f/k/a archives . . . real opinions & real haiku

.. click for printable calendar pages ..

Haiga are pictures (paintings, sketches, or photos) that incorporate a subtly-linked haiku or similar poem. It’s not too late to enjoy f/k/a‘s free “haiga calendars” — the “artsy” Giacalone Bros. Haiga Calendar 2008 (with photos taken by my brother Arthur) and the nostalgic fka Haiga Memories Calendar 2008 (with shots snapped in the 1950’s by Mama Giacalone).  The poetry is written by your Editor, “dagosan”.  Click on “more” to go below the fold, where you will find larger images, the text of October’s poems, and links to the original haiga used for the October calendars.

(more…)

.

. . With a pause in the major action at the Democratic Convention, I thought I’d do some non-demanding administrative work this evening here at f/k/a, and tell you about the two haiga calendar pages we created for September 2008.

July rains and wanes, and it’s time to remind you that we’ve created two haiga calendar pages for August 2008 for your use and enjoyment. Below are sample-sized calendar pages for August from both of our free 2008 haiga calendars — the artsy Giacalone Bros. Haiga Calendar 2008 and the nostalgic fka Haiga Memories Calendar 2008.  See our prior post from last December for descriptions and links of the free 12-month calendars. (FYI: Haiga are pictures — paintings, sketches, photos —  combined with a subtly-linked haiku or similar poem.)

Just click on the sample calendar pages below to go to a printable full-size version. A link is also provided to a larger version of each of the original haiga used for the calendars.

– from the 2008 Giacalone Haiga Calendar –

[full-sized for printing]

a blue tongue
and a red mustache –
trading snow cones

poem: David Giacalone -orig. pub. Frogpond (Winter 2008)

photo: Arthur Giacalone

– larger orig. haiga – also posted at MagnaPoets JF, in b&w (July 27, 2007)

And, from the 2008 f/k/a Haiga Memories Calendar

– full-sized for printing –

the lifeboat
suddenly too small —
his guilty face

Poem: David Giacalone

Photo: MAMA G (1952)

[original haiga, Magnapoets JF, April 24, 2007]

As June wanes, it’s time to remind you that we’ve created two haiga calendar pages for July 2008 for your use and enjoyment. Below are sample-sized calendar pages for July from both of our free 2008 haiga calendars — the artsy Giacalone Bros. Haiga Calendar 2008 and the nostalgic fka Haiga Memories Calendar 2008. (See our prior post from last December for descriptions and links. Haiga are pictures combined with a subtly-linked haiku or similar poem).

Just click on the sample calendar pages below to go to a printable full-size version. A link is also provided to a larger version of each of the original haiga used for the calendars.

– from the 2008 Giacalone Haiga Calendar –

[full-sized for printing]

catnap onshore –
a wake sinks
the dream flotilla

poem: DAVID GIACALONE
photo: ARTHUR GIACALONE

– orig. pub. in color at HaigaOnline Vol. 8-1 (June 2007);
and in grayscale at Magnapoets JF (July 8, 2007)

And, from the 2008 f/k/a Haiga Memories Calendar

– full-sized for printing –

tomato plants
on stakes —
not quite ripe

Poem: DAVID GIACALONE
Photo: MAMA G (1952)

[original haiga, Magnapoets JF, May 6, 20077]

Another Boomer Braino Revealed: The f/k/a Gang had planned to start each month of 2008 by posting the month’s calendar page from both of our 2008 haiga calendars — the artsy Giacalone Haiga Calendar 2008 and the nostalgic fka Haiga Memories Calendar 2008. But, frankly, we keep forgetting to post them. Here — better a little late than never — are the calendar pages for May. Each month has a “photo haiga” — a picture with a subtly-linked haiku.

You can click on the sample calendar pages below to go to a full-size page suitable for printing. Or, see a larger version of each original haiga by clicking here (for “fresh graves”) and there (for “mother’s day”).

