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member book launch

Distance: Tan-Ku Sequences & Sets
by Mariko Kitakubo and Deborah P Kolodji
(forthcoming Spring 2023)

You can find our book here: Shabda Press

These are haiku and tanka response poems, where I write only in haiku and Mariko writes only in tanka and we respond to each other. Some poems start with a tanka, others start with a haiku. To date, we’ve written almost a hundred of these poems. This book contains 76 of them.

“By linking tanka and haiku together in Distance, Kitakubo and Kolodji blow the doors open to all the possibilities. In combining these two long-standing literary traditions, the two authors have explored the depth and scope of how the forms can build upon each other to create something fresh and new. While staying true to the spirit of each form, Kitakubo and Kolodji link and explore not just their poems, but their lives and their friendship.” –Bryan Rickert, President, Haiku Society of America

“Dynamic, lyrical, and nuanced, this collection is simply delightful. The twin functions of poetry as intimate dialogue and a form of play between friends are both deeply rooted in the tanka as well as the haiku. In these sequences, we are able to enjoy the interplay as two masters of their respective forms explore the rich intersection between the two genres, creating something that is both familiar and entirely new.” — Clayton Beach, Co-editor of Heliosparrow Poetry Journal

Tug of a Black Hole by Deborah P. Kolodji cover art by Yvette Nicole Kolodji

You can find my book here: download free e-book Title IX Press

ten years in space
the dish garden
in my cabin

2022 Elgin Award Candidates For books published in 2020 and 2021
2nd place Elgin Award for e-book of Scifaiku

Tug of a Black Hole by Deborah P Kolodji, cover art design by Yvette Nicole Kolodji
Within a single breath, deep space connects with the depths of the human heart, contemporary experience with pure speculative poetry. Information technology sprouts forget-me-nots. Geysers on a cold moon recall the colder end of a relationship. Even at its most imaginative, Kolodji’s work skillfully reflects what it is to live now — the wonder, the uncertainty, the pain. We need no longer seek out science fiction: ‘the days when I feel / like an astronaut’ have become familiar to us all. We exist in a science-fictional world.
– Ann K. Schwader
Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association Grand Master

Saffron Skies ~ by William Scott Galasso

You can find my book here: Amazon

Zen garden
every snowflake
finds a stone

Saffron Skies is Scott Galasso’s 17th book. It presents
a wonderful variety of haiku, senryu, tanka and haibun
written and published in the extraordinary years, 2020-2022.
It’s an amazing poetic document which showcases a masterful
poet at his prolific best.

There are deeply haunting tanka…haiku of personal truth
that share the fragility of every life being the miracle it is…
senryu that spill their wonderful self-deprecating eye on
the pathos of our shared foibles.

I found the haibun A Gathering of Friends to be a beautiful
testament to that we all can hope for. This collection provides
voice to the intimacy of life expressed succinctly and indelibly.
As I read and reread this collection, I felt genuine gratitude to
the poet for bringing so much of his life so brilliantly.

–Tom Clausen, member of the Route 9 Haiku Group since 2002.
He curates an online daily haiku feature at the Mann Library,
Cornell University where he worked for over thirty-five years.

Not Your Kid’s Nursery Rhyme Haiku ~ by Bona M. Santos and Susan Burch

You can find my book here: Amazon

a dam spills over rain rain go away

A collaborative work by Bona M. Santos and Susan Burch Not Your Kids’ Nursery Rhyme Haiku is written in the single-line haiku style. The authors took up nursery rhymes as a spring board for writing haiku within the context of current events and contemporary social issues.

What’s not to like about this new book of “Not Your Kid’s Nursery Rhyme Haiku,” which takes the punch of a monoku and combines it with nursery rhyme memories of our childhood, starting with Humpty Dumpty and ending with the Farmer in the Dell? Along the way, the authors explore sexual abuse, classroom bullying, and anorexia, along with other difficult subjects. The nursery rhyme references strengthen each scene, providing an extra sock to the gut every time. It’s a very strong collaborative debut collection, and I recommend it highly.
– Deborah P Kolodji, California Regional Coordinator for the Haiku Society of America

Backpedaling ~ by Peter Jastermsky

You can find my book here: Yavanika Press

in a house of errors one unbroken mirror

“Backpedaling, Peter Jastermsky’s latest collection of monoku, is both introspective and intelligent. He places every word, every syllable, expertly. The result is a reflective and witty journey through the cycle of modern life.”
— Roberta Beach Jacobson, Editor of Cold Moon Journal

Peter Jastermsky is the author of seven books of haiku-based writing and lives in the high desert of Southern California. Peter is a Dwarf Star Award and Best of the Net nominee. In 2017, Peter invented a new linked form that is haiku-centered called a split sequence. His recent book, Just Dust and Stone (Velvet Dusk Publishing, 2021) is a collection of collaborative split sequences, cowritten with Bryan Rickert. Peter’s other titles include Steel Cut Moon (Cholla Needles Press, 2019), The Silence We Came For (Yavanika Press, 2020), and Fingerbone Sky (Yavanika Press, 2021).

Full Circle ~ by Cynthia Anderson

You can find my book here: Amazon

empty highway
coyotes crossing
their old trail

Full Circle features 116 haiku and senryu, one per page, that explore both nature themes and the human condition. All proceeds from sales are being donated by the author to Direct Relief International for medical aid to Ukraine.

