My Month of Dreams has Begun!

Finally September is here and so my month of Per Diem haiku has started over at The Haiku Foundation website. You can read my introduction to "Dream Speak" here, and view the first haiku on the home page here, which will change every 24 hours.

(click on image to enlarge)

Above is the September page of my calendar. The picture is taken from the end of the road where I live. A busy first of the month with my mum's 65th birthday today, and also Father's Day in New Zealand. I hope your September 1st contained some haiku, some good laughs, and some yummy food, just like mine did! :-)

Wishes

August 28th NaHaiWriMo prompt is "wishes or dreams", provided by Pamela Cooper. 

spring shoots

so many wishes

I've misused

Find out more about the 31 Different NaHaiWriMo Prompters for August 2012 here.

Exploration

August 5th NaHaiWriMo prompt is "exploration", provided by Michael Nickels-Wisdom.

rainbow sky...

searching for the message

in last night's dream


Find out more about the 31 Different NaHaiWriMo Prompters for August 2012 here.

The SILOH Tanka Contest: RESULTS

Firstly, my thanks to all who participated in The SILOH Tanka Contest. What an honour to have read and collected these tanka from across the world to celebrate my birthday and the Winter Dream theme. The process of running this contest throughout July has definitely been an enjoyable one as I've connected and reconnected with poets near and far, some new to me, as well as those I call friends. I always feel there is a generosity of spirit in sharing poetry in this manner. We put our hearts into these pieces and then give them away, let them out into the world without us. It has lifted my spirits to have so many of you choose to share your tanka on Swimming in Lines of Haiku. My heartfelt gratitude goes out to each and every one of you.

There were so many good, healthy tanka submitted that it was very hard to choose a winner. I received many more submissions than I could have imagined. A total of more than the age I'll be turning this birthday! Entries came from the USA (18), UK (6), New Zealand (3), Canada (2), Philippines (2), Australia (2), Singapore, Serbia, France and Japan, totalling 37. After finally making a short list, and then over repeated readings, there was one that kept springing from the page, one that pulled an emotional and musical chord within me that wouldn't quit. But before I reveal the winning tanka, I want to share some of my favourite lines from the poems entered, in no particular order:

I grasp the edge of my dream Chen-ou Liu (Canada)

the choices I didn’t make Asni Amin (Singapore)

to the last beat of my heart Claire Everett (UK)

the full thunder moon Andrea Grillo (US)

Cicadas scream love songs Charles T. Whipple (Japan)

Thank you for sharing these wonderful words with me, dear poets. Of course, you can read each of these tanka in full on the entries page. 

In the winning tanka, I was looking to be deeply moved. Tanka is a very emotional experience for me: the reading and the writing of it. So much so that I find I can't read too many in one sitting, and that I most often write them myself when I'm feeling low physically, emotionally and/or spiritually. The power of the poem has a strength that I know can carry me away, beyond my immediate surroundings and current mood, into a place that's often easier to keep hidden. Tanka perhaps stay with me longer than haiku as more of my self is needed to fully be present with the poem. The shift I feel with a stunning tanka is immense, and the winner here had to take me on a journey.

But I'm greedy: I also wanted lyricism. Tanka is, after all, poetry. I wanted words and phrases that flowed, that fitted to perfection, no flaws or missteps present. No punctuation or line breaks that stuck out as not sitting right with me. I wanted words that sat together comfortably and exquisitely as a whole, as well as individual lines and images. And I found it...

my dream is one
of winter long ago...
my cold father
whom first I met late in life
helps me build a snowman

André Surridge (New Zealand)

Author's statement: I love the versatility of tanka. It allows you to write about anything, real or imagined. As with haiku, every word counts but tanka allows a little more breathing space. I always feel that writing tanka is an opportunity to get closer to the essence.

André's tanka has me right from its beginning two lines “my dream is one/ of winter long ago...”. I love how it is phrased and sets the mood so well, as if in a child's storybook, “Once upon a time, long, long ago...”. Dreams are by nature elusive, but to believe that their symbolism (and the symbolism of fairy tales, for that matter) has no meaning for our everyday lives is to dismiss the cries of the soul. This tanka says, 'come here, sit and listen, I welcome you to my world, see what you make of it'. The phrase “cold father” is again perfectly worded, succinct and strong. The economy of language throughout this tanka is superb, so much has been said in so little, without any loss of flow or musicality. Then with the last two lines – the twist – I'm left wondering, is this a dream during sleep? Or is this a daydream, an imagining, a wish? Is this true, and if so, what are the implications to him emotionally, mentally, spiritually? What are the implications of it as a dream image? The symbolism of the “cold father” and the “snowman”? To end on such a simple, childlike image, “helps me build a snowman”, is part of this tanka's magic. I'm completely moved, taken over by the words, and sent on a journey to any number of places depending on where I begin personally with each rereading. It has such depth without losing its lightness of touch. A stunning tanka and I'm so pleased to award it as the winner. Richard von Sturmer's DVD 26 Tanka Films will be coming to you soon!

Runner up:

winter dreams
how they always show me
the same thing...
you waking from your sleep
in the graveyard

Tracy Davidson (UK)

A close second. I love the melody of the first three lines, which really draws me in. And the imagery of the final two lines had me captured – so simple and yet so powerful. Great work, Tracy! A copy of the latest Eucalypt: a tanka journal will be heading your way.

