Here We Go Again

A. C. Warner, , , , , , ,

Happy vernal equinox, all!

“I Doodle, You ‘Ku” is closing in on its last week and a half. It’s been a blast and I’ve been enjoying all the wonderful poems. I’m a greedy person and want to keep the fun rolling, and there are not nearly enough good fox poems in the world. I’ve also admired poets who can write in forms that rely on concrete imagery and still effectively tie in something as abstract as dreams. And because I like mashing two prompts together, I’m inviting you (or challenging, or begging and pleading…) to write about either/or.

Although I had planned to originally do this in March, I read that the Inari Matsuri Festival (see some nice background at the World Kigo Database) is April 22nd this year, so it seemed more fitting to put it off, which seems to have worked well in the end!

I will take small poems until Friday, April 20th about foxes and/or dreams. As I have with other projects, I will take up to 5, and you’re guaranteed at least one poem just for sending me something!

Theme/What to write about: Foxes and/or dreams.

What form: Haiku, senryu, tanka, kyoka, gogyōka, renku, haibun, haiga (doodles most welcome!), small stones, etc.

How many: As many as you want! I will take as many as 5 and no less than 1.

When: Send them in by Friday, April 20th (I will wait until the whole world has reached the 20th); I will post a PDF on this blog on April 22nd.

Where to send: Either leave a comment to this post or send an email to aubriecox [at] gmail [dot] com! If you email, put “FOX DREAMS” in the subject line, if you please.

Other important stuff:
Things you should keep in mind/include:

• Most journals will consider these works published

• If your work is already published, include the publishing credits (it’s kind of important and a nice thing to do)

• You, as the writer/artist/poet/etc, retain the rights to you work before and after it appears on my blog/in the PDF.

• If you want me to link back, please send along the name and link of your blog/Twitter account/website/etc! Also, make sure your have your name listed as you would like for it to appear.

Here We Go Again

95 thoughts on “Here We Go Again”

  3. I’ll have something for you soon (so appealing to me now). In the meantime, if you have a bit of time, I’ve written something related to this challenge. I would love it if you would consider reading through it. It will eventually transform into a prose version (better suited and easier to read, I think), but it will still retain the haiku and tanka. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the story, the writing, and anything else.

    http://tasmith1122.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/rabbit-fairytales/

    Reply

  4. Reblogged this on Shiteki Na Usagi and commented:
    I am reblogging this as much for myself as others. Anyone interested in haiku or other short forms, foxes and/or dreams, or just an excuse to write… be sure and check it out. The deadline is April 20th, so there is time enough to enjoy.

    Reply

      1. You are more than welcome. I’m looking forward to it and didn’t want to forget it (which is why I posted it). Sad how many deadlines I let slip by. You’d think I was busy or something. 😉

        Reply

      1. It was during my six month residency as a lead poet and originator of the 1000 verse renga for the City of Hull. Boy, did we have baaaaaaad weather, which I adored. Nothing stopped me getting to that amazing city.

        Thundersnow in Hull:

        Enjoy!

        Reply
  13. Peter Newton says:

    Quite sure I’ve never written a fox haiku but see what happens out here in the blogisphere, you start breathing the air and getting all sorts of new ideas . . .

    Reply

      1. Yes, that’s fine. I had grand plans, and faded out. I’ll try to get in something else before your deadline. Enjoying watching what has trickled in, as I’m sure you are as well.

        Reply
  18. alee9 says:

    Hi Aubrie,

    Not sure if a sequence would fit in but anyway, each tanka can stand alone, I think. Thanks a lot for this wonderful space, really a great opportunity to write, share and be read!

