Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,
Good day ... recently I have got some signals from our family-members of Carpe Diem that we are loosing a few of our contributors, because of the lenght of the posts and the complexness of our latest prompts. This makes me a bit sad, but at the other hand I see also new contributors and that makes me happy of course.
Therefore I love to ask you all, my dear haijin, visitors and travelers, the next questions:
"What can we/I do to make Carpe Diem Haiku Kai better than it already is?"
"Do I have to make rules and regulations for our Ghost-Writer feature?"
"How can we/I change the fact that there are regular contributors leaving or less active here at our Haiku Kai?"
Just a few questions which came in mind as I read the concerns out spoken by haiku-family-members. Carpe Diem Haiku Kai is OUR place for writing, sharing and introducing haiku to the world and I think it has become a great way to promote haiku. I know it's a lot of work, and I think that our ghost-writers have experienced that too, to make Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, but that's no problem for me. I love haiku and I love to bring haiku to a bigger public and I think I have succeeded in that.
Do you have ideas to make Carpe Diem Haiku Kai more alive and kicking as it already is? Please let me know.
a little verse
rooted in a far eastern country
conquers the western world
© Chèvrefeuille
PS.: I have changed the way for the Ghost-Writer feature. There will not be a Ghost-Writer week anymore, because I think it's better to have e.g. every Tuesday a Ghost-Writer post. So the Ghost-Writers have more time to create their posts. I haven't yet decided which day of the week will be Ghost-Writer day, but if you would like to be a ghost-writer, please let me know. If you will be a ghost-writer than you can email your ghost-writer posts for the next month before June 1st.
You can send your ghost-writer post to:
carpediemhaikukai@outlook.com or to:
carpediemhaikukai@gmail.com !!! new email-adress !!!
Namaste,
Kristjaan (a.k.a. Chèvrefeuille), your host at CDHK
"What can we/I do to make Carpe Diem Haiku Kai better than it already is?"
ReplyDeleteANSWER - Let me just say first that if you are forced to make your posts shorter you are being forced to modify your soul. I think any person who made a comment about your posts has rather missed the point, and is exhibiting a weakness in themselves, not in Carpe Diem. This is not an afternoon tea club, where we admire flower collections. There are standards to reach, and as far as I know everyone has at least finished secondary education. We simply cannot lower the bar. Carpe Diem is special BECAUSE of the format it is presented in, and no-one, absolutely no-one can say this format does not evolve or innovate. I know some hate change. They need to change that notion, not refuse to grow.
Everyone has a right to say what they want. But people need to learn to make a commitment too. Joining Carpe Diem takes nothing from the pocket. That does not mean you don't have to try to achieve a goal, or become a willing part of the community, on the contrary.
Every day Carpe Diem presents an accomplished, professional post. Comments of appreciation appear on our blogs and yet, it appears that is still not enough for some. I think asking for shorter posts is hurting the very soul of carpe diem haiku, and I know as a teacher that some will not make the grade, no matter what you can do to help them. I also think participants could do much more getting others to join Carpe Diem.
"Do I have to make rules and regulations for our Ghost-Writer feature?"
I think no rules is sometimes risky, but better than rules.
"How can we/I change the fact that there are regular contributors leaving or less active here at our Haiku Kai?" It is an issue for all participants. Everyone should be helping Carpe Diem grow, but a certain level of commitment should be expected from everyone. I really feel commitment is something people should take seriously.
Thank you Managua for your support and your thoughts about this ... I do love the way how I have created CDHK and I love all my contributors as if they were my family. It's always a joy to visit you all ... and of course I recognize that I sometimes am late with responding and commenting, but as the most of us I think, I have a job next to this wonderful hobby of poetry in which I can lay all my heart and soul.
DeleteThanks again for your daily effort to participate in CDHK.
Namaste
Personally I sometimes don't contribute because of the nature of the prompts, not the length. |Being from Ghana some prompts are rather 'exotic' and so foreign to me. Example is the journey or pilgrimage prompts and the musical one. But I read them all and learnt a lot from those prompts.