Special mentions:

the transparent weave
of this vintage tea-cloth
my fragile dreams
still hand-dried and polished
by the faded green linen

Julie Thorndyke (Australia)

This one took longer to fall for, but once I realised its beauty, I couldn't let it go. Fine tuned lines, attention to detail and strong images. Thank you, Julie!

by the fireplace
the crackle of our laughter
melting into a dream
only the winter moon knows
how long is forever

Christine L. Villa (USA)

This reminds me so much of hubby and I these winter evenings sitting by the fire that I loved it from its first reading. “only the winter moon knows/ how long is forever” - extremely poignant, and excellent imagery. You have a great tanka future, Chrissi!

‘brass monkeys’
don’t care about origins—
the wind
coming off the North Sea
pulls tight on my scrotum

Colin Stewart Jones (Scotland)

I really enjoyed Colin's take on my theme. There were a few tanka that made me smile and this is the one that stood up to repeated readings. A strong voice along with the strong winds. Keep it up, Colin!

Congratulations to you all! I'll probably do this again come July 2013, maybe a haiku contest next time. For anyone that wants to purchase 26 Tanka Films please get in touch with Richard von Sturmer, who can be contacted through his Haiku NZ Showcase page or you can look him up on Facebook. To find out more about the beautiful tanka journal Eucalypt (AUS) edited by Beverley George head to the website. And lastly, a big THANK YOU to everyone who helped promote this contest, either through your blog, Facebook, Twitter, website, or just letting your friends know about it!

I am also gearing up to run a poem(haiku)-a-day (PAD) challenge here at Swimming in Lines of Haiku, which I hope you'll all get involved in. I'm looking towards September 2012, so stay tuned for updates about this fun project, which I think will be the first of its kind! :)

Kirsten Cliff

31 July 2012 

The Longest Title I've Ever Used For A Poem

...Is on this found poem I wrote in 2008. It was the first found poem I'd ever written and I really enjoyed playing with the words from the book On Writing Hits Songs, which I never would have otherwise picked up. (The challenge set by my former poetry group was to choose a book on something you didn't know about to write your found poem). I'm very pleased to say that this piece of found poetry has finally found its home within the pages of Takahe 75 (Issue 1, 2012). 

One place a good song doesn’t come from is the brain

By Kirsten Cliff

Your hit song needs a tune:

geek rock, pure pop, short-back-and-sides

teenage craze, cocaine cool, extra firepower

primitive blues, cultural cringe, glam-rock chic

scurried around the stage like nervous kittens

It needs a rhythm:

spiky, rock and roll, one-man jukebox

piss-take, half-baked, shoe-gazing outsider

irony, heavy-handed, half send-up, half celebration

echoing a police siren going past his house

It needs a verse:

moptops, British skiffle riff, too-clever-by-half songs

straightforward popsmith, stream-of-consciousness

tap into the hoon in us all

And a chorus:

repetition, repetition, repetition

short, hit-filled, sound from another planet

wordplays involving spooning under the moon

It needs a title:

shrewd musical operator

dislocate all the styles, bundle them together

big fat hit songs that the whole world wants to sing

And it needs to sound as if it’s about something:

whatever works, perfection isn’t the point

Notes: A found poem based on On Writing Hit Songs by Simon Morris (Wellington: Four Winds Press, 2003), from the Montana Estates Essay Series edited by Lloyd Jones. 

You can read another of my found poems here called "Receive Dreams as Messengers from Another Realm", which is the second longest title I've ever used for a poem! :)

 

Dream Catcher: A Rengay With Cara Holman

Dream Catcher

Kirsten Cliff & Cara Holman

crosswinds

struggling not to recall

last night's dream

the morning sky

filled with rain

drifting fog

where does the dream end

and I begin

dream catcher

I tell myself what

I want to believe

across dandelioned fields

a hawk's shadow

river reeds

weaving daydreams

into stories

Published in 'fox dreams' - a Yay Words! project by Aubrie Cox

Dream Fragments

          gathering

          dream fragments

          in my mind's eye...

          a sheet of white paper

          with many coloured pens

Tanka and photograph © Kirsten Cliff

This tanka appeared in Aubrie Cox's latest Yay Words! project 'fox dreams'. Take a look for yourself here at all the amazing haiku, tanka, haiga, doodleku, rengay and other short form poetry. It's a beautiful and inspiring collection, and I'm sure I'll be asking a few of the contributors for their permission to reprint their haiku for my Dream Speak themed stint as the Per Diem editor at The Haiku Foundation. Enjoy! :)

All I have to do is Dream...

Click on image to enlarge

I've been writing a few more dream haiku just recently, inspired by Aubrie Cox's latest call for submissions over at Yay Words! She is putting together another project, this time with a focus on DREAMS and FOXES. Find out how you can be involved here.

I've just finished a dream rengay, especially written for the project, with Cara Holman. This is our third rengay together, and I find it a very enjoyable experience. The first two have been accepted to A Hundred Gourds, which comes out in June. I hope Aubrie likes our latest one, which we've titled 'Dream Catcher'.

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)

High Risk

          she advises

          I'm at high risk

          of a relapse...

          I breathe in air heavy

          with crushed dreams

Moonbathing #5 (January, 2012)

Tanka & photograph © Kirsten Cliff