Sullivan. You'll see above that I also sent her a poem as a filler, which was accepted for the May issue. My post about that here.
This month I look forward to creating some more collage-style haiga and reading and sharing haiku on the NaHaiWriMo Facebook page where many people continue to write a haiku-a-day.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Written A Poem About Writing?
Then it could be just right for Excellent Writing - an e-newsletter for writers. Editor Janie Sullivan is looking for poetry about writing or the writing life to use as fillers (100-150 words) along with quick tips relevant to writers, website/blog reviews, news bytes and drawings or cartoons.
A poem I wrote for NaPoWriMo has been accepted for the May issue - "A Journey in Three Masks". And I've had three of my quick tips for freelance writers accepted, which will run over three issues. (This was my submission for week 17 of 2011.)
Jane is also looking for articles and features for Excellent Writing so check out the Writers' Guidelines. There's no payment for contribution, however Jane is offering a FREE advert in the newsletter so contributing writers can promote themselves.
Jane is great to work with, enthusiastic and quick to reply to emails. She has made up my advert for me, complete with photo, and I'm really looking forward to the May issue of Excellent Writing coming out on Monday. You can subscribe here.
A poem I wrote for NaPoWriMo has been accepted for the May issue - "A Journey in Three Masks". And I've had three of my quick tips for freelance writers accepted, which will run over three issues. (This was my submission for week 17 of 2011.)
Jane is also looking for articles and features for Excellent Writing so check out the Writers' Guidelines. There's no payment for contribution, however Jane is offering a FREE advert in the newsletter so contributing writers can promote themselves.
Jane is great to work with, enthusiastic and quick to reply to emails. She has made up my advert for me, complete with photo, and I'm really looking forward to the May issue of Excellent Writing coming out on Monday. You can subscribe here.
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