Cynthia Anderson has created a richly textured collection of quiet and original observations of the natural world, especially desert life. She also turns her poet’s eye to human nature, exploring our foibles with compassion and gentle humor. Full Circle offers many “aha moments” of recognition.
– Annette Makino, author of Water and Stone: Ten Years of Art and Haiku

Deeply connected to internal and external landscapes, Full Circle reflects Cynthia Anderson’s keen insight. Savor each poem, as I did, and experience the world through the eyes of this gifted poet.
– Peter Jastermsky, author of Steel Cut Moon

Upwelling – haiku, senryu, tanka, and haibun ~ by Lorraine A Padden

You can find my book here: Red Moon Press

cloister walls
the impetus
of a climbing rose

Moments of awareness, radical reflection and culpability in our suffering world.
Haiku and related short form poetry often invite us into moments of awakened appreciation for the transcendent wonder of our natural and human worlds. We pause in mysterious beauty, wistful remembrance, and enduring hope. What if these poetic forms could also illuminate the shadow side of our existence, bringing us into closer relationship with the undeniable suffering that also rests at the core of our lived experience? What might arise as we contemplate moments of marginalization, oppression, and injustice? These poems are an invitation to reflect and perhaps inspire our own compassionate and healing personal and social action. website

A portion of the proceeds from the sales of Upwelling will benefit Zen Peacemakers International, an organization whose members and affiliates mobilize peace-building, humanitarian, social, and civic action around the globe.

October 7-9, 2022
Our Voices, Our Experiences, Our Part of the World
via Zoom, Haiku Down Under 2022 Programme

The Haiku Down Under team is delighted to present the exciting programme for Haiku Down Under, October 7–9, 2022, where session and workshop presenters are drawn from New Zealand, Australia and further afield, and have a wealth of haiku, haiga, haibun and rengay experience to share.

Sunday October 9, 2022
Finding Horror in Nature
with Yvette Nicole Kolodji
Finding Horror in Nature will inspire writing through videos, photos, and prompts drawn from nature whether it is creepy nomenclature, grotesque features, or horrifying adaptations.

upcoming submissions

2023 Haiku North America conference, Cincinnati, Ohio

Dashboard Horus: A Bird’s Eye View of the Universe
By Marie C Lecrivain
Call For Submissions: Poetry, Essays, Fiction, and Art
Travel themed poetry, prose, and art, to places real or imagined
We Accept Submissions On A Rolling Basis And Will Nominate For Pushcart, And Best Of The Net.
Guidelines

please come back for our SCHSG 2022 anthology launch, “Red Paper Parasols” – NOVEMBER 19, 2022

SUBMISSION DATES (CLOSED)

Submissions are currently being accepted for the 2022 Southern California Haiku Study Group Anthology.

Submissions closing date: July 31, 2022.

ELIGIBILITY

Southern California haiku poets living between Bakersfield and the border of Mexico, as well as haiku poets in Tijuana, are eligible to submit. Regular attendees of Southern California Haiku Study Group and Haiku San Diego zoom meetings are also welcome to submit, regardless of current geographical location. To submit to the linked verse section, one of the collaborators, the one submitting, must be eligible under these terms.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

HAIKU/SENRYU: Between 5-10 of your best haiku/senryu, published or unpublished.

Place submission within the body of your email. NO ATTACHMENTS ACCEPTED.
Single space the lines within each haiku/senryu.
Double space between individual poems.
Email submission to Kathabela Wilson at both SCHSG.Haiku@gmail.com and SCHSGAnthology@gmail.com
Email subject: Haiku Submission

HAIBUN (optional): Between 1-3 of your best haibun, published or unpublished, will also be accepted for consideration, on a space-permitting basis.

Place submission within the body of your email. NO ATTACHMENTS ACCEPTED.
Preference may be given to haibun not exceeding three medium-sized paragraphs.
Email submission to Marcyn Del Clements at both SCHSG.Haibun@gmail.com and SCHSGAnthology@gmail.com
Email subject: Haibun Submission

LINKED VERSE (optional): Between 1-3 of your best rengay, collaborative split sequences or tan renga, published or unpublished, will also be accepted for consideration, on a space-permitting basis.

· Place submission within the body of your email. NO ATTACHMENTS ACCEPTED.

· Email submission to Lorraine Padden at both SCHSG.LinkedVerse@gmail.com and SCHSGAnthology@gmail.com

· Email subject: Linked Verse Submission

FOR EACH PUBLISHED POEM please provide

journal name, date, issue number of first publication, OR
book, publisher, date published, OR
name of the contest in which the poem won, placed, or was for any other reason published by association.

INCLUDE within your submission

your name as you wish it printed in the anthology, AND
your full name, your physical address, and your email address, for communication and record-keeping purposes. (These will not be shared publicly.)

FINALLY, PLEASE NOTE

All poems submitted must be the work of the submitter.
Poems that have appeared in any prior Southern California Haiku Study Group anthology are disqualified.
Final selections rest exclusively with the anthology editors.
The anthology editor may contact the submitter to discuss poems and possible editorial suggestions in cases where a poem is unpublished.
No photographs and/or artwork are being sought or accepted at this time. If photographs and/or artwork are sought, a separate call for submissions will be announced at a later date.
In keeping with historical practice, the title of the 2022 Southern California Haiku Study Group anthology will be selected from among the poems submitted and announced at a later date.

We look forward to receiving your submissions!
Your 2022 Editorial Staff

Kathabela Wilson: Haiku Submissions
Marcyn Del Clements: Haibun Submissions
Lorraine Padden: Linked Verse Submissions