ReplyDeleteMy concern is our inability, refusal or whatever it is, to visit blogs and comment on fellow haijin blogs. Once we all post and link, I think it is good neighbourliness, fun and generous to visit fellow blogs, sample and comment or critique as the case may be. It can be frustrating when no one from the CD family visits, well of course except our wonderful host.
Please delete the reply that was not complete...something happened before I was finished.
ReplyDeleteI like the change of Ghost Writer to once a week instead of one week all at once. Some people prefer different muses. And for the time they are with us - we should be happy. I myself have other prompt sites I like to participate in and may switch to once or twice a week here rather than every day. But I like haiku - even if I count in an unconventional way. It is my way and it makes me happy.
It is difficult to visit everyone who comments to a particular post response. I am still quite behind from when I was on vacation in March, not only to those fine folks here, but to my other blogs as well. My primary goal is to write. Getting recognized or complimented is secondary. Just as real life needs to be a priority to our hobbies.
Ultimately how you run your site as host is your choice. Those who chose to move on or not participate should not be judged or ridiculed. You have done much to accommodate many by creating different pages or blogs. Let us choose how and where, and be comforted knowing that we are accepted for who we are and what we can contribute at any given time.
The only thing constant is change. Being prepared for change allows for growth.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Thank you for being who you are, Thank you for allowing us a haiku place to 'come home' to.
Oh, I do not think it is the responsibility of those who participate to recruit 'new membership'.
ReplyDeleteI visit those who I recognize, and sometimes those I don't. I can not visit and return comments to twenty or forty people everyday. And I can only hope people can understand that.
The blogsphere is a unique community. Some people make it hard to leave comments, and that is a turn off. If I visit someone regularly or they visit me regularly I try and honor that bond. But as you yourself say most of us also have a life outside of blogging.
Let us continue to respect each other to the best of our abilities. Say kind words or none. But if you ask an opinion be prepared for honesty. Which might not always be what you want. Blogger does not provide e-mail addresses so not all comments can be 'off screen'. If you want a private conversation ask for a persons e-mail. That is my recommendation.
Thank you for continuing to host a fun world community of writers.
I think the format is excellent as it is.. if I sometimes cannot participate it's my lack of time.. not the prompts... I really don't want to contribute if I cannot visit and comment on most of the entries.. So do we need rules.. no I don't think so.. maybe we should not have double prompts.. If we have a ghost-writer ,,, maybe we don't need a prompt as well....
ReplyDeleteWell, CD Haiku Kai is the best place I’ve found lately. What’s best of it? It’s a family.
ReplyDeleteAnd a family consists of several members with their own personality. What I’m pointing to is that we’re individuals and IT IS OUR STRENGTH on personal front as well as a part of the family. So,” one ghost writer’s post is longer and others is shorter” – PLZ don’t tag this way. Those are just posts and are meant to inspire us. Well, I believe one don’t have to say NO to any challenges. Otherwise how could we know ourselves? If I’m really wanted to learn and grow then only it’s true.
Yes! One rule only: without playing politics be as free as the ghost-writer can. Good for that particular writer too. Rather than having a week of ghost-writers, one ghost writer for a particular day of every week – would give others plenty time to be more creative.
Your 3rd asking is a matter of real concern. In my personal life I always keep my windows open, let who wants to come in or go out – that’s their choice. Keeping my window open is mine.
I love CD very much and would contribute to every single prompt except for the shortness of my time. I don't have any suggestions to give you, except perhaps accept that there will always be someone who doesn't like this or that prompt and others who are enthusiastic, that's just how things work.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn'd think that adding a lot of rules for the ghost-writers would improve the blog. I like the intoduction of new short forms, I know that there are purists who don't always appreciate this aspect, but then, there are the lists of prompts for the month that they can write for. And alas there will always be drifters who come and go. True the prompts are sometimes long...but the information is very interesting.
Thanks for your great work...