Happy Holidays!

I created this book Christmas tree for Elliot Books and I'm so stoked with how it turned out. Oh, and before I forget - here is the December page of the haiku calendar I did with my husband for this year. (click to enlarge)

 

Haiku first published in The Heron's Nest Volume XV, Number 2 (June 2013)

Well, it's been a crazy year with lots of twists + turns. And for those that haven't caught up - I stepped down as editor of the haikai section of the NZPS magazine. Onwards to 2015.

I wish you all the best for a safe + happy holiday season, and a creative new year ahead. Blessings!

My latest venture: Elliot Books

My husband, Cameron Elliot and I, have teamed up to create Elliot Books. And we're super excited!

Yes, we dreamed of owning a bookstore (many booklovers have, eh?). This probably started when I was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2010, and many hours spent in hospital were whisked away on dreams such as these. In the end we decided that doing it online was the way for us, and so here we are.

That's right, we're operating 24/7 through New Zealand's Trade Me. To find us just type elliotbooks into the search line, making sure you have the category set to 'Members', and there you'll find our listings for your perusal. We currently have over 800 listings, and over 1,000 books with fresh listings every week. Well, almost every day, actually - we're pretty obsessed!

Once you've found us you can save elliotbooks as a favourite trader. This way you'll receive all our latest listings right into your email inbox. Once on our listings page just hit the 'Save this seller' button (circled in red in the picture below), and you're all set.

To search our listings, go to the elliotbooks page then type the author, book name, or subject you're looking for in the search line and hit enter (circled in red in the picture below). This will filter our listings and hopefully you'll find what you're looking for. If not, please just ask! We might be able to help. :-)

I've also set up a Facebook page for Elliot Books so please do connect up with us there: www.facebook.com/elliotbooks

 

 

It's so good to be home and be launching our dream. Cameron and I hope to connect up with you soon. Happy book hunting!

Roofless

9:30 am yesterday the roof was ripped clean off the home I share with my husband in Matamata. It landed in the neighbour's paddock. Both my hubby and I were unharmed, and were evacuated off the property by the Fire Service. After more hours of stormy rain we returned and found the ceiling collapsed in. We're now safely settled at my parent's home in Te Awamutu.



Our kitchen-diner open to the elements and me trying to save what I could.

sun shower outside inside 

 

 

My study where the magic used to happen.

 

My thanks to all who have sent messages of support through Facebook, and offers of books (haiku and more) to replace my sopping wet ones. Special gratitude to my parents who've helped with everything over the past two days. I'll keep in touch . . .

 

I'm Going to the Fair!

Next month I'm joining my sister for a stall at The Little Vintage Markets in Mount Maunganui, and I'm so excited!

On my table there'll be books, of course! Including vintage children's books -- great for sharing the stories you grew up reading, with your kids. Also, these beautiful vintage books sets -- an alternative way to add colour and character to your home.

Above is my 'display only' set -- a rich green with exquisite gold detail. I'm searching out more vibrant colours -- blues, reds and greens -- over the next couple of weeks that I can fashion into these little clutches. (Hubby won't let me take any from the many shelves in our home, no matter how enthusiastic I am, and no matter how supportive he is of my ventures!) I hope people agree that they'd be a wonderful addition to any home decor -- a celebration of the written word!

I'll also be selling my handcrafted cards. As I've recently given away so many with the A New Resonance 8 books (email me to buy your copy) it's time to get stuck into creating more. Some will be haiku cards:

Both of these have a vintage-style embroidered butterfly, with the first line of the haiku hand-stamped on the front, and the remaining lines inside.

holding my breath
the butterfly lands
on her finger

the taste of nashi: New Zealand Haiku (Windrift, 2008)

between breaths
following the white
of this butterfly

The Heron's Nest 15:2 (June, 2013)

Others will feature text and images from vintage books. I love collecting old boy and girl annuals as they are fabulous for finding cool bits and pieces for cards. Below is an unfinished one where I've cut a bird from sheet music, and have paired it with a few lines from a trinket book, The Little Book of Gems:

And even more cards will have origami hearts and cranes on the fronts. This is my idea of fun at the moment. (Click on any of the images to see an enlarged view.) I hope you'll come to see me at the fair in a few weeks if you're passing by the Tauranga area.

It's New Zealand Book Month!

March is NZ Book Month and so I headed to the library this morning to hunt out novels to read over the next few weeks, written by New Zealand authors. Here's what I'll be delving into in the days to come:

• The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton
• Classical Music by Joy Cowley
• Come Yesterday by Sue Emms
• Towards Another Summer by Janet Frame
• The Night Book by Charlotte Grimshaw
• The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox

Find out more about NZ Book Month at their website, including info about events around the country, and to print out your $5-off voucher -- http://www.nzbookmonth.co.nz/ 

stacks

of poetry 

books

i choose 

a novel

Kirsten Cliff

The Books on My 'To Buy' List . . .

