Advanced Studies in Poetry: Global Haiku Tradition
EN 340/IN350 Spring 2009
Dr. Randy Brooks

All writing assignments are to be submitted by email attachment.
Please save your files as "Rich Text Formt" RTF documents
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Send them to: rbrooks@millikin.edu

You can check your ongoing grades on Moodle
IN 350 01 Global Haiku CRN: 34717 (Brooks: Spring 2009)

for 1/13 (in class)

reading: Mayfly haiku

in class response writing: select a favorite haiku and briefly write your imagined, felt response to them. be ready to discuss why you like them

for 1/15

reading: To Hear the Rain, pages 1-64, introductions, prose (and the interview in the back of the book)

writing response: find 3 favorite Lyles haiku—write your imagined felt responses to them (one paragraph for each)

write the haiku and page number out like this:

that old sweater
holes in the elbows
our first kiss

Evans, MUHA, 60

haiku writing: 4-5 haiku on the coldness (not ABOUT the cold but about a moment of encountering the cold—cold wind, cold walk, cold hands, cold car, chill).

(email your 3 short responses & 7-10 new haiku by midnight Wednesday, January 14)

for 1/20

reading: the other half of Lyles’ book (65-128 pages)

haiku reading responses: select 3 more favorite haiku by Peggy Lyles and briefly write your imagined, felt response to them. be ready to discuss why you like them.

REMEMBER to cite each haiku fully (do not add capital letters or punctuation) like this:

cucumbers
soaked in vinegar—
the heat

Lyles, THTR, 48

writing extended memory & memory haiku: after writing about 3 favorites by Lyles, choose a fourth haiku that especially triggered memories from your childhood or past (write a one page memoir) describing a memory from your own life. THEN write 3-5 haiku which capture different moments or feelings from within that longer memory from your experience. You may want to especially explore a childhood memory as well as more recent memories.

kukai 1 reading response: choose 4-8 favorite haiku from Kukai 1 and write a written response to at least one of your favorites.

(email your 3 responses & extended memory & 3-5 new haiku & kukai 1 response by midnight Sunday, January 18)

ALSO bring a printed copy of your extended memory to class for our editing session.

for 1/22

haiku editing workshop

reading: Haiku Handbook Chapter 2 (download handout)

response writing: find a favorite Japanese & Lyles haiku to compare—write your short imagination responses to them and analyze differences in the Japanese haiku and Lyles’ work. email your comparison to me by midnight, Wednesday January 14

group writing response: why does Peggy Lyles choose to write haiku about these moments?

for 1/27

reading: handout of haiku from Almost Unseen by George Swede (download handout)

writing response: find two favorite haiku from the handout and write imagined responses to these two haiku by George Swede. write 5-10 haiku in response to George Swede or other things going on in your life.

editing group haiku: based on the haiku editing workshop in class on Thursday, send me variations and edit suggestions for 3 haiku from the HAIKU TO EDIT 1 handout. Also send me variations from haiku we edited in class.

writing your final edits: Based on images in your memory writings and any other work you have don up to now, write variations and indicate your choice of final versions for 6-8 of your haiku written previously this semester. You may submit new haiku as well.

Send your 3 edit variations and 6-8 final versions of edits of your own haiku by email due midnight, Sunday, January 25

for 1/29

reading response 1: find an interesting "matched pair" of haiku (one from George Swede and one from Peggy Lyles) to read side by side. write a short analysis of the writing strategies and techniques used in these haiku. (not reader response but analysis of writing techniques such as line break, the pause, word choice, arrangement, rhythm, sounds, emphasis, break, voice, tone, attitude, etc.). one page maximum for your analysis.

snow haiku writing: write 5-10 new haiku attempts on perceptions and moments of snow or ice (current experiences, memories, childhood, bird feeders . . . try a variety of perspectives and feelings).

