sCHSG featured haiku
With few exceptions, our SCHSG’s monthly meetings have been and continue to be held on the 3rd Saturday of the month at 2:00 – 4:00 pm.
Many thanks to all our volunteers!
past workshops & events
April 14, 2023
Cultivate: Explore SHIKI
Come see what happens in the garden
April 14, 2023
DESCANSO GARDENS ~ Two Readings At 5:00 PM And 6:30 PM
By Mariko Kitakubo And Deborah P Kolodji
From Their New Book: Distance: Tan-Ku Sequences & Sets
Descanso Gardens 1418 Descanso Dr La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011
On 14 April 2023 at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge CA, Deborah P Kolodji and Mariko Kitakubo shared an inspired reading of their newly released book titled “DISTANCE”, a collection of Tan-Ku Sequences and Sets. The pair was perfectly in synch via the invisible chord that binds them in friendship, whether side-by-side or across the many miles beween Mariko’s home in Tokyo Japan and Deborah’s in Temple City California USA. What a joy it was to attend their reading!
February 11, 2023
HAIKU WALK & WORKSHOP DESCANSO GARDENSWHEN: February 11, 2023 @ 10:30 am – 12:00 pm WHERE: Descanso Gardens 1418 Descanso Dr La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011 USA COST: Free with admission, no advance registration required. CONTACT: Descanso Gardens (818) 949-4200 EVENT: Led by haiku poet Debbie Kolodji, this workshop will include time to walk in the garden and be inspired by the camellias and instruction on writing the traditional Japanese three-line poem. The Camellia Connection: Our Rebirth of Wonder Celebrate camellias and poetry throughout the month of February at Descanso Gardens. Camellias can bloom in our coldest and darkest winter season. These brilliant flowers, native to Asia, contain stories of resilience, hope, loss and ingenuity. Descanso supports one of the largest collections of camellias in North America, with more than 3,500 known and recorded plants, representing over 600 varieties. In collaboration with accomplished poets Amy Uyematsu and Peter Levitt, Descanso is pleased to offer a series of programs that invite exploration, reflection, and participation.
June 21, 2022
June 18, 2022
Lew Watts is the haibun co-editor of Frogpond and the author of Tick-Tock (Snapshot Press, 2019), a haibun collection that received an Honorable Mention in the Haiku Society of America’s 2020 Merit Book Awards. His publications also include the novel Marcel Malone, the poetry collection Lessons for Tangueros, and a forthcoming collection of haiku and haibun from Snapshot Press. Born and raised in Cardiff, Wales, he lives in Chicago with his wife, Roxanne Decyk. His other passions are fly fishing, rugby, and gin martinis.
Class exercise: We read title and prose – we generate haiku
Read: Contemporary Haiku on-line essay 2021 – see his essay – euphony
Read: Modern Haiku for this year: Rich Yhoman (layered)
As editor: If prose is stunning and haiku is weak, he will go back to poet to work with the haiku.
Snapshot Press: Lew has a new collection coming out.
Listen to Roberta Beary
Cynthia Anderson has published eleven poetry books, most recently a collection of haiku and senryu titled Full Circle (Cholla Needles, 2022). Her poems appear frequently in journals and anthologies, and she is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee. She makes her home in the Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree National Park. email
To submit to: Cholla Needles
Cholla Needles which published her haiku and split sequences, as well as work by Peter Jastremski, before Cholla Needles published their books. Cholla Needles publishes authors which have appeared in their magazine.
Cholla Needles keeps the cost of their books very low ($6 for Cynthia’s beautiful book) with all proceeds going to Ukrainian medical relief: Full Circle
May 21, 2022
Thanks to Lee Hudspeth for his wonderful haiku reading last week, and for including the split-sequence inspired by Peter Jastermsky’s workshop. Thanks to everyone who attended.
Attached, as promised, is a PDF export of the PowerPoint I used for the workshop.
Speaking of split sequences, Peter is putting together another split-sequence presentation for Poetry Pea – if anyone has unanswered questions about split sequences, please send them to Peter at peterjastermsky@gmail.com
April 2, 2022
It’s Poetry in the Garden! From lyrical to haiku, let’s celebrate nature.
March 19, 2022
Thanks to everyone who came to the wonderful March 19th program by Peter Jastermsky on Split Sequences, which also featured a beautiful featured reading by Lorraine Padden, and a read-around of haiku by those present.