In no particular order:

Forgiving the Rain by Lynne Rees (haibun) http://www.snapshotpress.co.uk/

twelve moons by Claire Everett
(tanka)
https://www.createspace.com/3923071

breakfast with epiphanies by Owen Bullock (haiku) http://owenbullock.com/haiku.html

 

In the Garden of Absence by Stella Pierides (haiku)
http://stellapierides.com/news/4744

Anthologised

My poetry has appeared in five anthologies this year, which is a record for me. I thought I'd do a round up of them here as part of my end of year review, with thanks to all the editors who've published my work in 2012:

I have one haiku in The Heron's Nest, Volume XIII 2011, which is a collection of all the haiku from all the issues of The Heron's Nest that appeared on-line in 2011. This was my first time appearing in this annual anthology, and, to date, is the only haiku I've ever had published in The Heron's Nest. Copies can be bought from this link (either cheques to the postal address, or scroll to the bottom of the page for a PayPal option). You can read my haiku here.

Three of my tanka were chosen for the final volume of Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka, Volume 4. Again, this was my first time appearing in a Take Five anthology, and I'm honoured that my work was chosen from the eighteen thousand tanka read by the editorial team. You can purchase a copy here, or through Amazon. Read the tanka of mine that are included here.

A Blackbird Sings: a book of short poems is the second anthology to come from the River of Stones January small stone challenge (now renamed Mindful Writing Challenge for 2013-- Join us!). I have two small stones in this collection, which can be read here. You can buy a copy in print or Kindle from Amazon US and Amazon UK.

When one of my haiku won a Highly Commended placing in this years New Zealand Poetry Society International Haiku Competition I automatically made it into the annual anthology, Building a time machine. It was a bonus to have another haiku chosen for the collection by the editor. Read my two haiku here, and purchase your own copy here.

Last but not least, is the Haiku News Anthology 2009-2011, which is a collection of haiku, senryu and tanka chosen from the first three years of this unique on-line newspaper. I have one haiku in the collection that you can read here. Copies can be bought from here.

I can recommend all of these anthologies as Christmas gifts for yourself or the creative people in your life. My work is but a small part of these fine collections that comprise some of the best that short form poetry has to offer. Get into it!

What Are YOU Reading?

March is NZ Book Month in New Zealand - a celebration of books and reading and words. I thought I'd let you know what I'm reading this March: I always have at least one book each of poetry, fiction and non-fiction on the go at any one time so that I have something to read no matter what mood I'm in.

Poetry:

• Stepping Stones: a way into haiku by Martin Lucas (British Haiku Society, 2007)
• And poetry journals that have arrived in March - Kokako 16, paper wasp: a journal of haiku 18:1, Ribbons 7:4.

Fiction:

•  The Carpathians by Janet Frame (First published in 1988)
• And I have just finished reading The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker (Simon & Schuster UK, 2009)

Non-fiction:

• Dreams and the search for meaning by Peter O'Connor (Methuen Haynes, 1986)
• And I'm reading aloud to hubby Marie-Louise von Franz: The Classic Jungian and The Classic Jungian Tradition edited by James A. Hall and Daryl Sharp (Inner City Books, 2008)

I've also bought five books so far this month (all 2nd-hand). At the NZ Book Month website you can download a $5 book voucher to discount your next book purchase. That’s for ANY book you choose priced over $10 from participating bookstores. Get all the details here.

I'd love to hear about what you're reading. Please feel free to share in the comments section, whether it's a book, journal or blog!

These are a few of my favourite things...

Haiku and dreams. Dreams of the night variety, that is. Both are equally important to me, although I'm not very diligent about writing my dreams down each day, whereas I will almost always write down my haiku. I hope to get much better at this, as I value highly what my dreams are telling me. Below is my favourite quote about dreams that sums up my feelings exactly:

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 (1975), Dreams and Healing, Paulist Press, NY

My blog title actually comes from a dream: In it I was literally swimming in lines of haiku and only awoke, with a sudden start, when I heard hubby's whispered exclamations as he'd hit his leg on the way into the bedroom (or something similar). I love water and swimming, so swimming in lines of haiku was a wonderful experience for me. I'm currently searching out dream haiku for my month as one of The Haiku Foundation's Per Diem: Daily Haiku editor's with my chosen theme of 'Dream Speak', the title of which I took from one of my own haiku: 

          dream speak...

          sunlight on the opening

          tulip's tips

DailyHaiku Cycle 12 (November 4, 2011) 

So, I thought it was about time I wrote a haiku about my above dream, and came up with this on Friday:

          even in my dreams

          swimming in lines

          of haiku

I'd wanted to change my blog's welcome picture ever since I moved last November, as the iconic Mount Manganui and beach scene was now in a different region to my new home. As of Friday, I have a very cool photo of rippling water, which I took some years ago in this region (Waikato) with the well-known Kiwi icon of a silver fern floating under the surface. And I've added my new haiku into the mix to convey my two favourite things as well as to give readers, old and new, some insight into me and my blog's title. I've always liked the image and am happy to be able to give it a fitting home at last.

