virtual friends . . .

 

Lately, I’ve had the good fortune to have my work showcased by two virtual friends. The first, Marjorie Buettner, is one of three new editors at the helm of the recently revamped Contemporary Haibun Online. Although I’ve never met Marjorie in the flesh, I’d know her distinctively lyrical voice and beautiful poetry anywhere, and I’m honored to have collaborated with her previously. (Our responsive haibun “Circadian Rhythm” was published in the March 2014 issue of Haibun Today.) So, when Marjorie asked if I’d consider being the “Featured Writer” in the current issue of CHO, I was both delighted and humbled; the newly formatted online journal is a haibun lover’s dream, and, as always, this issue is chockfull of wonderful examples of the form.

Likewise, I’ve never met haiku legend Michael Dylan Welch–the force behind the (now year-round) National Haiku Writing Month site on Facebook, who also writes and edits a tremendously informative haiku website called Graceguts. In addition to the many examples of Michael’s haiku-related writings (poems, as well as numerous thought-provoking essays on everything from haiku and tanka to the linked forms of haibun and rengay), his site also hosts a section featuring poems inspired in some way by haiku. After seeing my free-verse poem “After Bashō,” Michael contacted me to say he’d like to include my poem on Graceguts. I’m more than honored.

Writing, many say, is a lonely profession . . . , and it can be lonely–or at least solitary. But the world we live in today is–thanks to the internet–a global one, filled with more and more opportunities for exploration and the discovery of new voices. What a great time to be a poet!

 

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