for 2/3

in class on 2/3 - start the group writing response (1-2 pages with at least 2 example haiku): what are the essential elements of haiku? What makes some haiku better than others? How would you define or describe the characteristics of haiku? What must a haiku do (for? with?) for readers to be effective? use at least 1 example from MAYFLY magazine issue 46

reading response 1: compare the genesis of discourse for your two authors (George Swede and the other). why do they choose to write haiku about these moments? what is the source of significance worth turning into a literary artwork for them?

haiku writing assignment: write 5-10 haiku or senryu about moments of romance, first dates, engagement, love, break-ups, attraction, marriage, dances, blind dates, lost love, anniversary, etc. these don't have to be just the sweet side. they can be about frustration, irritation, bothersome feelings, etc. AND BE SURE TO INCLUDE a seasonal element kigo in at least 3 of your attempts (okay, yes "valentine's" would be a kigo)

for 2/5

reading: Love Haiku by Masajo Suzuki, Introduction and haiku from pages 1-64

reading responses: find two favorite haiku by Masajo and write a short response paragraph to both of them. with a third favorite haiku, write a more extended imaginative (fictional) piece about someone spinning off the third Masajo haiku as its starting point. End your fictional wandering with a haiku.

(email your 2 response paragraphs & 1 fictional spin-off with a haiku ending to me by midnight Wednesday Feb. 4)

Extra Credit Event Opportunity

Photo-Haiga Exhibit & Haiku Reading • 3:00pm • February 6, 2009
@ Staley Library Second Floor Gallery

Attend the lecture & reading on Friday, February 6 and write about a favorite photo-haiga and favorite haiku read. Email your response to me by Feb. 8, midnight for extra credit.

for 2/10

reading: Love Haiku by Masajo Suzuki, haiku from pages 64-128

reading responses: find two more favorite haiku by Masajo and write short response paragraphs to 2 of the haiku.

writing love haiku or senryu: write 6-8 love/Valentine's Day haiku. Not necessarily all lovey-dovey cliches, but love, lust, crushes, unrequited love, first date, bitterness about love, winter dance, sock hop, break up, and so on . . . Send your Valentine's Day haiku to Dr. Brooks by midnight, Sunday Feb. 8.

kukai 2 reading response: choose 4-10 favorite haiku from Kukai 2 and write a written response to at one of your favorites.

(email your 2 Masajo picks, your response to a favorite from kukai 2, and your 6-8 relationships haiku by midnight, Feb 8)

Reading Response & Writing Editing Teams:

Brandy & Emily & Bill & Will
Natalie & Ryan & Tiffany & Jey
Lyndz & Lacy & Sierra & Lizzy & Jennifer
Dar & Christa
John & Billy & Hector

for 2/12

individual reading response: write a paragraph about your favorite haiku story from 1 Haiku Stories on Love and write 1-2 haiku from your response to that story

email your individual favorite story response to me by midnight, Wednesday February 11

extra credit valentine haiku exchange: make and bring 19 copies of one of your favorite Love Haiku (can be by you or by someone else or a new haiku you just wrote or edited) and sign the 19 copies for a valentine's day gift exchange on Thursday Feb. 12

Love Haibun 1 • Love Haibun Stories Responses 1

in class team collaborative response (on Feb. 12): review your team members' response stories and write a short sequence of 5-7 haiku out of one of your team's favorite stories. edit all of your sequence haiku and have one team member write a short introduction to your sequence. give your sequence a title

for 2/17

email your your team sequence to me by midnight, Sunday February 15

in class group discussion starts this assignment on February 16th: What are the essential elements of the very best haiku? What makes some haiku better than others? How would you define or describe the characteristics of the best haiku? What must a highest-quality haiku do (for? with?) for readers to be effective? How do haiku work or function as literary art? How would you characterize the essentials of the genre of haiku?