Rather than rely on the memory-challenged f/k/a Gang to bring you each month’s calendar page, we suggest you click the links above to obtain printable versions of each complete haiga calendar (see our prior post from last December for descriptions and links).

fresh graves
for civilians –
gang colors everywhere

……. by dagosan

dad on the sofa,
mom at the stove —
it’s mother’s day

…………………… by dagosan

p.s. On a more serious note, see Geoffrey Rapps’s post “They Shoot Horses Don’t They” at Sports Law Blog (May 4, 2008; hat tip to Ed at Blawg Review), which notes that runner-up Eight Belles broke both ankles and had to be put down at the end of yesterday’s Kentucky Derby.  He points to Kentucky’s Cruelty to Animals Statute, and says:

“Imagine if every year, one player died in the Superbowl. Or if a player died every year during the NBA finals. Would we tolerate such a result? Should it matter that the athletes who are pushed beyond the quite literal breaking point are animals?”

fruitstand apples-
the rich smell of horses
on my hands

by Billie Wilson : HSA Northwest Region Members’ Anthology, 2000

the great lord
forced off his horse…
cherry blossoms

is that dew
the horse’s tears?
rice blossoms

………. by Kobayashi Issa , translated by David G. Lanoue

My haiku were first accepted for publication in haiku journals in early 2005. This page is for anyone interested in following my “progress” in this poetic genre. I’ve compiled each of the poems — over 100 haiku and senryu — which were selected by journal or anthology editors for publication from 2005 through 2009.  They are presented below, in chronological order of their publication. Hyperlinks are provided to all of the pieces available online.  You can share this posting using the short URL: http://tinyurl.com/Dagosan

Rather than clutter this page with my personal reaction to the process of reviewing my “published haiku oeuvre,” I’ve offered a few inanities and banalities in a simultaneous posting here. If you insist on seeing more of my work, check out the dagosan haikai archives, or go to my ongoing (but sporadic) weblogs dagosan’s haiku diary and simply senryu.

2005

alone —
hugging
warm laundry

new paperback —
the sun sets
without me

– from The Heron’s Nest (March 2005); “alone” & “new paperback“

frozen river–
snow hides
the elm’s reflection

– Mainichi Daily News Haiku Column No. 669 (March 5, 2005)

 

to-read list
and summer corn
growing, growing

old dog and master
jostling
for the tiny spot of shade

 

storm alert
every kind of cloud
in one sky

blue sky
behind bare branches
year-end bonus

– Legal Studies Forum XXIX:1 (2005; pages 275 – 276)

it’s pink! it’s purple!
sunset inspires
more bickering

– Frogpond — the journal of the Haiku Society of America, (Vol. XXVIII: 2, 2005) – click to see a subsequent haiga incorporating this poem –

that little grunt
dad always made —
putting on my socks

– Frogpond (XXVIII: 2, 2005); repub. in inside the mirror: Red Moon Anthology 2005; used in a memorial haiga, here.

Adirondack chair
upholstered
with snow

Spring arrives —
peeps
melting on the dashboard

first scull of the year
my arms ache
just waving

 

cherry tomatoes
on toothpicks — a vapor trail
spears the midday moon

her chocolate breath
mingles with mine —
easter sunset

– – Simply Haiku (Vol. 3, No. 4, Winter 2005)

fallen blossoms —
soon
just another tree

mom’s arthritis
acting up again–
I take two Advil

squinting to see him —
another generation
sent to right field

– Roadrunner Haiku Journal (V:4, Nov. 2005; image: by Aurora Antonovic); “squinting to see him” – Tie, The Scorpion Prize for Best Haiku/Senryu of ISSUE V:4; repub. in Baseball Haiku (Ed. Cor van den Heuvel and Nanae Tamura; W.W. Norton Press 2007)

winding road —
under the influence
of a strawberry moon

………………. in The Heron’s Nest(VII: 4, Winter 2005)

2006

last week of the year
ice floes rush
to the waterfall

january thaw
motionless trees
tremble in the river

hazy winter moon
the face I met
when our skin was smooth

….. Roadrunner Haiku Journal Issue VI: 1 (Feb. 2006)

Indian Summer —
a squirrel tips over
the bag of rock salt

– The Heron’s Nest VIII:I, March 2006

falling blossoms —
soon
just another tree

Adirondack chair
upholstered
with snow

frozen river —
snow hides
the elm’s reflection

– Legal Studies Forum XXX (March 2006)

last day of winter —
ice smothers
the early buds

c’mon, equinox —
anxious to plant
impatiens

storm windows off:
the old man curses
the noisy neighbors

– Nisqually Delta Review (Winter-Spring, 2006; errata page)

