This months poetry assignment at Coffee House Writers is to read the traditional Japanese writer, Matsuo Basho’s 10 top Haiku, and then try to write a Traditional style Haiku. I think my Haiku here might get me a ‘pass’ for the assignment …
As usual, during our morning walkie, I take numerous photos, and sometimes the iPhone pic’s instantly inspires a visual idea and later helps prompt me to write about those thoughts … This afternoon I created two Haiku, and then I thought they would be suited to be coupled as one piece. So, here are my photos and the associated ‘Double Haiku’
Hello dear readers and followers … Party Time is here, with the announcement Date for the Launch of my second Book “Perceptions” … A Collaboration of Derrick Knight’s Photos and my associated Ekphrastic Poems …
And here ‘again’ is Ingrid Wilson’s fabulous Book Review of “Perceptions” Please visit her wonderful site >> https://experimentsinfiction.com/
Perceptions by Ivor Steven and Derrick Knight
Perceptions is a cross-continental collaboration from poet Ivor Steven (Australia) and photographer Derrick J. Knight (United Kingdom). Here are dragons, faeries, foals and swans captured in verse and image, which complement one another perfectly. The images are predominantly of nature, and perhaps reflect humanity’s struggle to find a place within the natural world, in the ruins of so-called ‘progress’, as evinced by Ivor’s poem, ‘Mankind’s Dirty Hands:’
within nature’s naked forest waiting for mankind’s dirty hands to stop the desert sands from ravaging the last strands of what remains hanging over our land
The poems are a mixture of haiku, senryu and longer poems featuring Ivor’s trademark end-rhymes:
All the world is green within my midday dream please, do not disturb me let me sleep, let me be – (from the poem, ‘There Will Be An Answer’)
Other contributors who deserve credit are Derrick’s wife, Jackie Knight, who has provided some excellent photography (I particularly like her images of birds) and of course, Ivor’s niece, Kerri Costello, who designed the cover, and linked the book to yet another continent (she lives in Philadelphia, USA).
The book (available from Lulu) is a fortuitous combination of verse and image. Despite his own advice to the contrary in the section ‘Do not quote me,’ I will end with what strikes me as a most pertinent quote from Ivor:
“A poet following a poet, gives you poetry in motion.”
It is a testament to the friendships formed on WordPress that these two artists have been able to collaborate successfully and bring this globe-spanning project to fruition!
Happy Reading, Ingrid Wilson
Editor & Publisher, Experiment in Fiction (England)
“As a poet, sometimes we confuse ourselves, Trying to create ashes, instead of fire ” — Leonard Cohen
Dear readers and followers, here’s a great opportunity for your writings to be read by other writers, and also to find and meet other writers. You are very welcome to participate, come along and visit our writer friendly site…..by clicking on the link at the bottom of this article >> Please Scroll Down to The End Of The Article, and click On …
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Welcome toPromote Yourself Monday. All Go Dog Go Cafe community members are invited to postonelink to one specific piece of their writing (600 words or less please!) they have published on their blog, Facebook page, or Instagram feed into the comments section below.
If you post a link, be sure to read some of the other great writing people have linked to.
On Weekly Prompts the Wednesday Challenge is the word: Wait. Please visit their fabulous site by clicking on >> Here My poem below is about ‘Waiting’ for the sunset.
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 