Category Archives: Blog

Blog, Haiku, News

“Spring Poetry Rain” event on the 26th of May 2012

307 poets from all over the world are taking part this coming Saturday, 26 May 2012, at 18.00 Cyprus time, in the “Spring Poetry Rain” event in Nicosia, Cyprus.

All along Ledra and Araşta streets in Nicosia, the last divided city in Europe, poets from 55 countries, will participate through their poems in an event supporting “Individuality, Respect, Tolerance, Acceptance, Human Rights, Living Together, Sharing the same Life, Sharing the same Space,” under the motto:

“Different Nationalities – Many Ethnicities – One people – One Europe – One World – Same Future~”

The organizers of the event, coming from both sides of the dividing line of Cyprus, say:

“Large Balloons filled with poems and flying all along the Ledra and  Araşta streets, will create ‘a  chain of connection’, without the dividing line.  The balloons will be burst at intervals releasing the poems which will fall, just like the rain!

The poems will be printed in hundreds of copies. Platforms will be placed all along the two streets, from which music groups will perform and poems will be read by poets, actors and of course by the public, which will be collecting them.”

I am particularly proud to be taking part in this event, and hope that it will provide a good opportunity to focus on the need for the peaceful coexistence of all people on the island.

More details about the event here:

http://www.ideogramma-cy.com/event_9_concept.html

You will be able to follow the event online by accessing these websites
www.ideogramma-cy.com

 www.sidestreets.org

Organizers:

Ideogramma (www.ideogramma-cy.org)

Sidestreets (www.sidestreets.org)

Ευρωπαϊκό Κοινοβούλιο Γραφείο στην Κύπρο  (www.europarl.cy)

Participating Poets here: http://www.ideogramma-cy.com/event_9_poets.html

This is what the Goethe Institute in Nicosia (associate partner to the event) had to say about it: http://www.goethe.de/ins/cy/nic/ver/en9232159v.htm

 

Blog, Haiku

‘blue moon’ haiku in 3 languages

blue moon

why am I reminded

of Mount Fuji?

.

in French:

.

lune bleue –

pourquoi me rappelle-t-elle

le mont Fuji ?

.

and in Romanian :

.

lună albastră

de ce îmi aminteşte

de Muntele Fuji ?

.

I wrote this haiku as a response to the painting  by André Derain: Mountains at Collioure, 1905, posted on FB by  Virginia Popescu (see here).

Virginia very kindly, and enthusiastically, translated my haiku into French and Romanian! Once again, thank you, Virginia! I like this idea!

You can see Virginia Popescu and other poets’ responses to paintings, and indeed contribute to her project yourself, on her FB page here

Blog, Haiku, NaHaiWriMo

‘writing on the wall’ haiku in 3 languages!

.

writing on the wall
the drum beat grows
faster

écriture sur le mur
le rythme du tambour s’accélère
rapidement
.
scriere pe perete –
ritmul tobei se accelerează
cu rapiditate
.

Virginia Popescu posts paintings on her FB page and invites poets to write a haiku on them. I wrote this haiku to go with Rembrandt‘s Balthazar’s Feast, and Virginia translated it into French and Romanian! Thanks, Virginia!

It is also a response to the NaHaiWriMo prompt: drums

Blog, Haiku

The Haiku Foundation: where the party continues…

The Haiku Foundation, a non-profit organization whose aim is “to preserve and archive the accomplishments of our first century of haiku in English, and to provide resources for its expansion in our next,” is the place to hang around if you are trying to make April, the National Poetry Month, last all year long!

There’s a lot to do there! There’s the Per Diem: Daily Haiku, in its box, on the Home page, bringing you specially selected haiku each and every single day of the year;  the Haiku Registry, with over 400 poets and poems to browse through; archives of contest-winning poems, and awards, with judges’ commentaries; an exciting blog with thought-provoking posts and information; contest and event calendars, a digital library, and forums for any haiku-related questions you can come up with…

And now, there is going to be more! The Haiku Foundation plans to create

“the first collection of in-depth interviews documenting the development of 20th century haiku. Poets, translators, and scholars…will share their work and discuss their ideas. The resulting video and audio recordings will be available FREE of charge on the The Haiku Foundation (THF) website: http://www.thehaikufoundation.org …”

Now that’s a worthy cause!

The Foundation is asking for your help with this project. Running a Video Archive Campaign, it aims to collect through donations the $6,000 it needs to buy the audio and video equipment necessary. Will you help them reach their goal?

They say:

“Imagine if you could watch your favorite poets talk about their craft and lives and respond to questions you always wanted to ask them. While the technology wasn’t available during the lifetime of some of our favorite poets, today we have the opportunity to create a rich resource for our generation and those to come. As we move forward into the 21st century, many haiku poets who led the way in the 20th have already passed away. We need to start working immediately to preserve the voices of those who are still with us. Their stories deserve to be heard.”

I can well imagine…

“If a haiku has ever stirred your heart, pitch in! We will return your generosity with hours of enriching interviews, and you will help preserve a fast-fading history.”

Please follow this link here for a lot more information, including various gifts/perks you receive with your donation, tax free advice, gallery of gifts, comments etc.