February 19, 2022
The Southern California Haiku Group met via zoom: Lynn Algood, Kathryn Bold, Jackie Chou, Marcyn Del Clements, Lynne Fayne, Joan Fingon, Diane Fungston, Carol Hajdu, Charles Harmon, Deborah P Kolodji, Yvette Nicole Kolodji, Gregory Longenecker, Seretta Martin, Richard Matta, Vicki Miko, Rita Melissano, Genie Nakano, Susan Rogers, Bona M. Santos, Sigrid Saradunn, Lorraine Padden, Patricia Wakimoto, Kath Abela Wilson, and Sharon Yee.
After a read-around of poetry, Vicki Miko did a short featured reading of haiku.
the tide comes back
the way it came
it never comes back the same
Vicki Miko
This was followed by a beautiful virtual ginko of the Japanese Garden at the Huntington presented by Greg Longenecker.
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens are on the former estate of Henry and Arabella Huntington. In August of 1919, they signed a trust document that transformed their private estate into a public institution making their collections available “to promote the public welfare.”
The Japanese Garden comprises a traditional Japanese house, a moon bridge, a walled Zen garden, bonsai courts, and Seifu-an, a ceremonial teahouse, and garden. The Huntington’s bonsai collection is one of the largest bonsai collections in the United States. Starting in 1968, the bonsai holdings now number in the hundreds, representing many different species, styles and sizes, from centuries-old twisted junipers to majestic pines, elm forests, bougainvillea, and more. Some bonsai in the Huntington collections are estimated to be over 1,000 years old. In addition to the two bonsai courts in the Japanese Garden, which are linked by a Suiseki Court (viewing stones), bonsai can also be found in the Chinese Garden (Liu Fang Yuan, or the Garden of Flowing Fragrance). No two visits to the bonsai courts are ever the same because these displays only represent a portion of the overall collection, and trees are rotated throughout the year to highlight seasonal features.
The Huntington also has a collection of camellias of 80 different camellia species and 1200 cultivated varieties, in full bloom in February in the North Vista, Japanese Garden, and the Garden of Flowing Fragrance.
Many haiku were inspired by Greg’s wonderful presentation.
February 12, 2022
Descanso Gardens
Haiku Workshop and Haiku Installation
On February 12th, SCHSG moderator Deborah P Kolodji conducted a haiku workshop for visitors to Descanso Gardens in La Cañada-Flintridge that was also attended by several members of the group, including Joan Fingon, Carol Hajdu, and Mary Torregrossa. The workshop was part of a month-long initiative called, “What Blossoms: A Poetic Celebration of Camellias,” developed by poets Amy Uyematsu and Peter Levitt. Amy Uyematsu has been a long-time friend of the SCHSG. After the 30-minute talk about haiku, with handouts, participants walked around the gardens to write haiku for 30 minutes, then returned to the amphitheater to share the haiku they had written.
Camellias can bloom in our coldest and darkest winter season. These brilliant flowers, native to Asia, contain stories of resilience, hope, loss, and ingenuity. Descanso Gardens supports one of the largest collections of camellias in North America with more than 3,500 known and recorded plants, representing over 600 varieties. The origins of Descanso’s camellia forest came about due to Executive Order 9066, when the Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News owner, E. Manchester Boddy, purchased the entire inventory of camellias of the Star Nursery, owned by F.M. Uyematsu prior to the Uyematsu family’s removal to Manzanar, a total of more than 60,000 plants. F.M. Uyematsu was Amy’s grandfather. At the end of the workshop, Kolodji read a haiku homage to her grandfather Uyematsu:
old shadows
in a camellia forest
Executive Order 9066
– Deborah P Kolodji As part of the initiative, there was also a month-long haiku installation at the garden amphitheater where visitors to the garden wrote haiku on pink slips of paper which were looped around the slats on the amphitheater benches, as well as a mainstream poetry reading about camellias. Several other members of SCHSG added haiku to the installation during February.