genre n 1: a kind of literary or artistic work 2: a style of expressing yourself in writing [syn: writing style, literary genre] 3: a class of artistic endeavor having a characteristic form or technique. (dictionary.com)

literary genre n: a style of expressing yourself in writing [syn: writing style, genre] (dictionary.com)

genre (zhän`r?): in art-history terminology, a type of painting dealing with unidealized scenes and subjects of everyday life. Although practiced in ancient art, as shown by Pompeiian frescoes, and in the Middle Ages, genre was not recognized as worthy and independent subject matter until the 16th cent. in Flanders. There it was popularized by Pieter Bruegel, the elder. It flourished in Holland in the 17th cent. in the works of Ter Borch, Brouwer, Metsu, De Hooch, Vermeer, and many others, and extended to France and England, where in the 18th and 19th cent., its major practitioners were Watteau, Chardin, Greuze, Morland, and Wilkie. In Italy genre elements were present in Carpaccio's and Caravaggio's paintings, but not until the 18th cent. did genre become the specialty of an Italian artist, Pietro Longhi. The French impressionists often painted genre subjects as did members of the American ashcan school. (Columbia encyclopedia)

see Wikipedia for an introductory discussion of genre at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_genre

in class group genre analysis on Feb 17: As a group (with your designated leader/writer), compare the essentials of another genre with haiku as a genre. What do you like best in top-quality examples of both your genre and in haiku? (Discuss at least 3-5 haiku examples in comparison and contrast with at least 2 examples of your comparison genre.)

Definitions of genres, especially literary genres, usually includes some expectations of form or structure, so our next question is to consider the formal elements of haiku. But genres also include certain expectation of content and aesthetic experience.

for 2/19

email your written group genre comparison report plans: reading group representative write your group's statement of the essential elements, techniques, characteristics of the best, well-crafted, well-written haiku . . . what are characteristics of your favorite, most effective haiku (use at least 3-5 examples from readings so far). This is the first half of a genre study of haiku. Let me know what your group is planning to compare the art of haiku to.

Email the group statement on high quality haiku in the genre by midnight, Sunday, Feb. 22.

Send me your bullet points and 3-5 haiku examples and note of your other genre for presentation by midnight, Sunday, Feb. 22.

writing haiku: 3-5 haiku related to elements (things, reality, settings, contexts) often associated with your comparison genre. (Or just write 3-5 new haiku about anything you want to write about as an alternative.) Send me your 3-5 new haiku by midnight, Sunday, Feb. 22.

Presentations start Feb. 24 & 26. We will have a class teamwork day on Feb. 19.

for 2/24

Feb. 24 - haiku & fmylife.com - Lyndz & Lacy & Sierra & Lizzy & Jennifer
Feb. 24 - haiku & cooking - Dar & Christa

for 2/26

Feb. 26 - haiku & architecture - Brandy & Emily & Bill & Will
Feb. 26 - haiku & glassblowing - Natalie & Ryan & Tiffany & Jey
Feb. 26 - haiku & dreams - John & Billy & Hector

Finish your genre comparison papers with examples from both genres & a small collection of haiku by your team members related to this comparison. Maximum of 5 pages single-spaced or 10 pages double-spaced including examples & graphics.

Put your haiku in a small booklet (yes, preferably hand-made). Bring these to class Thursday.

for 3/3 - Kukai coming soon with a special guest judge: Emily Evans, co-editor of Millikin University Haiku Anthology

reading: Millikin University Haiku Anthology, pages 1-99

reading response: write response paragraphs to 3 favorite haiku and email them to me by midnight, Sunday, March 1

genre comparison teamwork debriefing: write a short email to me about your contributions to the team project and thank you notes or acknowledgements to others for their contributions. email your debriefing to me by midnight, Sunday, March 1

writing haiku: write 10 or more haiku or senryu related to Fat Tuesday, pancake day, Ash Wednesday, Mardi Gras, carnival, Lent, prayer, meditation or spiritual experiences. email these these to me by midnight, Sunday, March 1

for 3/5 - kukai day!

