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Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,
As I was preparing our prompt-list for this month I realized that we have had already 99 CD Specials and so today we have a little celebration ... the 100th Carpe Diem Special and so I have chosen a wonderful haiku by our featured haiku-poet Jim Kacian.
Kacian was
born in Worcester, Massachusetts, then adopted and raised in Gardner,
Massachusetts. He wrote his first mainstream poems in his teens, and published
them in small poetry magazines beginning in 1970. He also wrote, recorded, and
sold songs while living in Nashville in the 1980s. Upon his return to Virginia
in 1985 he discovered English-language haiku, for which he is best known.
In 1993, he founded Red Moon Press, and in the same year began editing the haiku journal South by Southeast. Kacian's Red Moon Press is the largest publisher of haiku and haiku-related books outside Japan, with a current catalog of over 60 titles in print, and producing some dozen titles a year, including 12 years of the award-winning annual Red Moon Anthology. This was followed in 1998 with the editorship of Frogpond, the journal of the Haiku Society of America.
Having proposed a new global haiku association in 1999, Kacian co-founded the World Haiku Association with Ban'ya Natsuishi and Dimitar Anakiev. In September 2000 the WHA held its inaugural conference in Tolmin, Slovenia.
In 1993, he founded Red Moon Press, and in the same year began editing the haiku journal South by Southeast. Kacian's Red Moon Press is the largest publisher of haiku and haiku-related books outside Japan, with a current catalog of over 60 titles in print, and producing some dozen titles a year, including 12 years of the award-winning annual Red Moon Anthology. This was followed in 1998 with the editorship of Frogpond, the journal of the Haiku Society of America.
Having proposed a new global haiku association in 1999, Kacian co-founded the World Haiku Association with Ban'ya Natsuishi and Dimitar Anakiev. In September 2000 the WHA held its inaugural conference in Tolmin, Slovenia.
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| Credits: Jim Kacian |
From August to November 2000, Kacian traveled to nine countries — the UK,
Slovenia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, and
Japan promoting a global haiku. Having invited haiku poets from around the
world to submit their haiku to Frogpond, Kacian compiled and edited 2001’s
XXIV:1 issue, featuring haiku from 24 countries.
In late 2008 Kacian formed and created The Haiku Foundation, a non-profit organization which focuses on archiving English-language haiku's first century while expanding its second, with an official start-date of January 6, 2009.
In August 2013 his comprehensive anthology Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years was published by W. W. Norton & Company. Kacian served as editor-in-chief for the decade-long project, with Allan Burns and Philip Rowland as associate editors, and with a general introduction by former poet laureate Billy Collins. The anthology tells the story of English-language haiku from its first recognized example—Ezra Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro”—to current practice, and offers selections from well over 200 poets in a chronological format. It also features Kacian’s 70-page overview of the genre.
In late 2008 Kacian formed and created The Haiku Foundation, a non-profit organization which focuses on archiving English-language haiku's first century while expanding its second, with an official start-date of January 6, 2009.
In August 2013 his comprehensive anthology Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years was published by W. W. Norton & Company. Kacian served as editor-in-chief for the decade-long project, with Allan Burns and Philip Rowland as associate editors, and with a general introduction by former poet laureate Billy Collins. The anthology tells the story of English-language haiku from its first recognized example—Ezra Pound’s “In a Station of the Metro”—to current practice, and offers selections from well over 200 poets in a chronological format. It also features Kacian’s 70-page overview of the genre.
He is an important guy for the world's haiku-poets and he has written wonderful haiku. I was really excited as he granted me permission to use his haiku for our Carpe Diem Haiku Kai Specials this month ... so I just want to say here "Thank you Jim".
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| Credits: Chopping Wood |
And here is the first haiku by our featured haiku-poet Jim Kacian. I think this haiku is one of his best ... it's very much in touch with the classical masters ...
chopping wood-
someone does the same
a moment later
© Jim Kacian
I think I haven't said to much ... I like this haiku a lot and I am so glad that I have the opportunity to use his haiku with his permission.
As you all maybe know ... the goal of the CD-Specials is to write a haiku or senryu in the same tone, sense and spirit as the one given. So here is my try to write a haiku in the spirit of Jim Kacian.
deep silence
in the forest I only hear
a Woodpecker
© Chèvrefeuille
Well ... I think I have succeeded, but that's not up to me to say ...
This episode will be open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until August 7th at noon (CET). I will (try to) post our new episode, another nice Ghost Writer post, later on. By the way, do you want to be a Ghost Writer for Carpe Diem Haiku Kai? Please send your Ghost Writer post to:
By the way (2), I have created another part of our Carpe Diem Haiku Family ... "Tackle It Tuesday" it's a new weekly haiku-meme and the first prompt is Serenity.
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