Issa de Mayo

On May 5, 2013, members of the New Orleans Haiku Society celebrated Issa's 250th birth anniversary with a picnic at the Labyrinth in Audubon Park. Issa was born on the fifth day of Fifth Month in 1763, which equates to June 15, 1763, on the Western calendar. Nevertheless, we have a tradition of celebrating Issa's birthday on May 5th (Cinco de Mayo), and this year was no exception.

Nicholas brought cupcakes appropriate to the occasion: frogs with sombreros.

A lovely spring day, perfect for haiku writing and, for Bob, flute playing.

party pic

Annual Party

Members of the New Orleans Haiku Society gathered at the house of co-founder Johnette Downing for our annual party: a celebration of haiku, good food, libations, games and a white elephant gift exchange (a practice that we picked up at the Haiku Society of America South meetings: people draw numbers and choose their gifts from a table in that order, with the stipulation that a gift can be "stolen" up to three times). We had much fun, and even managed to devote some time to a few serious matters: (1) preparations for the public reading that we will sponsor of the second annual National Haiku Poetry Day on April 17, and (2) discussion of the HSA meeting that we will host on the weekend of December 7-8. If you feel like visiting New Orleans next December (the weather is usually lovely!), come on down!

JAPANFEST 2012

On October 20th, 2012, members of the New Orleans Haiku Society manned an informational table at the annual Japanfest. In addition to passing out information about the group and about haiku, we invited everyone who visited our table to participate in a haiku contest. In the days after the festival, NOHS poets read all the entries and judged them. The results are below. The top three winners in both categories will receive haiku books.

CATEGORY 1: Under 18

FIRST PLACE:

touch me--
the sparkle of your pale skin
in the light of night

--Jei Vu

SECOND PLACE:

a thousand sounds
death of hearing
setsunai

--Kaylyn Smith

THIRD PLACE:

movement in the leaves
a leap, a yowl, fluttered wings
the cat missed again

--Betsy Hogan

CATEGORY 2: 18 and Over

FIRST PLACE:

a moon-pale woman's
parasol obscures the clouds
Orion's rising

--Mark Folse

SECOND PLACE:

a gentle breeze
water's edge
ripple

--Michael Vogt

THIRD PLACE:

breathing in the light
while living in the dark
we find eternal rest

--Jade Dedeaux

Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to all participants!

NOHS Monthly Meeting - June 2012

Join us at the Latter Library on June 18, 2012 from 6:00-7:45 for the regular monthly meeting of the New Orleans Haiku Society. Bring haiku to share with the group and feel free to join us for sushi dinner after the meeting a few blocks away at Kyoto Restaurant on Prytania Street.

Happy in haiku!

Shokan Tadashi Kondo Visit in March

We are thrilled to report that international renku master Shokan Tadashi Kondo will visit New Orleans in March.

Monday, March 19. 6:00 – 7:45 p.m. He will attend the regular monthly meeting of the New Orleans Haiku Society as our special guest reader. He will talk about renku informally and participate in our sharing and critique of haiku. 5120 St. Charles Avenue. This meeting is open to the public.

Wednesday, March 21. 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. He will give a talk at Xavier University of Louisiana on "A Brief History of Haiku and Renku." NCF Academic Science Building, Room 173. This lecture, sponsored by the Xavier English Department, is open to Xavier students, faculty, staff and to the general public.

Sunday, March 25. 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. "Renku Seminar: Form and Practice." He will lead a workshop to write a short form of renku. All are invited. Latter Library, 5120 St. Charles Avenue.

Japan Fest a Great Success!

