Kortney Garrison

Homeschooling With Ease

Haiku Oracle Poems

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An extra Poetry Friday….and during Poetry Month! What riches.

This has been a big month! I had the opportunity to serve as a judge for a kids poetry contest. I learned about nonets from master poet, Irene Latham. And I wrote every day with the 30 Day Haiku Project at Wild Words. Though I have a strong writing habit, I usually miss days. May is all about mining drafts, revision of these new poems, and maybe even submitting my chapbook manuscript. Eeek.

But I’m getting ahead of myself! Let’s end this month with a bunch of poems from the handmade haiku oracle deck.

If you’d like a poem, just leave a comment, and I will pull one for you!

Remember, these are single lines from Basho translated by Robert Hass. I pull three or four cards at random and construct poem. Here’s the one in the photo:

A hillside without a name
the sound of wind

a worm digs silently

Just let me know you’d like a poem, and I’ll make one just for you! Make sure to visit all the lovely Poetry Friday poets over at Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme.

Poems in the World

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One of my goals while my pursuing my Homeschool MFA was to go out + about to a poetry reading or other event in the world every month. The pandemic forced many programs online. While I miss the bus across the river and into the city, there is something very nice about filling your Tuesday evening with poems from the comfort of the living room!

Kim Stafford has a new book of poems out called Singer Come from Afar, And Village Books in dear Bellingham will be hosting him on April 27th. Kim’s readings are always generous and warm and thoughtful. He may even sing for us!

Here’s the link to sign up–it’s free. Though you can also order the new book at a discount with this same link.

I’m going to order takeout on Tuesday and listen to poems instead of making dinner! You come too!

Nonets with Irene Latham

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This week I spent a morning learning about nonets with Irene Latham. The nonet is a syllabic, 9-line form with each line’s syllable count ascending or descending. Irene’s book Nine: A Book of Nonet Poems is a collection that shows just how thoughtful and sophisticated poetry for children can be.

Here’s one of the poems that came out of the workshop. I was thinking about the revision history of a haiku that will be published next month. I was also playing with the title of Natalie Goldberg’s Three Simple Lines: A Writer’s Pilgrimage Into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku. Melissa Wiley said this may be her favorite Goldberg, and I agree! Part travelogue, part historical notes on haiku, altogether enchanting.

Three
simple
lines become
a rectangle.
Doorway, gate, portal,
a pair of slim couplets.
Mirrors, twins, both like and unlike,
still holding the turn, the surprise,
the way through the open door to God.

Here’s one more found poem built from my notes during Irene’s workshop, including the title of one of her forthcoming books!

Visit Jama’s Alphabet Soup for all the Poetry Friday goodness!

Poetry All Month

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You’ve got to laugh, right? That the first day of National Poetry Month is April Fool’s Day! The foolishness of waking early, pouring coffee, and sitting down to write. But before I could sit down this morning, I had to unearth the food coloring so that I could make some blue Bantha Milk for the Star Wars fans who live at my house!

I’ve got some plans for this month. Writing and reading poems is nothing new though, so I’m adding a few extras to sweeten the month. Because really, where you find sweetness is where you’ll find the poems.

I’ll be meeting the morning with prompts from the 30 Day Haiku Challenge hosted by The Wild Words. Haiku is accessible enough and the prompts are expansive enough that there’s really no reason not to join in! I have been writing poems about Penelope and Demeter. So I will be writing the morning haiku from their perspective.

I’m also going to post a few poetry oracle poems in the Stories on my Instagram. Those are the cards above. They’ve got lines from Basho via Robert Hass on one side. Flip over three…or sometimes four…and you’ve got a poem! It works because the source material is so rich!

Tania Runyan is leading a reading and writing book group through The Great Gatsby. I read the novel as a high school senior, but haven’t returned since. I am utterly intrigued by Tania’s assertion that “writing poetry as we read will help us better understand the novel and reading the novel as we write will help us create inspired poems.” I don’t know quite what to expect, but this could prove a rich vein.

On April 13th Irene Latham is coming to Read-Aloud Revival to teach a workshop on writing nonets based on her lovely book Nine: A Book of Nonet Poems! It’s the generative kind of book–you finish reading and immediately head to the page. I can’t wait to spend time with Irene! You can sign up just for the month–it’s a full one with art and stories!

And I’ll be visiting with Poetry Friday peeps because they are some of the most careful readers + writers around!

How are you celebrating this month?

Here’s a great collection of posts from the archives about celebrating Poetry Every Day if you need some inspiration!

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