During my dream haiku search, I came across the book Inside Out: Haiku and Dreams by Joseph Kirschner (Deep North Press, 2003). I was overjoyed when, on contacting Joseph and telling him what I was up to, he kindly sent me a copy of his book as a gift! Gosh, how I LOVE our haiku community :) I am thoroughly enjoying reading Inside Out and am grateful to read the haiku, dreams and explanations within it. (You can read a review by Modern Haiku here.) I will certainly look at writing more haiku from my dreams: It could definitely be a good way to get me to write at least some of my dream/s down each morning! After all:

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.        ~ From The Art of Dreaming by Jill Mellick (Conari Press, 2001)

My 2011 Christmas Picks

Here's my picks for you and your creative peeps this Christmas:

• Haiku Mind: 108 Poems to Cultivate Awareness & Open Your Heart by Patricia Donegan
• Stepping Stones: a way into haiku by Martin Lucas
• Memories of Our Lost Hands: Searching for Feminine Spirituality and Creaivity (Carolyn & Ernest Fay Series in Analytical Psychology) by Sonoko Toyoda
• And for the second year running, the Mslexia Writer's Diary

(Please note: some links direct you to the book on my favorite New Zealand on-line bookshop Fishpond, but these books can also be found on Amazon.) Additionally, you might find some Barnes & Noble savings here.

Crafty Cards for the Kids

My mum is heading to Canada at the end of this month to visit the newest addition to our family: my sister's baby girl, Sadie. I always give the kids books as presents so have loaded mum up with Christmas and birthday books for both my niece and nephew. Here are the cards I've made for their birthdays: Sadie will be one year old in April and Toby will be two this November.

They may not fully appreciate these but the fun was in the making :)

small stones of gratitude - day 30

Grateful that I can swap, share and talk books with my family: Mum said last week that she takes her library books back soon after finishing them (as opposed to waiting for their due date) because other people might be waiting to read them :)

(Last couple of days to get into the draw for my book give-away! Find all the details here.)

A Matter of Tea - All Proceeds to Japan Quake Victims

Friend, author and fellow haijin Charles T. Whipple has put together an anthology of short stories to raise money for Japan's earthquake victims - A Matter of Tea and other stories

"This work is dedicated to the people of Japan – May they overcome the overwhelming tragedy and destruction thrust upon them March 11, 2011." Charles T. Whipple

All royalties which would normally go to the author and the publisher will go directly to help the earthquake victims. Laura Shinn, the cover artist, also donated her design and cover work for this project.

Charles T. Whipple, aka Chuck Tyrell, is on the scene in Japan and will be personally overseeing the use of these funds, as well as donating his time and labour, to aid those in such desperate need. More on Charles' blog.

Only US$1 for this ebook available in several different formats here at Smashwords or for Kindle from Amazon.



Title story "A Matter of Tea" Winner of the 2010
Oaxaca International Literature Competition



Haiku Baby

Haiku Baby is written and illustrated by Betsy Snyder (Random House, 2008). WINNER 2009 - Beginning with Books "Best Books for Babies" list.

I love this board book for babies/toddlers and have brought it for both my nephews. Adhering to the 17 syllable format, it may not contain the kind of haiku I would write, but they are fun for kids and do what haiku do best - celebrate Nature. Each page has a theme: rain, flower, sun, leaf, snow, moon, with an animal, and is tabbed to make it easier for little fingers to turn the pages.

Kiwis - you can get it from Fishpond here. It's also available from Amazon where you can look inside and see the illustrations and simple poems for yourself - Amazon US and Amazon UK. You can also take an animated sneak-peak here.

Giving Books for Christmas - my picks for your creative peeps

I love books, and can't help but dole them out at Christmas time. I buy most online at Fishpond so all my links point there. However you will also find same on Amazon, etc. Here are a few of my favourites for creative types...

• What We Ache For: Creativity and the Unfolding of Your Soul by Oriah
• The Art of Dreaming: A Creativity Toolbox for Dreamwork by Jill Mellick
• Art is a Way of Knowing: A guide to self-knowledge and spiritual fulfillment through creativity by Pat B. Allen
• And for the female writer, you can't go wrong with the Mslexia Writer's Diary.