On October 8, 2011, members of the New Orleans Haiku Society manned an informational table at Japan Fest, held in the New Orleans Museum of Art. We set up our post in the medeival art room, surrounded by beautiful religious works of art. This year, we decided to sponsor a haiku contest, the winners of which would receive a haiku book in the mail. We had two categories: children under 18 and adults. For the children's category we had ten entries; for the adults' we had twenty-five. Members read all of the entries and voted online. There were so many fine haiku, it was a difficult decision to make, but somehow we managed to pick these two winners:

THE UNDER 18 WINNER IS...

golden beaches
lovely sand flowers
shark waters
--Je'on Domingue

THE ADULT WINNER IS...

morning crescent moon
smile white in Pueblo sky
reminds me to call
--Mark Folse

Congratulations to Je'on and Mark, and thank you, all participants! Maybe we'll see some of you at a future meeting (third Monday of the month, 6 p.m., Latter Library!).

NOHS Monthly Meetings - June 2011

Love haiku? Want to learn more about haiku? Are you a haiku groupie? So are we!

Join us for the next meeting of the New Orleans Haiku Society on June 20, 2011 from 6:00-7:45 at the Milton Latter Library, 5120 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA. The meetings are free and open to the public. Feel free to bring haiku to share with the group. Or bring a book of your favorite haiku to share.

Dinner at Kyoto Restaurant on Prytania follows the meeting.

Maple Leaf Bar Poetry Reading

On Sunday, May 22, 2011, the NOHS were guest poets at the weekly Maple Leaf Bar Poetry Readings on Oak Street in New Orleans, LA as part of the closing activites of the Haiku Society of America's Southern quarterly meeting. Visiting haiku poets from Georgia and Arkansas joined the ensemble for an enjoyable afternoon of haiku.

Thanks Nancy for your continued service and passion for poetry as the host of the Maple Leaf Bar Poetry Readings for numerous years and thanks for inviting us to read.

HSA South Meeting Agenda

Haiku Society of America South Region Conference

May 21-22, 2011.

Friday, May 20. There is no official activity, but all participants are invited to meet in the French Quarter for drinks and dinner, 7:00 p.m., restaurant TBA.

Saturday, May 21. The conference will be held in the Latter Library, 5120 St. Charles Avenue.

10:00 – 10:30 Welcome: a haiku read-around
10:30 – 11:45 Tom Painting, "What's Lurking?" a workshop
11:45 – 12:45 Juliet Seer Pazera, "Tarot Haiku"
1:00 – 2:15 Lunch at Kyoto Restaurant, 4920 Prytania Street
2:30 – 3:30 Carlos Colon and Johnette Downing, "Haiku Jazz Duet"
3:30 – 4:00 Johnye Strickland, "HSA South Business"
4:00 – 5:00 Chibi, "Interactive Renku with Skype"

All participants are invited to dinner and a party at David Lanoue’s house, 7:00 p.m., provided by the New Orleans Haiku Society. At the party, we plan to play a game of “Evil Santa”: everyone brings a present (under $20) and the game will begin!

Sunday, May 22. Haiku Walk and Kukai in Audubon Park. We’ll meet at 11:00 a.m. at the fountain on the St. Charles Avenue side of the park. After walking and writing haiku for an hour, we reconvene at the fountain at noon to share our poems. Lunch will follow (we’ll have a list of possible restaurants along the streetcar line). Finally, at 3:00 p.m. (officially, but 3:30 is more realistic), we meet in the courtyard of the Maple Leaf Bar, 8316 Oak Street, for a public reading of haiku by all conference participants.

NOHS on Americas Greatest Otaku!

The New Orleans Haiku Society recently appeared on the hit Japanese Pop culture TV show Americas Greatest Otaku. Check out the video:


http://www.hulu.com/watch/230995/americas-greatest-otaku-big-easy-otaku#s-p1-so-i0

Congratulations to Karel!

NOHS member Karel Sloan-Boekbinder was recently honored with a Big Easy Tribute to the Classic Arts Award for her work in poetic theatre. In addition, the play that she conceived and co-wrote, Amusing, won multiple awards, including Best Performance, from the American Association of Community Theatre. Way to go, Karel!