reading: Millikin University Haiku Anthology, pages 100-192

reading response 1: find 2 favorite haiku from the MU Haiku Anthology that remind you of other favorite haiku. Write a short response comparison of those matched pairs. email your comparisons to me by midnight, Wednesday, March 4

write the matched haiku and page numbesr out like this (NOT side by side):

that old sweater
holes in the elbows
our first kiss

Evans, MUHA, 60

in our yukata—
inky nights moonlit nights
are all for love

Suzuki, LH, 104

writing response 3: select your favorite haiku from kukai 3 and write a response paragraph to 2 favorites. email them to me by midnight Wednesday, March 4

for 3/10

reading: Chapters 1-2 of Matsuo Bashô by Ueda (pages 1-68). Select four favorite haiku from Bashô (including one each from Ueda's conception of four different phases of Bashô's work). Write a paragraph response to three of these four haiku. email due midnight, March 8.

writing a memory response: Write an extended memory response (about 1 page) to one of Bashô's haiku, and end your extended memory with 3-5 original haiku. email due midnight, March 8.

for 3/12

reading the "How to Rengay" handout

writing: 1 rengay with friends or classmates (preferably someone who already knows haiku for this first rengay attempt. email your rengay to me by midnight Wednesday, March 11

see the resulting Rengay 1

• • • SPRING BREAK!

for 3/24

reading response writing: Share 10-20 of your best haiku with family and friends over spring break, and see which ones they like the best. Write an email to me about favorites selected by your family and friends. Which ones did they like best and why? email by noon Monday, March 23.

haiku writing: write 10-20 haiku or a haiku sequence over Spring Break about your life's reality during spring break or about special locations and places of significance to you in your home town. Don't write a bunch of cliches or stereotypical spring break stuff. Write from the reality of YOUR actual spring break. email by noon Monday, March 23. for our kukai! Yes, spring break kukai will be Tuesday.

AND HAVE FUN ON SPRING BREAK! Enjoy the daily gifts and blessings of being. alive!

for 3/26

reading: The Haiku Anthology, pages 1-60 including the introductions. select 3 favorites and write a paragraph response to 2 favorite haiku and a full page memory response to 1 haiku ending with 2-3 new haiku by you. send your response writing to me by email by midnight Wednesday, March 25.

spring break kukai favorites: write about two favorites from kukai 4. email to me by midnight, Wednesday March 25

for 3/31

reading response writing: The Haiku Anthology, pages 60-157. select 4 favorites and write a paragraph response to 3 favorite haiku and write a haiku technique analysis to 1 favorite. send me your responses by email by midnight Sunday, March 29

reading response writing: Read the handout 2 Haibun - Basho Fictional Responses and select your favorite haibun. Write a response to why that one is so good and write 2-3 haiku in response. send me your responses by email by midnight Sunday, March 29

for 4/2

reading: The Haiku Anthology, pages 158-327. select 4 favorites and write a paragraph response to 3 favorite haiku and an extended memory response to 1 favorite (ending with 2-3 haiku from your memory). send me your responses and extended memory haiku by email by midnight Wednesday, April 1.

haiku author study: email the name of the author or the focus of your plan to study by midnight Wednesday, April 1.

for 4/7

reading: Bashô (Ueda-Chapter 4 Prose), pages 112-146 and email a ¶ describing the three different types of haibun Bashô wrote. write a short response to a favorite haibun by Basho.