farewell picnic —
wind blows the blossoms
off the dogwoods

waking
to dogwood blossoms —
the boys like pink today

april showers!
trudging back
to fetch a snow brush

almost april —
baked apple season
lingers

spring arrives —
new snow bleaches
old snowbanks

the smile that humbles
the cherry blossoms –
too far to see her

rain
on my bald spot —
recalling dry-scalp Aprils

coldest day this winter —
the early buds
miscarry

brushing off the snow –
warm enough today
for a park bench moment

– Haiku Harvest (Spring & Summer 2006, Vol. 6 No. 1)

low gray sky —
an afghan warming
on the radiator

– The Heron’s Nest (VIII: 2, 12 #5, June 2006)

sculpting cloud peaks
from shampoo suds —
crooked fingers

muddy bootprints
in the kitchen –
spring follows us home

U-Haul tires
spin on the ice —
windchimes packed in a box

wintry mix
a snow buddha
and a mud buddha

mid-March winds –
a too-warm coat
suddenly too thin

hardboiled eggs –
the first one
peels easily

– ………………… in Clouds Peak #1 (July 2006)

at the crosswalk –
leaves and a garbage can
hurry past

autumn equinox —
awakening to
summer’s last cricket

rattle, whir, hum —
three-fan
august night

Columbus Day rain—
first cozy evening
since spring

too cold for fireflies—
campfire sparks
float past the rocks

perched on
the sumo’s belly–
one large pumpkin

– – Nisqually Delta Review (summer/fall issue 2006)
“too cold for fireflies—” & “autumn equinox –” – Editor’s Choice Selections

almost sunset
the weekend dad
drags a sled up the hill

hard-to-peel
tangerine —
her citrus-scented fingers

…………………. in Frogpond XXIX: 2 (2006)

sudden downpour —
no one wins
the wet-t-shirt contest

…………… tinywords Aug. 12, 2006

the pond ices over –
impressionist to
cubist overnight

early March —
the weather vane goose
still heading south

winter gale —
the crows fly farther
than the crow flies

small sad face
in the puddle —
last weekend’s snowman

a warm yule . . .
the ice-fishing hole
mostly hole

…….. Simply Haiku (Autumn 2006, Vol. 4 no. 3); “small sad face” – repub. a procession of ripples anthology (p. 18)

morning shadows –
the gunslingers wait
for high noon

the view
from the sofa –
April madness

– HaigaOnline Issue 7-2 (Autumn-Winter 2006)
Click to see the original photo-poem haiga combinations –
“morning shadows” & “view from the sofa“

her words sting —
the mosquitos take me
just as I am

– Frogpond, XXIX: 3 Fall 2006

Mother’s Day–
admiring lilacs
just past their peak

— The Heron’s Nest (VIII: 4, December 2006) –

rubbernecking
the sunset geese —
our tailgater honks

– tinywords – December 12, 2006

2007

curtain time:
the stage crew as silent
as the props

snowmelt
sunset
comes too soon

the lawn crunches
Spring’s first bocce match
postponed

april storm —
borrowing the neighbor’s
rock salt

a foot of snow
a month too soon
candles for nightlights

his face frozen —
just like mama
always said

– Simply Haiku Journal, Modern Haiga, Vol. 5 no. 1 (Spring 2007); photos by Arthur Giacalone; see the original photo-poem haiga by clicking on these links:
“curtain time:” – “snow melt” – “the lawn crunches” –
“april storm —” – “a foot of snow” – “his face frozen –”

alone at dusk
footsteps approach
from behind

– from World Haiku Association 44th Haiga Contest (April 2007)

squinting to see him
another generation
sent to right field

law office picnic
the ump consults
his Blackberry

– in Baseball Haiku (Cor van den Heuvel and Nanae Tamura, eds., W.W. Norton Press, April 2007) “squinting” – org. pub. Roadrunner Haiku Journal (V:4, Nov. 2005; tie Scorpion Prize)

lull in the parade
small hands reach
for the same balloon

– orig. version of poem in a haiga, 45th WHA Haiga Contest (May 2007)
– above haiga, with poem slightly revised (thanks AA), first at MagnaPoetsJF in b&w version (June 1, 2007)