Crude Haiku, oil poems

NOHS co-founder Johnette Downing has edited a fund-raising booklet of haiku inspired by the BP oil disaster titled: Crude Haiku, oil poems. All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to support the coastal restoration and animal preservation and conservation. The booklet (8 pages, side-stapled) contains 34 haiku written by thirteen Louisiana poets with help from Fay Aoyagi, Dennis Holmes (Chibi), Emiko Miyashita, Sakuo Nakamura and Luce Pelletier. on the nautical chart a black rose drops its petals --Fay Aoyagi pre-blackened fish bp marinade --Mary Emma Dutreix Pierson Here is how to order: Send a self-addressed stamped 6x9 envelope with a suggested $5.00 donation (though any amount is welcome) to: Johnette Downing Crude Haiku P. O. Box 13367 New Orleans, LA 70185

HSA South Region Meeting - Other Hotels

In addition to the two hotels that we recommended in an earlier post, see this web page for dozens of bed-and-breakfast possibilities in New Orleans:

http://bedandbreakfast.com/new-orleans-louisiana.html

We hope to see you in New Orleans May 20-22, 2011!

HSA South Region Meeting - Hotels

We've lined up our first two hotel recommendations for the conference, May 20-22. Both are located on streetcar lines, which will make travel to and from the conference site quite easy.

The conference site for Saturday, May 21st, will be the Latter Library at 5120 St. Charles Avenue, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Our first hotel recommendation is on St. Charles Avenue, just walking distance from the conference site or a five-minute streetcar ride: Parkview Guest House, a bed-and-breakfast in a renovated mansion. They are holding rooms for us under the code word, "Haiku Society of America." Call 888-533-0746 before March 20th to reserve a room. The room prices range from $159 to $189 a night, but note that some of the rooms have two beds, which makes it possible for people to share the room and cost, if desired. By New Orleans standards, these prices aren't bad.

Here's their website with pictures:

www.parkviewguesthouse.com

Our second recommendation is farther away but much cheaper. The India House is a hostel located on 124 S. Lopez Street, just a block from Canal and the red streetcar line. To go to the conference site, you would ride the red streetcar toward downtown, then transfer to the green St. Charles streetcar. The ride, taking into account waiting time for the green streetcar, could take the better part of an hour, so an early start would be necessary. But the rooms are nice, the price is low, and the streetcar rides to and from India House provide a nice tour of a lot of New Orleans. They have private rooms--some with private bathrooms, some with shared bathrooms, in the $45 - $55 range. Call 504-821-1904 to reserve your room (and mention the Haiku Society of America). Here's their website:

www.indiahousehostel.com

If these two hotels fill up, just contact me (david1gerard@hotmail.com) and I'll recommend others. It might be difficult to book a room in a large downtown hotel (I've been told that there will be two major conferences downtown that weekend), but New Orleans has lots of small bed-and-breakfast places.

HSA South Regional Meeting in New Orleans

The NOHS will host the Haiku Society of America's South Regional Conference on May 20-22, 2011. As details become available concerning the program and hotel availability, we will post them here on our blog--so stay tuned!

NOHS Annual Party

NOHS had it's annual party on January 17, 2011 at Johnette's house. The theme this year was "Haiku Fiesta" in an attempt to warm up January with merriment and haiku. Fiesta goers arrived with "fiesta" haiku ready to read as part of the party haiku assignment. The annual White Elephant gift sharing was a highlight.

February Meeting

The February meeting of the New Orleans Haiku Society was well attended by Juliet, Bob, Allison, Emma, Ed, Nicholas, Karel, T.J., David and Johnette.

Stay tuned for upcoming news about the Haiku Society of America Southeast Regional Meeting which will be hosted by NOHS in May 2011.

Join us for our next monthly meeting scheduled for March 21, 2011 from 6:00-7:45 p.m. at the Milton Latter Library on St. Charles Avenue in NOLA.

January Meeting

The NOHS will not host its regular monthly meeting at the Latter Library on January 17, 2011 because the library is closed for MLK holiday. Please join us on February 21, 2011 at 6:00 at the Latter Library, 5120 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA.