writing: write 2 haibun (one to capture the sense of being somewhere special and one that let's us see and understand the personality and atmosphere surrounding someone's life). email your haibun to me by midnight, Sunday, April 5

haiku project proposal: Send me a short note (1-2 sentences) about your haiku project plans by midnight, Sunday, April 5

for 4/9

reading: Matsuo Bashô (Ueda-Chapter 5 - Critical Commentaries), pages 147-169

reading response: using Bashô's technique of matching pairs of haiku, find two haiku you want to place side by side for discussion and comparison. One of the haiku should be by the author you are studying for your contemporary author essay. Write a short paragraph discussing the matched pair and why you like one better. due Wednesday, Midnight April 8

reading response: write a response paragraph about a favorite pair that came up in the Matching Contest 3

for 4/14

reading: Matsuo Bashô (Chapter 3 The Renku), pages 69-111 and email a short paragraph about a favorite a favorite pair of links that shows up in in one of the renku. email by midnight Monday, April 13

reading & responding to your author: write a paragraph response to 3 favorite haiku by your author. share these haiku with friends and collect a variety of responses to them. do on an extended memory response to 1 favorite by your author (then write 2-3 haiku from your memory). bring your 3 haiku responses to class on Tuesday April 14. email your response paragraphs to me by midnight Monday, April 13

for 4/16

reading: Traces of Dreams, Chapter 1 and Chapter 4, pages 1-29 and 82-115. find and write about one example of a favorite haiku in English (by a fellow student or from your haiku books or from your author) that demonstrates each of the following 3 types of linking (yes, three examples and paragraphs). email them to me by midnight Wednesday April 15:

(1) word links—puns, objects
(2) content links—narrative, scene, progression
(3) scent links—emotion, atmosphere, social status

for 4/21

Read the student kasen renga by Bri Hill and students from Spring 2003 Global Haiku Traditions at: http://www.brooksbookshaiku.com/MillikinHaiku/haiku/studentrenga/Grasshoppers&Tobacco.html

or see the Spring 2006 kasen renga "Smoke Screen" at:
http://www.brooksbookshaiku.com/MillikinHaiku/haiku/courses/globalSpring2006/KasenSmokeScreen.html

Plan a Spring haiku writing gathering with classmates and/or friends (groups of 4-7). This can be any day with the assignment due by email midnight, April 19 and on paper in class April 21.

This is a gathering for writing linked verse—if it's nice out you could gather in the park or at Rock Springs or at someone's place. Allow the spirit of the place where you gather to be a springboard for the haiku, but don't limit yourself to that place once you get into the linking. Let your links go out through time and seasons moving from person (ninjo) focused to non-person (ninjo-nashi) focus to avoid too much continuity of persons or scenes. Try to avoid more than three ninjo or ninjo-nashi links in a row. Remember, every two links make a new poem.

Using the following guide, write a kasen-no-renga. You may invite students and friends beyond your team to participate in your kasen-no-renga, but this requires that you meet face to face to do it.

(1) ninjô verses—people or emotion or human environment verses (self, other or both)
(2) ninjô-nashi—non-people or things or place or nature-only verses

Write a 36 link kasen-no-renga:

(1) hokku—sets tone, greets all, establishes season, quiets guests to join in
(2) wakiku—builds on unstated elements of the hokku and maintains season. ends in a noun
(3) daisanku—ends with open-ended image (often transitive verb ING)
(5) usually moon shows up here for the first time
(6) concludes the first page (jo) often written by the official scribe
(7)-(29) heats up the links and leaping (intensification)
(13) moon appears again
(17) blossoms usually show up here
(29) moon’s third and final appearance
(30)-(36) kyû—the slow down finale (quiets back down into calmness)
(35) cherry blossoms always here
(36) end with openness and reverberation

email me your kasen-no-renga due Sunday, Midnight April 19. and bring one copy to class (properly folded and belted) for sharing in class on Tuesady, April 21

Student Kasen-no-renga for Spring 2009:

Remnants of Life
by Jennifer Godwin, Emily Weible, Bill Ryan & Will Frankenberger

Spring. Life. Miracle. Paradox
a solo kasen by Darlicia Betton

Unmortared Bricks
by Tiffany Owens, Ryan Murphy & Natalie Perfetti

Recession
a solo kasen by Lizzy Kelly

Robot Nation
by Brandy Bockewitz & Jacob Poshard

Weird Adolescence
a solo renku by Jey Smith

Aspiration
by Lacey Florey & Lyndz Lemanczyk

Myths of Spring
by Billy Seeger, Lauren Culver, Vince Modugno
Joel Booster & Rikki Techner

for 4/23 - Day after the Celebrations of Scholarship (Wednesday, April 22)

Your assignment is to attend at least one creative writing or poetry related event. Events that will count are listed below. Write a short response to the event you attended and email it to me by midnight, April 22.

