Annual Pacific Northwest Haiku Meeting on June 3, 2017

Post date: Jul 31, 2017 8:10:46 PM

The big news from the Pacific Northwest Region (Washington and Alaska) was our annual meeting held June 3, 2017. The day started with a haiku walk at Discovery Park, a former military base (Fort Lawton) turned into a Seattle city park. Sixteen people showed up for the 10:00 am start and we took the 2.6-mile loop trail through woods and meadows, with a lovely view of Puget Sound from the cliffs about halfway through the walk.      Although there was much more talking than writing going on as we caught up with people we hadn’t seen in months, we did manage to stop and look at a millipede, rescue a hurt bumblebee, listen to a song sparrow, watch a banana slug slime its way along the path, and enjoy the sight of a regatta out on the Sound, with bright spinnakers filling with wind. After the hike we drove to the Daybreak Star Center for a picnic lunch.      Then it was on to the Magnolia Library for an afternoon of readings and presentations. About twenty people introduced themselves and each read a haiku they had brought to share. Those present included Terran Campbell, Gary Evans, Ida Freilinger, Dianne Garcia, Patty Hardin, Connie Hutchison, Lynn Jambor, Roy Kindleberger, Curtis Manley, Tanya McDonald, Jacquie Pearce, Jim Rodriguez, Michelle Schaefer, Carmen Sterba, Jane Stewart, Angela Terry, Kathleen Tice, Richard Tice, and Michael Dylan Welch. Then Carmen Sterba and Richard and Kathleen Tice from the Commencement Bay Haiku group in Tacoma did a group reading. Patty Hardin next spent about half an hour talking about the discoveries made along her haiku path and her experiences taking the Buson 100 challenge, not once but twice. Following that, Curtis Manley read his recently published book The Crane Girl based on a Japanese folk tale, and including some of his own original haiku, and explained the inspirations for his writing.      After a tea and cookie break filled with lots more conversation, Jim Rodriguez played some improvised flute music for us, and then Michael Dylan Welch presented a workshop on “The Discovery of Haiku” which was combination group discussion, thought provoking questions and some generative writing around ways haiku helps us discover both the world around us and our reactions to it. Examples included imagining seeing something for the first time, and seeing that same thing for the last time, and the different ways we might react to that. We also explored how we might write about something we are an expert at and about something we know very little about—the question being authenticity versus viewing something with new eyes.

      After Michael’s presentation, Angie Terry briefly mentioned the change in the structure of the Region, from just being Washington State to also including Alaska. As a surprise treat, she read some haiku from Billie Wilson, a longtime HSA