I started this blog, appropriately, on April 1, 2007, with the intent of writing one haiku a day for a year, which I did for well over 2 years. Most haiku experts will admit that none of those first verses qualifies as haiku. It has been a journey, one I am deeply grateful to have your friendship and kindness as I made my way.
Writing a daily haiku feels more like work than an interesting challenge these days. I need to be untethered from the calendar and write as moved, which I hope doesn't become too infrequent. I have felt anxiety, not wanting to let my readers down. I am so grateful for your support.
I have another challenge I am not sure how to approach. Most journals are now accepting haiku that have not appeared in print or on line in any forum. I need to think about whether the day-to-day camaraderie and support I get is more important to me than publishing. I could post here the haiku I don't intend on submitting, but a) it's hard to know how good a poem is sometimes when it's fresh, whether it's a keeper or not, and b) I don't want the quality of my blog to consist only of the sub-par haiku. I welcome your advice. I don't like feeling like I have to choose between my blog and publishing. Suggestions?
I've renamed the blog to break from the daily commitment. I am using a line from a haibun and what will be the title of my book, the rising mist. The URL remains the same.
Warmest thanks,
Nora
"Art does not reflect the visible; rather, it makes visible" ~Paul Klee
12 comments:
Love the new blog name, Nora :)
Suggestions --Not me, not in anyway qualified....would love to read you, always :)
best wishes,
devika
Dear Nora, the big dilemma.. that is one reason I have stopped posting on the blog myself. Keep the blog, post haiku once they have been published and some other occasional poems you may feel like… The camaraderie, the distance, and in some ways the anonymity of blogging can be very important at some stage, when we start to do something. Life moves on… Do what is best, yes, of course you go for publishing! But stay around too, we can keep in touch, continue to support one another. I look forward to N.W. Haiku collection soon! Lots of good wishes.
Note to Devika, I see you are still without "comments", (so am I) Devika if you are on Facebook, pass by the Four Seasons of Haiku 'fan page', would love to stay in touch, now we are all going off blogging;) Or email me at info@owlnight.com Regards, Beatrice
Nora, with your permission
Hi Beatrice,
so thanks for that message and taking time and effort to write me here,
I am not on Facebook and i don't think i would choose to be there...But Four Season -- i sure will be there...had been a bit busy these days; may be in a weeks time i'll start visiting regularly..i love keeping in touch too...and been to your blog few times, but then saw that comments were off :)
"now we are all going off blogging"...please don't say so, Beatrice..its hard to hold on, but we have been doing so much, i guess...and i too think and wish we stay to support each other,
wishes,
devika
Good for you! Transition and change, necessary for growth. Chapters close, chapters open. Best wishes with publishing.
nora-
i like what beatrice said about post-publishing. i like the links to your published works, too. you should just post when you feel like it - that would seem in the spirit of haiku.
as far as the one-a-day goes, you are the champion. i could never do it with such quality. i will write several i think are good one day, but then toss or almost always rewrite them. and then there are the weeks with no inspiration or inspiration with crappy results.
whatever you do, i have appreciated getting to know you through your blog, which has become a part of my daily routine.
thanks.
alan
Thank you all for your good advice and encouragement! Please keep in touch. I already miss the daily rhythm.
for me this probably never be a dillemma ever - I do not think that I can deliver the quality to make to publish (other than my own pdf files (where I'm in charge)) - so for me the weblog world is it, if I stopped writing here there is only the drawer left.
I am at the moment on Facebook, but to be frank I wont be for long - I do not like the concept and can not get it to work right.
I write and publish on my weblog although I forfeit the opportunity to real publishing, but that is my choice.
Make the choice that work for you.
i have read you quietly for a while.
as a writer, i write for myself first and then for readership.
if publishing your work is important to you, then you will need to claim that square without regret.
as Beatrice commented, you can always post your work on your blog after publication.
my best to you, Nora.
Thank you, anonymous. I appreciate your reading and sincere advice. Cheers!
I enjoy the thrill of seeing one of my poems in "print" somewhere, yet I love the immediacy of posting on the blog whenever I feel I have something I want to share.
I decided to keep posting damn near everything I write, because, frankly, the web pages ain't payin' me a dime.
Kukai for prizes may be another subject, since I need every penny I can get my grubby little paws on,
but I may have become a little too "gendai" for most English language tastes.
As for publicity for publishing? I'll give it a few years. In the least, I need seasoning.
I wasn't going to post this until I saw the Word Verification:
WARPO
I
Nora -- Coming in on this chat a bit late, but I did want to add my thoughts on blogging. I, too, tried to take a break back in September from my other blog for art. The pressure "to produce for others" became too much. I gave myself permission to step away. It sometimes feels competitive to keep posting something, anything up for all to see. Stay true to yourself, write for yourself. If nothing else, your blog is a good tool for recording your writings! I'm adding you to my favorites on my blog -- of course, no pressure (ha!) -- Take care!
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