Blog Archives
Sundays with Jenny
Sundays with Jenny, a collection of haiku and photographs by Jenny Bienemann, invites readers into a quiet, contemplative day filtered through the tender, unhurried gaze of a Sunday. The book unfolds in six thematic sections: Rejoyce, Rise, Renew, Reflect, Restore, and Rejuvenate. Each part marks a distinct time of day, tracing a gentle arc from dawn’s hush to the stillness of midnight. Along the way, it highlights the small, familiar rhythms of daily life.
The haiku, in true minimalist form, are concise yet resonant. Each one distills presence, healing, and wonder into just a few lines. There’s an emotional clarity in Bienemann’s verse, personal yet uncannily universal. Her images are spare but precise, offering a world that feels both intimate and expansive.
Reading Sundays with Jenny is like pausing at the top of a hill, letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Bienemann captures the ephemeral, the half-thoughts and half-feelings we often brush aside, and honors them. Some haiku wrap around you like warmth on a cold morning. Others, such as “doubt magnifies faith, / asking the kinds of questions / only faith answers,” halt you mid-thought and hold you in silence.
One of the book’s quiet triumphs is its structure. The emotional progression echoes a soul’s gentle unfolding. With each chapter, readers drift from light and hope into self-reflection and eventual calm. The transitions are subtle but powerful, forming a seamless narrative of emotion rather than action.
Perhaps the most arresting quality is the immediacy it brings. These haiku do not merely observe, they awaken. Bienemann has a rare ability to locate grace in the unnoticed and pour reverence into the mundane. This book could be read in a single sitting, yet its resonance lingers. It’s especially evocative in autumn, when trees shed both leaves and memory, but its comfort endures in any season.
For those in search of stillness, or simply a companion for the quieter corners of life, Sundays with Jenny offers both presence and poetry in equal measure.
Pages: 212 | ISBN 978-0-1234-6578-8
Haiku Makes Me Happy!
How Do You Haiku? A Step-by-Step Guide with Templates helps readers understand the form of Haiku and teaches them how to write their own beautiful poetry. What inspired you to write this book?
I wanted to write a book I wanted to read as a child. I’ve always loved playing with words. I had many excellent teachers along the way but ten-year-old me would have loved to have had access to a book that taught me simple ways to understand and write Haiku while encouraging me as a shy child. I would have loved to have a book that told me my words were worthwhile and my poetry was worth sharing. This book is part technique, part pep-talk, and part wordplay with a whole lot of templates and Haiku crafts.
What draws you to the Haiku style of poetry? Is there one poet who stirred your love for this style of writing?
Haiku makes me happy! It isn’t a long, arduous poetry form, so I can write it on the fly or while I quietly observe the world through my window. I love that one can express so much with so few words. Writing and reading about little winking moments in nature and time significantly impact my well-being.
Of course, I admire the masters’ Haiku, but I also love Haiku written by current poets and fellow children’s book authors, such as the poets who contributed to this book, Kate Coombs, Raven Howell, and Amy Losak, among others. I also love reading Haiku written by children. Kids come up with amazing poems with unusual and entertaining wordplay!
What were some goals you set for yourself as a writer in this book?
Many kids (and adults) feel they can’t write poems or that their poems are not “good enough.” I wanted to give my readers ample opportunity to see that writing a poem can be easy and fun! My goal was to explain Haiku in a way that gets kids excited about it and gives them the confidence to try something new and be proud of their work.
Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next book?
How Do You Haiku? is a stand-alone book, but another Haiku book is available for my littlest readers (Preschool & up). Peek-A-Boo Haiku (Little Simon) features Haiku about hidden woodland animals, plus flaps that reveal those animals! It’s never too early to introduce kids to poetry!
Author Links: GoodReads | Instagram | Website
This book will help you understand haiku so you can create poems with powerful words and images. Each chapter contains examples from Japanese haiku masters and current poets. The included activities and templates will guide you through fun ways to “haiku,” including painting poem stones for your garden (Kuhi), creating haiku comic strips, and writing group poems with your friends (Renga). How Do You Haiku? This handbook will show you how— step-by-step.
Includes haiku by contributing poets Kate Coombs, Nancy Etchemendy, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Raven Howell, Linda Hoffman Kimball, Amy Losak, Bobi Martin, Angie Quantrell, Sydell Rosenberg, Lee Wardlaw, and Linda Whalen.
How Do You Haiku? A Step-by-Step Guide with Templates
Poetry is an art form that allows us to express ourselves and concisely share feelings. However, the characteristics of poetry vary based on its place of origin. In Japan, for instance, we encounter Haiku, a seventeen-syllable poem with a unique structure and composition. The Haiku aims to draw us out of our daily routine, encouraging us to pause and appreciate nature as if we were capturing a special moment in a photograph. In this context, Danna Smith introduces us to How Do You Haiku? A Step-by-Step Guide with Templates. This guide showcases Haiku’s meditative aspects and highlights its ability to explore the dramatic and the amusing. Thus, Danna Smith leads us through the fundamentals of Haiku efficiently and engagingly, providing instructions, examples, and tips.
