The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Focus on Diane Meyer Lowman & Mawadda Elbanhawy

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On August 15, 2023

In Inspirational Artist Series

Welcome to our mini-series on The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology, which celebrates the poets featured in volumes 1-3.

Today, Diane Meyer Lowman and Mawadda Elbanhawy are telling us what inspired the haiku & senryu they sent us.

Diane Meyer Lowman

Diane Meyer Lowman is the Poet Laureate Emeritus of Westport, Connecticut, and the first person named to the position. She is an award-winning essayist, and the author of the memoir Nothing But Blue. She has written over 2,000 haiku.

Website: https://www.dianemeyerlowman.com

Diane has three haiku featured in Volume 1:

I have written a daily haiku for over seven years and superimposed them on photographs I’ve taken. Sometimes the photograph inspires the poem; sometimes I look to take a picture of something that speaks to what I’m feeling. It’s like journaling for me.

I love the haiku form because it forces a discipline that makes me distill and condense my thoughts and impressions. I hope, in seventeen syllables, to convey a whole snapshot of a moment in time. For this reason, it’s especially meaningful to me to combine them with the photographs. 

Mawadda Elbanhawy

Mawadda Elbanhawy is an undergraduate student pursuing Development and International Relations studies. She likes to express herself through many forms of art, including poetry. She hopes to inspire people to try new and unfamiliar things despite the initial fear of failure.

Website: https://www.instagram.com/iammawadda

Mawadda has three haiku featured in Volume 2:

What inspired the first haiku is my love for the cultural aspect of tea. Almost every nation has their own unique way of making it, which reflects their history and native plants. For me, adding honey to tea and watching the mixture come to life gave me the sudden realization of all the cultural beliefs associated with mixing the ingredients.

For the second haiku, I was talking to my friend about how mothers are often the pillars of their family, and I was inspired with the idea of the paperweight of my life when I was pondering what my mom meant to me. 

Diane and Mawadda, thank you for sharing what inspired your haiku. We are honored that you sent us your work.

See you soon for the next instalment in our series.

In the meantime, don’t forget to pick up your copy of The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Volume 1!

The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology

And don’t forget, volume 2 will be out next week!

Cendrine & David

The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Focus on Isabella Mori & Steven-Mark Maine

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On August 1, 2023

In Inspirational Artist Series

Welcome to our mini-series on The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology, which celebrates the poets featured in volumes 1-3.

Today, Isabella Mori and Steven-Mark Maine are telling us what inspired the haiku & senryu they sent us.

Isabella Mori

Isabella Mori lives in Vancouver, Canada, and is the author of three books of and about poetry, including Not So Pretty Haiku. They also write fiction and nonfiction. Publications have been in places such as The Group Of Seven Reimagined. Isabella is the founder of Muriel’s Journey Poetry Prize.

Website: https://moritherapy.org

Isabella has nine haiku and senryu featured in Volume 1:

Three of my senryu in this collection are all about beginnings – a song not sung yet, the first fish moving onto land, a new connection in the brain. I still feel the sense of freshness, like a bracing morning breeze, that inspired these poems.

The other senryu was written in an old hotel that, beginning in the 1930s, was the place for travellers visiting a then bustling paper mill town. The view out of the window was fascinating – the machinery, noise, and steam coming out of the still operating mill, and beyond it the ocean, still and serene.

The two autumn haiku can come from the fullness that accompanies that season – the harvest, the crackling fireplace. Comforting. Abundant.

Early spring is the inspiration of the other three haiku, and thus we come back to beginnings. The interlacing of the seasons in last year’s leaves under the blossoming cherry tree; the first daisies (always an exciting moment for me); and the lingering cold that I know won’t last because the rhododendrons are about to bloom.

Steven-Mark Maine

Steven-Mark Maine is a poet / author who usually spends his time sleeping, writing, or baking. He is currently working on his debut novel.

Website: https://universeodon.com/@StevenMarkAMaine

Steven-Mark has six haiku featured in Volume 1:

Hey, Steven-Mark A. Maine here. That’s two first names, not two middle ones. Just thought I’d get that out of the way.

Honestly, the biggest inspiration behind my poems, as cliche as it sounds, is my wife. I haven’t really had anyone as fully supportive of my writing as her, and I honestly wouldn’t have written these if she wasn’t in my life. She’s been the main driving force behind why I don’t just give up writing is because she loves what I write so much.

I mean, one of my haiku (“Salt,” to be exact) is fully inspired by a true story. No, I will not tell that story here. You’ll just have to read it.

So yeah. I know it’s cheesy. I know that it’s an age-old stereotype. But hey, plenty of writer’s have cited their spouse as inspiration, is it so wrong if I do too?

Isabella and Steven-Mark, thank you for sharing what inspired your haiku & senryu. We are honored that you sent us your work.

See you soon for the next instalment in our series.

In the meantime, don’t forget to pick up your copy of The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Volume 1!