*

*

three feet of snow
the firehouse dog
follows the hose

early thaw
she serves the canard
a l’orange

drawn butter
and chardonnay –
he sets the trap

ladybug
in the spider’s web –
yesterday’s horoscope

catnap onshore –
a wake sinks
the dream flotilla

on the novice trail –
climbers wave
from the peak

….. in HaigaOnline Spring/Summer 2007 Vol. 8-1
– see the original photo-poem haiga by clicking on these links:
“three feet of snow” – “early thaw” – “drawn butter” –
“ladybug” – “catnap onshore —” – “on the novice trail –-”

mommy, look!
an early moon floats
above the setting sun

…. The 49th. WHA Haiga Contest (10/2007)

first the scent –
lilac bushes
’round the corner

blustery day
one tulip
keeps his head

blossoms on the breeze —
the tilt
of illegible gravestones

full morning moon —
the working girl’s
gauzy blouse

fireworks finale!
her eyes return
to the fireflies

— – Simply Haiku, Autumn 2007, vol 5 no 3 –

“full morning moon” – repub. in dust of summers: The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku 2007 (Red Moon Press, 2008)

first snowfall –
a city-full
of student drivers

………. in tinywords November 23, 2007

cloud-covered night–
no moon, no fireflies,
no goodnight kiss

… . . . in “Lanterns: a firefly anthology” (Edited by Stanford M. Forrester, Bottle Rockets Press, 2007}

hazy harvest moon
the face I met
when our skin was smooth

…….. The Heron’s Nest (Vol. IX: 4, Dec. 2007)
[Note: This poem was re-written to commemorate the 60th Wedding Anniversary of Arthur & Connie Giacalone; the original version appeared in Roadrunner Haiku Journal Issue VI: 1 (Feb. 2006)]

(more…)

As often happens around here, the f/k/a Gang ganged up on me last night, not long after I posted our message gratefully sharing the f/k/a Haiga Memories Calendar with our readers. My opinionated alter egos started complaining that I was ignoring all the f/k/a fans who might eschew cute baby pictures and the whole nostalgia shtick, and who expected something a bit more artistic from this weblog and its Editor — especially when it comes to the haiga genre. As usual, they had a point.

I’ve therefore spent the morning putting together a more “artsy” holiday gift calendar, and am happy to announce the online availability (for free, of course) of the Giacalone Haiga Calendar 2008.© Like the Haiga Memories edition, it’s a 12-month calendar, created as a printable Word document (14 pages, including the covers). The 13 included haiga each combine a full-color photograph taken by my brother Arthur Giacalone (the talented solo practitioner from East Aurora, NY) with a haiku or senryu by your Host [a/k/a dagosan]. Most of them have been published, or are pending, at the online journals Simply Haiku or HaigaOnline.

. . . the Giacalone Haiga Calendar 2008©

No matter which haiga calendar is your “cup of tea,” we all hope you’ll
enjoy them, with our thanks and best wishes for a joyous, prosperous,
creative New Year.

round and round with you
dancing
on thin ice

………………………………. dagosan

The f/k/a Gang has had a lot of fun over the past year creating and sharing haiga (a picture with a linked poem) that combine photographs taken more than half a century ago by “Mama G” (Connie M. Giacalone) with haiku or senryu penned by her son, your f/k/a host, David Giacalone. The expressive faces — whether impish, sheepish, or cherubish — of Linda, Arthur and David, the three Giacalone sibs, bring back memories and suggest timeless childhood themes, many of which are echoed in our adult lives.

You can find many of those haiga scattered around the MagnaPoets Japanese Form group weblog, and in miniature form here and there at this website. But, to help spread the cheer and to thank our many readers this Holiday Season, I decided to bring a dozen of the Giacalone Nostalgia Haiga together in one place, and to give them an aura of utility by packaging them as a monthly calendar. Just click this link to find the fka Haiga Memories Calendar 2008. It’s presented as a printable Word document (in landscape mode), and comes to 14 pages, with the front and back covers.

You’re allowed to giggle and even snicker, but please-please don’t use what our “a” friend Aurora Antonovic (proprietress of MagnaPoets and haiga editor of Simply Haiku Journal) calls the “a-word” — adorable. Prof. Yabut would blush. Please enjoy — with our thanks and best wishes for a joy-filled, inspiring holiday season and New Year.

afterthought (Dec. 14, 2007):   As explained here, we’ve also created a more “artsy” (less kitschy) calendar for your pleasure throughout the New Year.  See the Giacalone Haiga Calendar 2008. .

. . . the f/k/a Haiga Memories Calendar 2008 ©

[Calendar Cover, Art & Connie Giacalone,
married September 13, 1947]

home for Christmas –
nana calls the baby
by her daddy’s name

………………………… by dagosan

twelve days ’til Christmas —
the tree and her cat
both shedding

……………………………… by dagosan