Tag: The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology Page 1 of 2

The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Focus on Flo Au & Siddhi Pawar

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On October 3, 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, Flo Au and Siddhi Pawar are telling us what inspired the haiku & senryu they sent us.

Flo Au

Flo Au’s poetry has received many accolades, including commendation in Norman Nicholson Lockdown Poetry Competition 2020 and a top 10 finalist spot in Voice of Peace: 1st International Poetry And Short Story 2021 Asia Edition. Her monologue was also selected to be one of the top 30 in Lancaster One Minute Monologue 2021.

Flo has three haiku featured in Volume 3:

Haiku give me the opportunity to explore the relationship between Nature and us in the form of three lines. I love to write and read haiku poems. I also enjoy how we can pay more attention to our surroundings through words. With only a few words, we connect to Nature and relate our stories to it. We can ponder over the images, release our emotions and distract ourselves from the anxiety of life.

The aesthetic quality of haiku lies in their conciseness and precision. I am always inspired and enthralled by how a few words can tell a long tale and how silence can convey messages. These are the reasons why I wrote those poems.

Siddhi Pawar

Siddhi Pawar is an eighteen year old who finds her heart in literature and poetry. She believes that there is positivity everywhere in the nature around us.

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

Siddhi has two haiku featured in Volume 3:

#1 – I was on a visit to the town of Manali when I came across pastures, a shade of green that I had never seen before. It made me want to stop and observe them. Little did I know that a colourful treasure awaited me in the next few moments. 

#2 – Summer vacations mean beaches, a mixture of sea, sky and warm breeze. Gazing upon the waters of an ocean is inspiration in itself!

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

Today’s instalment concludes our mini-series. We hope that you enjoyed learning more about our contributors and what inspired them.

Don’t forget to pick up your copies of The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Volumes 1-3!

The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology

Cendrine & David

The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Focus on Ellen Tandojo & Joelle A Godfrey

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On September 12, 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, Ellen Tandojo and Joelle A Godfrey are telling us what inspired the haiku & senryu they sent us.

Ellen Tandojo

Ellen Tandojo, Jakarta-born and raised, is a student of the life sciences. In between lectures, she sorts insect samples in a lab and writes letters to her long-distance family and partner.

Website: https://disastereomere.wixsite.com/loveforbreakfast

Ellen has three haiku featured in Volume 1:

The classical haiku poets drew inspiration from their feelings about the natural world. I wrote these haiku in the space of time between winter and spring, which is also unfortunately the exam period where I am studying. The promise that spring (and the end of my exams) is around the corner, and the longing for endless days under the sun when I finally get to see my long-distance partner, is truly a powerful driving force!

I hope these haiku remind us all of springtime and the warmth of summer that follows.

Joelle A Godfrey

Joelle A Godfrey is a project manager, anime lover, poet, and fantasy / science fiction writer. When she is not writing, she enjoys listening to D&D podcasts, taking theology courses, playing video games, reading, and knitting.

Website: https://linktr.ee/jgodfrey

Joelle has four haiku featured in Volume 1:

Most of my haiku were inspired by being in nature: Walking on sunny days at the Morton Arboretum, sitting around a campfire on a summer night, and visiting a temple in Japan on a rainy day in late summer 2010. 

Ellen and Joelle, 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 copies of The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Volumes 1 & 2!

The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology

And don’t forget, volume 3 will be out in a few weeks!

Cendrine & David

The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Focus on Julie Blitzer & Larissa Pereira Moraes

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On August 29, 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, Julie Blitzer and Larissa Pereira Moraes are telling us what inspired the haiku & senryu they sent us.

Julie Blitzer

Julie Blitzer thrives on creating opportunities to support people in self-reflection and inquiry, as she believes these practices are fundamental to experiencing aliveness. She does this as a Grief Recovery Method® Specialist, end-of-life doula, Hoffman Process graduate leader, JourneyDance FacilitatorTM, wife, mother, hospice volunteer, community builder, and budding writer.

Website: https://www.authenticmatters.net

Julie has nine haiku featured in Volume 2 and is sharing what inspired two of them:

“Duality” was inspired by a dharma talk given at the start of a yoga class that I attended years ago. It came to mind recently because I am getting more involved in the “Death Positive” movement. I’m hopeful that our culture remembers that embracing death is actually life-affirming. 

“Receiving” was inspired by a painting that I discovered after unpacking from a move. The subject in the painting has an outstretched arm with something white in her hand. It’s a beautiful depiction of one side of a peaceful exchange.

Larissa Pereira Moraes

Larissa Pereira Moraes was born in Brazil but feels more Indian than Brazilian, having lived there for 15 years. Her passion for poetry started at a young age, always writing (and drawing) stories capturing her vast imagination and experiences. From writing to learning new things, she is always up for a new, exciting challenge!

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larissa-p-moraes

Larissa has eight haiku featured in Volume 2:

This was my first ever attempt at writing haiku and senryu, so the challenge was quite exciting. I particularly enjoyed the theme of positivity that Aurora and Blossoms brought to the table because oftentimes I find inspiration in the opposite.

So, when writing my selected haiku, I found inspiration in the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth. Nature can be an escape to our hardships, especially when there is nowhere to run. Even something, as simple as looking at the clouds, can embrace us in a comforting consolation. And I found that to be the main source of inspiration for my poems, even those not directly referencing nature.

With that being said, I find myself maturing with the seasons, and then starting all over again. These haiku serve as a reminder, to me, that there will be moments in our life that we feel completely alone and that it won’t get better, but those moments will pass because every sunrise we get offers a chance to change our story. 

Julie and Larissa, 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 copies of The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology: Volumes 1 & 2!

The Auroras & Blossoms Haiku Anthology

And don’t forget, volume 3 will be out in a few weeks!

Cendrine & David

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

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