Jodee Whitlock Profile of Margaret Chula Essay on Margaret Chula

BEYOND BOUNDARIES Selected Haiku by Jodee Lynn Whitlock My haiku focus on nature and the beauty of this world in the present and in the past. I am a wonderer and appreciate what life has to offer. This world is such a beautiful place to live and it awes me to imagine how much is out there. I could sit in an open field and just stare at the stars forever. One could call me a dreamer, and that I am. I chose to title my collection, BEYOND BOUNDARIES, because the way I write and the way I think could be confusing to those nonchalantly reading my work. In a lot of my haiku, one would have to dig deep and try to figure out what exactly I was thinking at that moment. That goes with all of my haiku collection, nature, memory, love and out of the blue haikus. I appreciate the beauty of anything and everything. I have a big sentimental heart that pours with emotions and pours into my writing.

One memory of mine can be turned into a whole novel. I believe that I enjoyed writing my memory haiku the best because I fully didn’t learn to appreciate my past until it was already gone. Looking back, my life has been wonderful and writing about it helps me keep the close memories I do have. I chose the following haibuns and haiku because these are the ones that I feel express me the most. I enjoy writing haiku and poetry and plan on doing so for a very long time. READER’S RESPONSE JoDee Whitlock’s writing style is very peaceful. All of her haiku revolve around real memories, especially of her family and small town life. Some of her greatest memories are sitting on her front porch with her dad. From this, it is easy to see her appreciation for nature. She is awed by the beauty of our surroundings and creates beautiful images in her writing. She also directly relates nature with family memories, such as sitting on the porch during a storm. Other memories that she writes about deal with love. As a friend, I know she is a very compassionate person, but this is also evident in her work. She has much love for her family, including a special bond with her twin sister. JoDee also likes to write of her experiences with romantic love. Many have touched her life, and she is very open about sharing her feelings and thoughts through her writing. Her writing makes me appreciate nature, which is taken for granted, and also makes me realize how special family and friends really are. —Erin Crow, Classmate and friend