NOHS Monthly Meeting - November 2010

We'll be back in our regular meeting spot in the newly renovated Milton Latter Library at 5120 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA on November 15, 2010 from 6:00-7:45 p.m. Sushi dinner at Kyoto Restaurant on Prytania St. begins at 8:00 p.m. Bring some haiku to share at the meetings. Meetings are free and open to the public.

We had an assignment for the November meeting if you wish to participate.

November Assignment

Write a 5-7-5 haiku using "camping with Jesus" somewhere in the poem.

See you there!

NOHS Members Attend the HSA Southern Region Conference

Haiku Society of America - Southern Region Conference

On November 4-5, 2010, five members of the New Orleans Haiku Society attended the Southern Regional Conference of the Haiku Society of America: Allison, Bob, Chibi, David, Juliet and Nicholas. It was a splendid meeting. David gave a workshop on ways to read avant-garde haiku ("Atom Heart Mother" quickly became the weekend's buzz-word). There was also an editing workshop, a haiku walk in woods that emitted dragon-breath steam from deep in the earth, a Japanese-style kukai (a sort of contest/critique session) and, among other highlights, a visit from Haiku Elvis, performed by Carlos Colon.

NOHS Monthly Meeting - July 2010

The next meeting of the NOHS will take place on July 19, 2010 from 6:00-7:45 p.m. at the Milton Latter Library at 5120 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA. Bring haiku to share with the group and feel free to join us for sushi dinner afterwards at Kyoto Restaurant on Prytania St. near the library.

4th of July Party

The NOHS celebrated the Fourth of July with a party hosted by David and Kathleen. Part of the festivities included watching a re-run of the New Orleans Saints football team winning the Super Bowl! We got nervous and excited all over again as "Who Dat" fans. There was plenty of yummy food and merriment as well as a "football" renga.

Thanks David and Kathleen for a great party!

NOHS Monthly Meeting

Our next monthly meeting is scheduled for May 17, 2010 from 6:00-7:45 p.m. at the Milton Latter Library at 5120 St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans, LA.

The meetings are free and open to the public.

This month we have an assignment. Write a haiku about George Rodrigue's Blue Dog. For more information about the infamous Blue Dog, visit: http://www.georgerodrigue.com/ Bring your Blue Dog haiku to the next meeting to share.

Hope to see you there.

Issa's 10th Year Celebration

Issa's 10th Year Celebration

On May 1st, 2010, members of the New Orleans Haiku Society had a party to honor the tenth anniversary of the Haiku of Kobayashi Issa website. Check out the photos:


http://haikuguy.com/may10.html

Also, feel free to post a comment on the Issa Wall at:

http://haikuguy.com/issa/commentwall.html

Chibi Visits NOHS

On April 12-13 haiku poet Chibi (AKA Dennis) came down from his home in Georgia for a New Orleans visit. Due to schedule conflicts, not many members of the NOHS were able to enjoy his company, but I was one of the lucky two. On the clear, starry evening of April 12th, Chibi and I had a nice dinner at Coop's Place in the French Quarter, after which we claimed a table in the courtyard of Pat O'Briens. There, we wrote a 25-verse "drunken renku"--a true pleasure that was interrupted twice by people going up to Chibi and tugging at his beard, just to see if it was real. Next day, Chibi repeated the renku exercise, this time with NOHS member Juliet and without the inspiration of alcohol or beard-tuggers--resulting in a much more coherent end-product!

Pictured: me and Chibi at Pat O'Briens.

-David Lanoue

And Chibi writes this about his visit:

As to my visit to New Orleans, I met David for dinner at Coops and we ended up drinking and composing "barku/beerku" at Pat O'Brians. David and I talked about kigo in haiku and about our mutual friend and renku master, Professor Shokan Tadashi Kondo which we both have met in Tokyo, Japan. David and I composed a renga which is posted in neworleanshaikusociety yahoo group along with a few night-life photos at Pat's. I was also fortunate to be able to meet Juliet on another day for dinner at Bamboo, a vegetarian resturant in the French Quarter. Juliet and I composed a juunichou over dinner. We talked and ate between composing verse. I had the popular, Abita Strawberry ale and a vegetable quesadilla. I also posted Juliet and my juunichou on the yahoo group.