January 15, 2022
January 2, 2022
December 18, 2021
November 20, 2021
October 23, 2021
October 16, 2021
September 18, 2021
August 21, 2021
July 17, 2021
June 20, 2021
May 15, 2021
April 17, 2021
| Southern California Haiku Study Group Monthly Workshop Twenty-three poets from the Southern California Haiku community and beyond gathered via zoom on International Haiku Poetry Day, April 17th. In attendance were Lynn Allgood, Dyana Basist, Cynthia Anderson, Marcyn Del Clements, D’Ellen, Billie Dee, Kimberly (Kim) Esser, Ignatius Fay, Lynn Fayne, Charles Harmon, Peter Jastermsky, Deborah P Kolodji (Debbie), Yvette Nicole Kolodji, Gregory Longenecker (Greg), Janis Lukstein, Seretta Martin, Susan Rogers, Wakako Rollinger, Mary Torregrossa, Kath Abela Wilson (Kathabela), James Won, Sharon Yee, and Sharon Yofan. |
| Group Moderator Greg Longenecker started off the meeting with announcements and then led a read-around, where all present read one haiku. Then, he introduced the featured poet, Susan Rogers, who read a selection of her haiku, a haiku sequence, and displayed some of her haiga: for no reason other than joy hummingbird even though I know I am lost bougainvillea – Susan Rogers |
| Greg presented a program called, “Matsuo Bashō as the Archetype of a Poet’s Life,” where he spoke of various aspects of Bashō’s life, how this influenced his poetry, and what we, as haiku poets, can learn from this. The meeting wrapped up with discussion and some zoom socializing. Our next zoom meeting will be held on Saturday, May 15, starting at 2:00 p.m. |
April 8, 2021
A Virtual Garden of Verses April is Poetry Month! Poets Zoomed in from all over the southland on Saturday, April 3 to share a day of poetry.
March 20, 2021
February 20, 2021
| Southern California Haiku Study Group February 20, 2021 Workshop Twenty-nine SCHSG members and haiku guests met for the February 20th workshop via Zoom at 2:00 p.m. Lynn Algood, Cynthia Anderson, Jackie Chou, Marcyn Del Clements, Billie Dee, D’Ellen, Kristine Dennehy, Kim Esser, Ignatius Fay, Lynne Fayne, Joan Fingon, Jay Friedenberg, Peter Jastermsky, Diana Jeong, Debbie Kolodji, Yvette Kolodji, Greg Longenecker, Janis Lukstein, Seretta Martin, Naia, Lorraine Padden, Claudia Poquoc, Susan Rogers, Wakako Rollinger, Bonnie Santos, Mary Torregrossa, Kathabela Wilson, James Won, and Sharon Yee. Group moderator Greg Longenecker welcomed everyone and introduced the first reader, long-time SCHSG member, Kimberly Esser, who talked about her haiku journey and read a selection of her haiku. Greg then introduced HSA president Jay Friedenberg who talked about recent HSA initiatives before reading a selection of his haiku from his book, Sci-Ku: Explorations into the Poetry of Science. neutrinos she sees right through me continental drift the growing distance in your voice – Jay Friedenberg Kathabela Wilson then presented a workshop as a preparation/introduction to the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society’s annual Tokutomi Memorial contest, and asked Greg to read his 2020 winning haiku: the hoot of an owl the way Mother put up with my bedtime questions – Gregory Longenecker She talked about writing in 5-7-5 and stressed the importance of writing naturally, so that the poem falls naturally into the 5-7-5 format without seeming forced. She also asked Debbie to read a couple of 5-7-5 haiku. Kathabela then introduced the 2021 contest kigo: New Year: Rose Parade Spring: butterfly; uguisu/bush warbler, wisteria Summer: hydrangea; firefly/lightning bug; heron Autumn: pumpkin, woodpecker, Perseids Winter: poinsettia; snowball; swan For those in the group that live in the Pasadena area, it felt odd not to have a Rose Parade this year. So, Yvette Nicole Kolodji created a series of mini-floats out of backyard natural materials. As part of the kigo discussion, Yvette was asked to give a short presentation of her project, which she did via PowerPoint. She also read the haibun she wrote for the project, highlighted in Kathabela’s column on ColoradoBoulevard.Net. |
| The group also discussed syllable counting as regards to words like “hydrangea” and “poinsettia” which are pronounced in different ways. The Tokutomi contest relies on The American Heritage Dictionary, 5th Edition. For more information regarding the Tokutomi contest, go here. Poets then wrote haiku on the contest kigo and shared what they had written. The next workshop will be via zoom on Saturday, March 20th 2021, starting at 2:00 p.m. |
January 18, 2020
workshops on blogger
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA HAIKU STUDY GROUP
Southern California Haiku Study Group 