Danna Smith discusses how the Haiku sparks imagination and shifts our perception of our surroundings. But she goes even further. She shares vocabulary and explains how to find dynamic words to maintain a solid structure. One of my favorite parts was the Haiku’s history, as it offers insight into using poetry as a means of expression. Furthermore, the book presents clear explanations, and the numerous examples are enjoyable. Another aspect I appreciated is Danna Smith’s addition of translations and explanations for the Japanese terms she uses, enhancing our understanding of Japanese culture.
Writing poetry might initially seem complex, especially in Haiku, where space is limited. Nevertheless, Danna Smith does an outstanding job motivating us to give it a try. While more examples of Haiku would have been helpful to complement the emphasis on technical aspects, overall, the information is well-explained, and there’s ample material to inspire us.
How Do You Haiku? A Step-by-Step Guide with Templates is an exceptional children’s book to help educate and inspire children and adults. This guide is excellent for beginners, serving as a helpful tool to learn how to perceive the world through the lens of poetry and practice the art of Haiku.
Pages: 112 | ASIN : B0CF65LDHT
Realms of my Soul III: A Golden Gift
Realms of My Soul III by Lali A. Love is an exquisite collection of autobiographical poems that take readers on a captivating journey. The anthology is divided into two sections, the first, Fifth Decade: Alchemising with Hope, and the second, My Masterclass. The combined sections feature a total of 120 poems, each preceded by a short verse.
Love’s ability to infuse her personal experiences into her poetic expressions is truly remarkable. While maintaining a sense of mystery and leaving out specific details, she manages to evoke powerful emotions through her choice of poem titles. Soul Leaks, A Triggering Gift, and Vast Creation are just a few examples that delicately touch upon profound themes such as desire, anxiety, and passion.
The beauty of Love’s poetry lies in its thought-provoking nature. Although some lines may initially appear metaphorical, they hold deeper meanings that leave the reader pondering long after reading. For instance, lines like ‘Could language be a technical force/ Functioning as the software of the mind’ from the poem Human Language, and ‘A spirit bearing an olive tree’ in Blue Bird Chanting, showcase Love’s ability to create imagery that is both evocative and profound.
Realms of My Soul III is a testament to Love’s personal growth and her journey toward inner peace. While the poems tend to be more abstract and lacking in specific instances, the language she employs and the vivid imagery she paints make for a captivating read. The verses, presented against stone backgrounds, add an extra layer of allure to the collection.
Though I appreciate the overall artistry of the poems, I would have loved to see more concrete instances and vivid imagery incorporated rather than relying solely on philosophical and metaphorical phrases. In today’s world, where such expressions are commonplace, adding specific instances and detailed images would have given the poems an even greater impact.
Realms of My Soul III by Lali A. Love is a poetic journey that emanates from the depths of the author’s soul. Love’s masterful use of language and evocative imagery make it a valuable read.
Pages: 260 | ASIN : B0C6NBB8TW
Haiku, Schmaiku, and Headin’ Out to Sea
Haiku, Schmaiku, and Headin’ Out to Sea is a fascinating book filled with author David Bayard’s personal poetry about his life experiences. The author surmises, on the first page of the book, the topics within this collection: “rabbit holes, flying metal boxes, churches, trees, the Higgs Boson particle, squirrels, underwear, and sea odysseys.”
First, I have to say my favorite poem in Bayard’s book has to be Crow. Though it is one of the short and simple ones, I like a poem with rhyme and rhythm. Crows (the animal, not the poem) are incredibly intelligent creatures and are not as appreciated as they should be. This small poem sums up their most unique and beautiful qualities perfectly. I also particularly liked one of the author’s first poems, Sailor. A song about doing what you love no matter what other people might say. The poem has a nautical theme that represents life’s troubles, conquests, and adventures and kind of reminds me of children dreaming of becoming pirates and sailing the seven seas.
There is no definitive definition of poetry or how it should be constructed, there are the basics, but poetry is whatever the author deems it to be. And like any art form, poetry is in the eye of the beholder. I found many of these poems to be little gems. Falling Into Holes, for example, has an Alice in Wonderland theme, but by the end of the poem, the author switches over to Winnie the Pooh and Hundred Acre Woods which is a pleasantly unexpected twist. This mash-up of children’s books and their characters was a unique experience that leaves the reader questioning if there is any connection between the two.
I enjoyed the images that accompanied the poems as they helped me reflect more on the meaning of the poems. It seems like Bayard has left many of his poems open for interpretation, and I enjoyed that because I could sit and reflect on what I had just read.
Haiku, Schmaiku, and Going Out to Sea: Poetry as Looking Glass, Poetry as Mirror is a collection of poems for those who enjoy nontraditional works and unusual topics. Included in this collection is the author’s own photography and artwork, making this a magnificent piece of art as well.
Pages: 164 | ISBN : 0996738088