At the Edges of Tradition: Poems of Our Own
(2:45 p.m.-3:15 p.m.) • Perfetti, Natalie • SH317

English Honors & Creative Writing Reading
Featuring graduating seniors awarded Honors in English
(4:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.) • Shilling 418

Student Publications Showcase
(4:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.) • Staley Library MAC Lab
Bronze Man Books – Book Publishing
Decaturian – Newspaper Publishing
Collage – Literary Magazine Publishing
Blue Satellite Press – Broadside Publishing

Alternative make-up event:

Night of Poetry Reading
(6:30 p.m.) • Decatur Area Arts Center
Blue Connection

for 4/28

writing: Send me 5-10 of your best haiku (new ones, edited ones, or any that have not yet been born in kukai) for our final kukai. All submissions for the final kukai are due by midnight, April 26.

haiku authors or essay topics chosen for in-depth study:

Bill - Jack Kerouac
Billy - "Visions of Kerouac"
Brandy - Garry Gay & photo haiga
Dar - Richard Wright
Emily - Lee Gurga
Hector - Lenard Moore
Jennifer - Joanne Morcom
Jey - high school student haiku
Lacy - antiwar haiku (Virgilio & Baranski)
Lizzy - Caroline Gourlay
Lyndz - Peggy Lyles
Natalie - Jack Kerouac
Ryan - David Lanoue (the haiku novel)
Sierra - George Swede or Sonia Sanchez
Tiffany - math haiku
Will - essay on haiku about gender & sexuality

Christa -
John -

haiku author study: A formal essay introducing a particular contemporary author to contemporary haiku readers, discussing this author's approach to writing haiku, including response-discussion of 6-8 examples. This can focus on one book by the author in the form of a book review essay or on a particular theme or type of haiku by the author. Please consult with Dr. Brooks if you plan a study other than a single author.

o focus on a point of insight or question about that author’s unique contribution
o include response discussions of 6-8 haiku by the author
o include at least one matching comparison to a haiku by another author (or more)
o may include email or phone or in-person interview questions to help address
   the haiku writer's poetics

Length? 5-10 pages single-spaced. Citations? Full citation of each source within text first time mentioned (followed by haiku citation convention of author, publication title abbreviated, page number) for subsequent mentions. Yes, include a works-cited page.

Due date: Tuesday, April 28 (paper copy in class & email copy by midnight). We will start author presentations on April 28.

for 4/30

haiku projects due!

The purpose of the haiku project is to apply haikai arts to something that means a lot to you—usually something related to your major field of study or a personal interest. Bring your passion to this project and connect it to haiku (photography & haiku) (music & haiku) (history and haiku) (psychology & senryu) (a kasen renku) (baseball haiku) (a collage of haiku) (haiku web site) (anthology of love haiku) . . . have fun with this.

Bill - haiku & music
Billy - haiku theatre
Brandy - serial killer haiku who done it
Dar - haiku & the art of make up
Emily - color wheel renga (with Jennifer)
Hector - mother's day haiku
Jennifer - color wheel renga (with Emily)
Lizzy - haiku from favorite movies
Lyndz - pug haiku photo book
Natalie - haiku and swimming sequences (six lanes)
Ryan - haiku fiction
Sierra - haiku prints
Will - chapbook of haiku about gender & sexuality

Due Thursday, April 30 (in class & email copy by midnight). We will continue author presentations on April 30 & start sharing haiku projects.

for 5/5

(1) Signature haiku gift exchange and haiku chapbook collections are due Tuesday, May 5th.

