I have no memory of planting these gorgeous garden queens. In fact, the colors are so brilliant the flowers seem artificial. But they are real, bugs and all. And apparently, prolific seeds and all, because these returned from last summer, and the summer before that. My best guess is there must have been some seeds in the packets of wildflowers I once spread hither and yon. They grow crazy all summer, and then by late summer, bam, crowds of beauty.
How Do You Haiku?: A Step-by-Step Guide with Templates
Written by Danna Smith
Plumbago Press
September 1, 2023
Happy book birthday to How Do You Haiku?: A Step-by-Step Guide with Templates! Congratulations, Danna! I’m so excited to read this book.
Not only because I was one of the contributors (I am truly honored to included) . . .
(the following list is taken from Danna’s book page on Amazon)
Contributing Poets
Includes haiku by contributing poets Kate Coombs, Nancy Etchemendy, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Raven Howell, Linda Hoffman Kimball, Amy Losak, Bobi Martin, Angie Quantrell, Sydell Rosenberg, Lee Wardlaw, and Linda Whalen.
but because I LOVE haiku. I love writing haiku, being outside in nature, finding amazing natural wonders, taking photos, and coming back home to pen haiku about my discoveries.
PLUS. This is a how-to book. With templates. Whoohoo! What a great resource!
Amazon Blurb:
An excellent resource for at home or in the classroom
From the author of Peek-A-Boo Haiku (Simon & Schuster) comes a haiku how-to handbook. Haiku is a Japanese poetry form, but it’s more than just a short, three-line poem. It’s an opportunity to slow down, go outside, and experience the world in a new way. Haiku is a “snapshot” of a moment in nature (if you blink, you might miss it!), and it’s a powerful way to show compassion for all living things.
This book will help you understand haiku so you can create poems with powerful words and images. Each chapter contains examples from Japanese haiku masters and current poets. The included activities and templates will guide you through fun ways to “haiku,” including painting poem stones for your garden (Kuhi), creating haiku comic strips, and writing group poems with your friends (Renga). How Do You Haiku? This handbook will show you how— step-by-step.
Congratulations, Danna!
Danna Smith
Danna Smith is a poet and award-winning author of over twenty-five books for children.
When she was young, a pencil was her favorite toy. She grew up weaving words into silly poems or stories that sparked emotion. She wrote her first poem when she was eight, her first short story when she was ten, and her first picture book draft when she was seventeen.
Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, she currently lives and creates in beautiful northern California wine country.
P.S. Does anyone know what this paper bug is actually called? Because of the massive forelegs (for its size), I wondered if it was a relative of a praying mantis. But the rest of the body doesn’t seem to fit that category.
Every year, we have a pair of flycatchers nest in our parking shelter, an old cattle loafing shed. They LOVE this space to nest. Sadly, the first batch of hatchlings were all destroyed by a variety of cannibalistic birds! It was terrible. But I’m happy to say that all 4 in batch 2 have made it to the fledgling stage, are flying around willy-nilly, and will soon learn to hunt for themselves (the above exhausted parent and I both agree this needs to happen very soon).
Love, Laughter, and Life 