Summer Poetry Swap
What a joy to receive the day’s mail and find a trove of poetic treasures from Irene Latham. Thoughtful and clever, Irene had been to my website, so everything she sent had special meaning just for me. I had written a “Why I’m Here” poem, so she wrote a “Why I’m Here Poem” too–about me! She knows I am a huge fan of haiku, so she used one of my haiku to write two new haiku, using a line or two from mine and adding a new line or two of hers. It’s a brilliant exercise she found in a book titled Write Your Own Haiku for Kids by Patricia Donegan.
Here’s my haiku:
always
one step ahead
sidewalk sparrow
Here are Irene’s:
always
one step ahead
crabgrass
traffic snarls
in front of hotdog stand
sidewalk sparrow
Irene turned the haiku into calling cards and slipped them into a sweet bowl I now have by my door. I dream of adding to the pile and giving them to friends who stop by. Over the summer I read in the Haiku Handbook (by William Higginson and Penny Harter) that haiku writers used to include haiku in their letters to one another–to tell each other how they were. I love that.
Thank you Irene, for giving me a special treat this summer and congratulations on your wonderful book Can I Touch Your Hair, written with Charles Waters, and your many new books coming soon! And thank you Tabatha Yeatts for organizing another wonderful swap and reminding us that poetry is a gift and that we are part of a beautiful community that gives so generously.
Mary Lee has the Poetry Friday round-up today.
Happy Summer!
Liz
Love.
Links. Love. Literature.
Your & Irene’s are the three little lines that will warble me back to haiku.
Thank-u.
Happy summer, Liz! You and Irene are delights and your individual and combined haiku are fabulous. Thank you for sharing. =)
Haiku calling cards are SUCH a lovely idea — as is the bowl and having them by your door!!
Lovely surprise… lovely poetry… lovely bowl by the door. Thanks for sharing!
The funny thing is, when I was reading Irene’s haiku, I thought to myself that you could substitute ‘crabgrass’ with ‘sidewalk sparrow’… and then I read how it came about. (And having read that – I’m now also fairly sure I read your original. 🙂 ) Lovely poetry treasures – and great haiku tip!
Oh my, those calling cards are wonderful, as is the swap always. Irene is creative in response to creative you, Liz!
Delightful fun!
Delightful!
Love, love, love. The haiku especially.
Love, love, love. Especially the haiku.
Lovely post. I love the idea of Haiku calling cards. I might just steal that idea. Thanks for this upbeat post.
I love that little tidbit about haiku in letters. Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
Fun intertwined haikus from you and Irene–I love the idea of stashing a haiku into a letter! Thanks for all the book links too Liz.
I love seeing poems and poets in conversation. Very cool swap!
I love haiku calling cards–and I love how Irene took your haiku and added her voice to them with her own.