The signature haiku process—a haiku to give to others when they ask about haiku that can be used to teach them about haiku and to share some of your work with them. A haiku you want to be known for or known by—one that works with a lot of readers. A gift of a haiku insight . . . often presented as a gift of some sort such as a bookmark, a small haiku stone, etc.

(2) Haiku Collection Booklets due: Select and organize your best haiku & senryu & haibun & renga into a collection. Make a little booklet, or print them in a binder, or write them in a blank book.

Select and organize your best haiku & senryu & haibun & renga into a small booklet or collection. Give your collection a title and a © 2009 page. (Often signature haiku are connected to the title.) Include a dedication page if you would like to.

Be sure to write an author's introduction to your collection which explains your title and expresses your approach or why these are the ones you have included in your collection (your poetics preface). Ask your reading partner to write a short introduction to your collection, maybe pointing out one or two favorites--or their observation about something unique about your haiku (the reader's introduction). The reader's introduction should help strangers appreciate and value your collection.

Don't forget to e-mail a copy of the collection including your introductions to Dr. Brooks by midnight Monday, May 4th!

Don't forget to e-mail your short bio statement to Dr. Brooks by midnight, May 4th. This bio statement will be used at our Global Haiku Reading.

for 5/8

haiku final (a haiku reading) Thursday, May 7 from 10:30-12:30 @ Second Floor, Staley Library

Extra credit is available for bringing 2 or more guests to the reading, or for helping with one of our haiku reading tasks.

(1) Global Haiku Reading, Thursday May 7, 10:30am-12:30pm. I will bring your chapbooks and return them to you at the final Global Haiku Reading @ Second Floor, Staley Library.

Billy - program designer (introductions & bio notes)
Emily, Lacy, Lyndsey - refreshments team
Will - publicity
Natalie & Jey - signature haiku book greeters & hosts

(2) Submission to Haiku Magazine Final.

Type a selection of 5 of your best haiku with your name and address on the upper left hand corner of the page. Also bring an envelope with your name and address in the upper left hand corner. Also include a self addressed envelope with your name and address in both the upper left hand corner and the addressee spot. Include one dollar or two stamps for postage in one of the envelopes. (Many will be submitted to magazines overseas, so please don't stick the stamps on the envelopes.)

Extra Credit Event Opportunity

Extra Credit ROAD TRIP Opportunity: Go to the Japan House Tea Ceremony. Write haiku about the road trip and at some haiku about the Japan house tea ceremony. Address: 2000 S. Lincoln Avenue, Urbana, Illinois. You can see more details on the Japan House web site: http://japanhouse.art.uiuc.edu/

On Thursdays there are Tea Ceremonies at the Japan House which count for extra credit in the Global Haiku Traditions class. Go. Write haiku. Get extra credit. Here's the details:

Tea ceremonies will be held on the following dates at 2:00pm and 3:00pm. A reservation is required for all tea ceremonies. The cost is $5 per person. Call 217-244-9934 for more information.

April 9 • April 23 • May 14

There is a spring open house & free tea ceremony on Saturday, April 18, 2009 from 10:00am until 4:00pm.

Japan Tea House - April 2009

The Japan House sits far back from the road, hidden by hills and trees. Our socks, silent upon the hallway floor, take part in the silence of the tea ceremony. The tea is prepared, the bowl wiped, the tea poured and served in solemn silence. I glimpse a server quietly explaining how to drink the tea to an American. With shoes back on, we explore the surrounding gardens. I listen to water trickle from a bamboo fountain while the tour guide explains the name of each surrounding plant. Like this man, the garden has a history. The gravel garden nearby has been raked just so—its curving lines flow leisurely around the larger rocks. These stones remind me of the ocean.

tea ceremony
the sliding screen
whispers

faint scent of tea…
from the summer vase
a single blossom

my step’s echo
beyond    the gravel garden
ebbs

by Natalie Perfetti