Apathy

APATHY

The Luitpold Bridge in Munich is closed. Climate activists have glued themselves to the road disrupting traffic. They are not afraid of a jail sentence, they say. Part of me yearns to be there with them. Making statements, taking action. Instead, I follow signs for an alternative route, like so many ahead of me, and so many behind. Our long, slow-moving queue snakes around our principles.

on the radio…
instructions for instant
gratification

In The Other Bunny 27 Feb 2023

Busted! By Tim Roberts

I just received Tim Roberts’s wonderful book, “Busted: Reflections on Police Life” published by Red Moon Press. Congratulations Tim!

A poignant, powerful, and at the same time sensitive rendering in haiku of police life that shocks, informs, disturbs, engages, and changes the reader. Alan Summers sums it up: “….beyond bravery…”

Honored to have contributed the Introduction to this book. As Robert Epstein writes in his Foreword: “Prepare to be arrested by Tim Roberts’s bold, graphic, and gut-wrenching haiku memoir”! Indeed!

Tim Roberts

Interview, Parkinson’s Life

Thrilled and honored to have been given the opportunity to speak about haiku and Parkinson’s Disease in an interview for Parkinson’s Life, the magazine of Parkinson’s Europe. See here

Grateful also to Northern California Haiku Society’s Dave Russo for his post on my interview and latest work. See here

The 3 micro-haibun in MacQueen’s Quinterly

The three micro-haibun from the series-in-progress The Censored Poems

Bone Broth

The very antithesis of cherry blossom. On the one hand and on the other. And in between

breathing
the torpid air of the mausoleum
morels, porcini, chanterelles

*

Off Time

Play if you must. Laugh till you cry. But life is serious. The road is hard, paved with hunger, illness, war. Greed and envy. They will haunt you. Pick apples if you must. Oranges, figs. It won’t make any difference.

Hosannah!
at the nudist beach
my sunglasses

*

Wabi-sabi

Now that that illness accosted me and I stood up to it, I feel entitled to a few wisdoms.

minding the gap
the chilling beauty
of angels 

3 micro-haibun in MacQueen’s Quinterly

Happy New Year 2023! And happy news! Issue 16 of MacQueen’s Quinterly is out!

MacQueen's Quinterly

Filled with excellent work by fellow poets, it makes for a great read! I am particularly chuffed to have 3 of my micro-haibun included from “Censored Poems,” a series in progress. My heartfelt thanks to Clare MacQueen for giving them a home.

Parkinson’s Toolbox in the online resources of Parkinson’s Europe

Delighted to see that my article “Parkinson’s Toolbox: The Case for Haiku” is now included in the online resources of Parkinson’s Europe, the umbrella organization for PD societies.

The project titled “Parkinson’s and Creativity” aims “to create an online library of scientific papers, relevant articles, and videos with the aim of sharing knowledge of the latest scientific discoveries and mysteries of Parkinson’s creativity.” Check it out here

https://www.parkinsonseurope.org/get-involved/parkinson-s-creativity/parkinsons-and-creativity/

In Robert Epstein’s “The Haiku Way to Healing”

Pleased to see Robert Epstein’s anthology is out! “The Haiku Way to Healing: Illness, Injury and Pain” is a significant contribution to haiku literature, a testament to the power of this very short form of poetry to express and share even the most painful of moments.

Honored that my work is included in this collection.

Here is one of my poems from page 207, initially part of a haibun published in “Contemporary Haibun Online” 17.1, and recently included in my juxtaEIGHT article ‘Parkinson’s Toolbox: The Case for Haiku’ (pp.37-61)

dyskinesia…
how tall grass
sways

healing

Parkinson’s Toolbox: The Case for Haiku

Juxtapositions

 The eighth issue of Juxtapositions: Research and Scholarship in Haiku is out. JuxtaEIGHT is a themed issue on “haiku and wellness,” with several articles, interviews, and resources addressing this theme. And it includes two contributions by yours truly: the article “Parkinson’s Toolbox: The Case for Haiku” is now available to download (pp 37-61), as well as a description of Haikupedia from the Resources section of Juxtapositions: Check them out here https://thehaikufoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/juxtaeight.pdf

I copy below the Abstract of the Parkinson’s article:

Parkinson’s Disease (PD)—the fastest growing neurodegenerative condition worldwide—affects a wide range of motor and nonmotor functions. At present, there is no cure. Only symptomatic treatment is available, aiming to improve quality of life and slow progression. The aim of this paper is to recommend haiku as a therapeutic tool helping with symptoms and, potentially, rate of progression. To this end, following a brief description of PD, and its symptoms grouped under two areas of loss resulting in life diminishment, I touch upon the general role of art and literature in augmenting pharmacological treatment of the disease, before focusing on some of the qualities of haiku (in the process of writing as well as the created poem) that collectively make haiku a containing vessel that can hold and transform the distress associated with the disease into a more bearable experience.

Gardening, table tennis, Parkinson’s…and haiku

Starting to prepare the garden and plants for winter. Several plants will be taking refuge in the greenhouse, where a heater will be protecting them from the frost’s cruel bites. Others will be toughening it out in the beds, with only a thick cover of straw.

For the first time, I will be planting garlic. I got the reading done, added a bed just in front of the greenhouse, and in a week or two, I will be planting. In the greenhouse, there will be potatoes growing in pots, salads, and herbs. Oh, the excitement! The excitement!

Having written an article on Parkinson’s and Haiku (Parkinson’s Toolbox: The Case for Haiku), I am playing with the idea of sequels. Such as? Well, Parkinson’s Toolbox: The Case for Gardening; Parkinson’s Toolbox: The Case for Table Tennis; Parkinson’s Toolbox: The Case for Felting! You get my gist. Between planting garlic, practicing serves, writing, and soaping wool there’s no time for apathy. Right? For now, at least…

Literature, Art, Culture, Society, and lots of Haiku