I was in New Orleans with my wife, Debbie, while she attended a three day conference on disaster management at Tulane. I also went to Audubon Park on the last day of our visit. I took photos of the park including the snowy egret rookery.

-Chibi

Birthday Wishes

Happy March Birthday Juliet!

Happy April Birthday Bob!

April Haiku Walk

Four members of the NOHS went on a haiku walk in Algiers Point on Sunday, April 18, 2010 from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. The "walk" included a "ride," a ferry ride across the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Algiers. In attendance were Kathleen, Juliet, David and Johnette. The quartet walked along the levee, down the Jazz Walk of Fame and through Riverfest, a festival that was going on providing a sound scape of Jazz to inspire poets. We shared our haiku and had lunch at the Dry Dock Cafe and then boarded the ferry back across the River to New Orleans. The escape from New Orleans, though not far away, provided a nice view of our beloved City. We parted ways at Decatur Street where Juliet began her journey home on foot, and Kathleen, David and Johnette took the streetcar to their respective homes. It was beautiful day to be outdoors and to write and share haiku with friends.

April 2010 Meeting Notes

It was a fine meeting, I thought. Nice to see two new people come in: David and Allison. David is quite a quick composer, writing haiku on the spot. And Allison, coming from the 5-7-5 school, has a masterful and sensitive way with words. I hope that we'll be seeing more of both of them.

We shared and discussed the haiku that Sakuo sent us from him and his friends Tomiko and Koubushin.

-David Lanoue

NOHS Monthly Meeting - April 2010

Put some "spring" into your step and join us for our spring haiku meeting on April 19, 2010 from 6:00-7:45 p.m. at the Milton Latter Library at 5120 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA. We welcome haiku poets of all levels and the meetings are free and open to the public. Bring some of your own haiku to share or bring a book of haiku from which to read. You won't want to miss dinner at Kyoto Restaurant afterwards.

See you there!

National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month!

Here are a few ways you can celebrate poetry this month:

1) read poetry alone or with friends

2) attend a poetry reading

3) participate in a poetry reading

4) purchase or check out books of poetry to support poets and the art of poetry

5) write poetry

6) join a poetry group

7) join a poetry organization

8) attend a poetry conference

9) host a poetry party or event

10) share poetry with children or the elderly

11) attend a poetry party or event

12) subscribe to poetry journals and magazines

13) subscribe to online poetry journals and magazines

14) share and promote poetry on social networking sites

15) send a poet chocolate...(did I say that out loud? Hmmm.)

NOHS Annual Party

We had our annual NOHS party in March instead of January this year. March is our anniversary month, making the NOHS eight years old! Hurrah!

The party was hosted on March 20, 2010 by Johnette at her house and in attendance were Karel, T.J., Leo, Bob, Nicholas, Juliet, Emma, Ed, Kathleen, David and Johnette. The party began with two games; one was a party renga (which will be posted on the Blog later) and the second was a "who wrote this haiku" guessing game. Each participant wrote an anonymous haiku on an index card and placed the card in a bowl. The haiku were then taken out of the bowl one at a time and read. At the end of the reading, participants had to guess the author of each haiku.

Plenty of food, drink, haiku reading and merriment were shared throughout the evening. The party ended with the annual "White Elephant" gift exchange game.

Feel free to view some of the photos David took during the party at http://haikuguy.com/mar10.html

March Meeting Notes

The March meeting of the NOHS on March 15, 2010 was short, but sweet. In attendance were Bob, Nicholas, Juliet, David and Johnette. David and Juliet shared a drinking renga they had written one night in a bar. Bob shared some haiku about purging clutter from his house, Nicholas shared some of his famous "death-ku" and Johnette shared some St. Patrick's parade-ku. Ironically, despite the drinking renga and the St. Patrick's Day parade haiku, the group's creativity seemed to be dry this month making the meeting shorter than usual; therefore, the group headed over to Kyoto for a sushi dinner and a little inspiration.