The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology

Cendrine & David

The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Focus on Nichola Napora & Tom Heath

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On July 25, 2023

In Inspirational Artist Series

Welcome to our mini-series on The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology, which celebrates the poets featured in volumes 1-3.

Today, Nichola Napora and Tom Heath are telling us what inspired the haiku they sent us.

Nichola Napora

Nichola Napora is full of surprises. She shares awe and magic with effervescence and deep love. A curious writer and a multidisciplinary artist, she mixes awareness and dedication with an intuitive response to the craft at hand. She is continually evolving how she creates and interfaces with life on this amazing planet.

Website: https://www.mysticpeaks.com

Nichola has five haiku featured in Volume 1:

Connection is our medicine. Poetry, especially in short form like a haiku, is akin to a capsule of medicine. Nectar from a wildflower. The sweetness of life extracted. Writing, sharing, and reading poems is a balm for the heart, soul, and body-mind all at once. It makes my spirit sing.

This depth of connection creates a spark overflowing with reciprocity. Creativity is the new currency and when rooted in generosity it is pure magic. Auroras and Blossoms is abundant in this as they bring innovative and playful work into the world with care and intention. It is my pleasure and part of my activism to be a part of this beautiful and inspired offer to the collective.  

Tom Heath

Tom Heath is a poet and stage writer based in Nottingham, UK, who specialises in live performance fusions of music, poetry and digital art. He focuses on transforming derelict and industrial spaces into places of performance, creativity and accessibility. He is currently working on his first anthology of work.

Website: https://thepennydream.wordpress.com

Tom has ten haiku featured in Volume 1:

I often struggle to express myself because I don’t focus on the small things enough. The unnoticed and the tiny movements of the everyday speak volumes. That’s what I find so liberating about Haiku, and how I went about writing these pieces as a way to embrace that.

Nichola and Tom, thank you for sharing what inspired your haiku. We are honored that you sent us your work.

See you next week for the next instalment in our series.

In the meantime, don’t forget to pick up your copy of The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Volume 1!

The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology

Cendrine & David

The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Volume 1 Is out Today!

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On July 18, 2023

In Announcements

The wait is over! The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Volume 1 is here!

Welcome to an incredible series of haiku and senryu compiled by Cendrine Marrouat and David Ellis from Auroras & Blossoms.

Feast your senses on a unique collection that is moving, thought-provoking, inspirational, hauntingly beautiful and deeply insightful.

This anthology is a delightful showcase of superbly crafted poetry that is extremely easy to get into but handsomely rewards the reader with each subtle nuance and twist. It is like spending time with loved ones and old friends, comforting in the extreme, endlessly endearing and so compelling, you will never want the experience to end!

Contributors to Volume 1 include Sergio Coronel, Paula Frew, Precious Gauthier, Joelle A Godfrey, Tom Heath, Molly James, Stephanie Jane, Diane Meyer Lowman, Steven-Mark Maine, Isabella Mori, Kari Moss, Nichola Napora, Samantha Ortega, Felicia Prevo, Marjolein Rotsteeg, Pallavi Suri, Ellen Tandojo, Amanda Weir- Gertzog, Jamie Wimberly, Julia Yong LaFrance, and Jade Young.

Price: $3.99 $1.99. (This limited offer ends on August 1, 2023.)

Click here to purchase your copy

NB: We do not accept direct payment for the anthology. You have to purchase directly from one of the online stores on the page. That is how our contributors can be paid.

If you don’t see your favorite online store in the list, please wait a couple of days, and it should appear.

Promo Banner for Our Contributors!

For those interested in sharing the news with their audiences, here is a promo banner. Display it proudly on your website, blog, and/or social media!

Don’t forget to link to the book’s page: https://abpositiveart.com/haiku

What’s Next?

The next two volumes in our series will be released later this year:

  • Volume 2 – August 22, 2023
  • Volume 3 – September 28, 2023

Next week, we will start a series of blog posts, in which some contributors share what inspired the haiku we selected. We know you will love it.

That’s it for today! We hope you will enjoy Volume 1 as much as we do!

Have a wonderful week!

Cendrine & David

The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Announcing the Release Dates for Volumes 1-3!

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On July 10, 2023

In Announcements

Hello everyone!

That’s it, The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology will soon be here!

How soon? Well, check out the answers below:

  • Volume 1 – July 18, 2023
  • Volume 2 – August 22, 2023
  • Volume 3 – September 28, 2023

Check out our trailer!

A Few of Your Questions Answered

Many of you have emailed us with questions regarding the Haiku Anthology. Here are our answers.

  • Special release price: People interested in purchasing copies of each volume of the anthology, will be able to do so at 50% off of the retail price for two weeks, starting on publication day.
  • Availability: Each volume will be available for purchase from every major online bookstore except for Amazon. The company has a zero-tolerance policy towards non-original content. If something is freely available on the Internet (and social media), Amazon does not allow you to use it in a paid ebook.
  • Print copies: There are no immediate plans for print versions.

That’s it for today! We cannot wait to release Volume 1!

In the meantime, have a wonderful week!

Cendrine & David

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