Hiromi Yoshidawill be teaching “Wordplay: Crafting Winter Holiday Haiku” on December 17. Register here!
Q&A with Hiromi
What writing accomplishment are you most proud of?
My latest poetry collection Green Roses Bloom for Icarus (Roadside Press, 1 October 2024).
What is your personal motto, or something like a proverb that you live by (writing related or not)?
My personal motto is just one word, “Optimize.” That’s my concise paraphrase of: “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
What’s your favorite thing about the IWC?
The IWC’s literary publication Flying Island Journal,for which I’m proud to serve as poetry editor.
What’s the best thing students can take away from this class?
Their own haiku poems that they are prompted to write, together with the message that the haiku writing process is both enjoyable and rewarding.
Who are some of your favorite books on the craft of haiku?
I recommend the 25th anniversary edition of The Haiku Handbook by William J. Higginson (Kodansha USA, 2010).
Class Information
Wordplay: Crafting Winter Holiday Haiku
Tuesday, December 17
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm EST Online
Cost: Nonmember: $50; Writer/Reader Members & IPC Members: $32; Senior, Teacher, Student, Military/Veteran, Librarian: $28
This poetry class will focus on the haiku form. The “hai” syllable in the word “haiku” connotes “play,” both in the sense of drama, or theatrics, and of recreation and enjoyment, or playfulness. Since “ku” denotes “word,” or “verbal component,” we will enjoy playing around with words in our haiku crafting process. To begin this enjoyable process, we will celebrate the winter holiday season by reading seasonal haiku by the traditional Japanese masters of the form, beginning with Matsuo Bash?. Their inspiration, combined with writing prompts and activities, will lead to unique haikus that we can share with each other for constructive feedback. Our goal is to produce some verses that can be inscribed on cards to celebrate the winter holiday season.
Hiromi’s Bio
Hiromi Yoshida is the author of two full-length poetry collections and five poetry chapbooks. She is the editor of Stormwash: Environmental Poems (The Grind Stone, April 2024), an anthology featuring 40 poets, primarily from the Midwest. Her work has been included in the INverse Poetry Archive, and nominated for various awards. She serves as a poetry reader for Flying Island Journal, and coordinates the Last Sunday Poetry reading series for the Writers Guild at Bloomington. Winner of the Head-to-Head Haiku Battle at Bloomington’s 2022 Granfalloon Festival, she released Icarus Hieroglyph, a chapbook of acrostics and haikus, through The Grind Stone in May 2023.