Join us for the next meeting on April 19, 2010 from 6:00-7:45 p.m.

NOHS February Meeting Notes

The February meeting proved to be interesting from a geographical standpoint. Haiku poet Bob Moyer from Winston-Salem, NC was in town working on a theatre project and joined us at the meeting. David read some haiku from a poet in Columbia named Humberto Senegal as well as from our online members Emiko and Sakuo in Japan. Nicholas invited two guests named Charlene and Katie, so we had a full house. In attendance were Bob Moyer, Nicholas, Karel, T.J., Carolyn, Bob, Juliet, Charlene, Katie, David and Johnette.

The haiku read last night covered topics such as the New Orleans Saints, Who Dats, beer, strippers, New Orleans, relationships, families, newspaper headlines, politicians, Korea, Christmas, the New Year and cherry blossoms.

We'll be back on our regular schedule in March so we hope to see you on March 15, 2010 at 6:00.

Until then, Happy Mardi Gras!!!

February 2010 Meeting Change

Due to Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras celebrations, the February 15, 2010 meeting for the NOHS has been changed to Monday, February 1, 2010 from 6:00-7:45 p.m. at the Milton Latter Library, 5120 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA. Sushi dinner at Kyoto Restaurant a few blocks from the library on Prytania Street follows the meeting.

Meetings are free and open to the public. Feel free to bring haiku to read at the meeting.

January Meeting Cancelled

The January 18, 2010 meeting for the New Orleans Haiku Society will be cancelled due the library closure for the Martin Luther King holiday. Please join us for our regularly scheduled meeting on February 15, 2010.

NOHS December Meeting Notes

The December meeting had a holiday feel as friends gathered to say goodbye to 2009 with haiku and sweet treats. In attendance were Bob, Karel, TJ, Carolyn, Nicholas, David and Johnette. Emma, Juliet, Sakuo, Emiko, Koubushin and Kazuyoshi sent poems to be read at the meeting in their absence.

The three-word haiku assignment was a huge success and even prompted some to write three-syllable haiku and three-letter haiku! Whoa! Now that's a challenge!

Sushi dinner at Kyoto was enjoyed after the meeting.

NOHS Monthly Meeting - December 2009

Join us for our last haiku meeting in the year 2009. The meeting will take place in our usual spot; the Pink Room, Milton Latter Library, St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA USA from 6:00-7:45. Bring some haiku to share with the group.

Last month we issued an assignment to have prepared for the December meeting. The assignment was to write a three word haiku. Don't forget to bring your teeny haiku with you to share with the group on Monday night. If you didn't write one yet, get cracking!

After the meeting, we'll send the old year off in style with a sushi dinner celebration at Kyoto Restaurant on Prytania Street, just a few blocks from the library.

The meetings are free and open to the public. The streetcar offers public transportation to the Library!

See you there!

NOHS Monthly Meeting Notes - November 2009

Following an enjoyable afternoon of haiku reading at the Maple Leaf Bar Poetry Reading on Sunday, the November meeting of the NOHS on Monday night went very well. In attendance were Bob, Juliet, Nicholas, David, Ed, Emma, Johnette, Karel and T. J. Karel shared some lizard-ku, Juliet read some casino-ku, Nicholas had some urban life-ku, Emma offered moon-ku, Bob had some haiku from a recent reunion he attended, and David and Johnette offered some slice of life haiku. The end of the meeting was reserved for a discussion about how to submit haiku for publication consideration to haiku journals.

A first for our group, an assignment of writing a three word, three line haiku to share at the December meeting was given.

Until the next meeting, happy haikuing!

Japan Fest a Huge Success!

Enjoy a few pictures from Japan Fest...http://www.haikuguy.com/nov09.html

Haiku Walk - October 2009

Here are some photos from our labyrinth haiku walk in October at Audubon Park. Thanks to Laura for providing the labyrinth as a muse for haiku writing!

...and a fun time was had by all!

NOHS at Japan Fest 2009

The New Orleans Haiku Society will host an exhibit table at the Japan Fest at the New Orleans Museum of Art, in City Park, One Collins C. Diboll Circle, City Park, New Orleans, Louisiana 70124, USA. Come out for a cultural immersion experience and visit our table where you will be able to write your own haiku on the spot using our haiku magnet boards, participate in Festival day renga game and learn more about haiku and our group.

The festival is always a treat; a day filled with taiko drumming, a tea ceremony, origami, live performances, the game of Go, sushi and much more. We hope to see you there!

Upcoming Events

October 18, 2009 at 2:00
Haiku Walk
Audubon Park
New Orleans, LA
Meet at the fountain at 2:00

November 8, 2009
Japan Fest
New Orleans Museum of Art
City Park
New Orleans, LA
NOHS will have a display table

November 15, 2009 at 3:30
Poetry Reading
Maple Leaf Bar
Oak Street, New Orleans, LA
NOHS will be the featured poets and will read their haiku

September 2009 Meeting Notes

It was nearly a full house at the NOHS monthly meeting last night. In attendance were Juliet, Samantha, Bob, Emma, Joe, Nicholas, Allie, David and Johnette. For dinner, Kathleen joined the party.

"Death-ku" seemed to be the theme last night. Juliet had some poems about her beloved childhood apple tree that had died, Bob shared some haiku about some friends who died in a plane crash and Samantha shared some haiku about a dying goose. On a lighter note, Nicholas roped us in with some streetcar and street scene-ku, Emma shared some poems from her Moon-ku series, Allie shared some Issa haiku, David had some travel-ku and Johnette had some mountain-ku. We saved some moments to hear haiku from our members in Japan; Emiko and Sakuo.

Plans for Japan Fest, a Facebook page, a haiku walk and a poetry reading were also discussed. More details to follow!

Happy haikuing.

NOHS Monthly Meeting - September 2009

The New Orleans Haiku Society will host its monthly meeting on Monday, September 21, 2009 from 6:00-7:45 at the Milton H. Latter Memorial Library, 5120 St. Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA. The meeting is free and open to the public. Please bring haiku to read and join us for sushi dinner afterwards at Kyoto Restaurant on Prytania Street.

Haiku Writing Workshop

Haiku Writing Workshop with David Lanoue
Xavier University
Administration Annex Building 217
South Carrollton Avenue, New Orleans, LA
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public

New Issa for Kids Web Site

I am pleased to announce a new web site titled Issa for Kids! Check it out at:

http://haikuguy.com/issa4kids/

This is a project that I'm doing for Xavier University this semester: a haiku-learning Issa website aimed at 4th to 6th graders. If any of you have teacher-friends, please pass it along to them so that they can give me feedback. I'd also love to hear what their students have to say.

-David Lanoue

Petar Tchouhov Reading

The evening of July 20th at the Latter Library on St. Charles Avenue, the New Orleans Haiku Society hosted a reading by Bulgarian poet Petar Tchouhov. The event was open to the public and well attended. Petar shared a good portion of his haiku collection, titled "Safety Pins," in Bulgarian and English. After the reading, a lively question-and-answer session ensued, during which Petar shed light on the Bulgarian haiku scene and related topics. Here are three of the poems he shared that particularly pleased the audience:

my father's funeral
at last
I meet him
(first published in tinywords)

shop window
the beggar's reflection
in new clothes
(first published in Presence)

she falls asleep
her shadow continues
reading
(3rd place, Ludbreg Haiku Calendar contest)

submitted by David G. Lanoue

Haiku Reading by Petar Tchouhov

Haiku Reading

the New Orleans Haiku Society presents

Petar Tchouhov, an award-winning poet from Bulgaria . . .

Monday, July 20th, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.

in the Milton H. Latter Memorial Library, 5120 St. Charles Ave


This reading is free and open to the public
For more information about this event or about the New Orleans Haiku Society,

contact David Lanoue at 504-861-1430; david1gerard@hotmail.com