    Alegria

    fox moon (tanka sequence for fox and dreams)

    fox moon
    must it always be
    this light
    that draws your anguish
    so feared so misunderstood?

    your paws
    on thawing banks the tracts
    you left for me
    as if I’ve lost you in
    the moon’s shifting moods

    silence
    the midnight wind sends
    you howling
    always you miss my whispers
    shushing your longings

    in dappled shadows
    the fire burns in your eyes
    singes rustling leaves
    you step in the moonlight
    where we lay down your embers

    come out of hiding
    what greater fate is there
    that awaits
    than for us to bare our desires
    we live for this and this alone

    Alegria Imperial

    Reply

    1. Alegria, I would love to include this sequence–I gladly accept it! The nice thing about electronic is you can make it fit. 😉

      And thank you for your kind words! I love having everyone here!

      Reply
  19. alee9 says:

    Oh, thanks so much, Aubrie! I’m so thrilled and honored. I started with a haiku but it just kept going…I’m enjoying your doodles, too, and hope to go back to doodle one. Thanks again!

    Reply

  22. Just leaving a note to say I’ll make all final decisions about poems posted in the comments closer to the deadline (since I know some people may decide to come back and write more over the next couple weeks). So if you haven’t heard back, don’t worry! 🙂

    Reply

  33. I wasn’t sure if you accepted any of my foxy ku, so here’s a published one of mine:

    virgin snow
    a fox makes prints
    for the morning

    Publications credits: Icebox, Hailstone Haiku Circle Japan (2010); a little help from my friends (Red Dragonfly ePamphlet 2011); The Haiku Calendar 2012 (Snapshot Press)

    Award credits:
    Runner Up, The Haiku Calendar Competition 2011 (Snapshot Press)

    Dru Marland did an incredible artwork off the back of my haiku:
    haiku fox

    Reply

          1. I will ask her. I think she let me use the image for a project but liked it so much she printed greeting cards herself. 🙂

            I’ll ask formally, and email you. 🙂

            Alan

            Reply

  35. Hi Aubs, here are a few dream-ku. No fox poems yet, that wiley bugger is evading me!

    spring forward
    an hour lost
    in delta-waves

    presque vu
    his name remembered
    in a dream

    in my dream
    birds with binoculars
    watch me fly

    (may need to doodle that last one!)

    Reply
  39. Lucas Stensland says:

    Remember to sanitize your keyboard and mouse more often. Also, I think a good title would be “The Fantastic Ms. Cox.”

    Reply

    1. Kris, this one has a lot of charm to it—I especially like the “seeing double” part. The “quiet camouflage,” however, doesn’t seem to fit into the overall poem.

      I know you write a lot of 5-7-5, but how would you feel breaking from that to have something like…

      red fox by the water
      seeing double
      in my dreams

      Let me know!

      Reply

      1. Hi Aubrie…that works…when I was researching photos for inspiration about the fox in order to write, I saw a fox by the water in the flora seeing it’s reflection and it was in a sense like a camouflage…but what you wrote works well…thanks for being in contact

        Reply

        1. Great! I’ll be sure to include it. I’ll make sure to link to your blog as well, unless you have another website/blog/account you’d prefer me to link back to instead.

          Reply

    1. Fergiemoto, thanks for the comments!

      While these do both include dreams in them, they’re trying a little hard for haiku. This second one definitely has some potential. I like that it has two parts and there is the very concrete aspect of children splashing in puddles.

      I wonder though–do the puddles need to be anything other than puddles? Part of the haiku aesthetic is to capture concrete things as they are, because part of the beauty is that thing as is. Also, how do we thaw dreams? I actually really like the phrase “thawed dreams” but the line as a whole feels like your asking the reader to decode the puzzle, which is the antithesis of the form.

      Could you perhaps try to revise this poem? I’d love to include you!

      Reply

  52. Here goes:

    dreaming again
    a house
    I never knew

    dreaming
    of haiku prompts
    a fox on a swing

    the cat
    with fox-like stealth
    stalks his toy mouse

    a fox
    in the clouds
    view from the hot tub

    Reply

  53. middaydreams
    the forgotten melt
    of iced tea
    from within my hands
    a note to say I miss you

    ***

    everything
    I thought I knew
    about cunning foxes
    was once from
    Wile E. Coyote

    ***

    hammock dreams
    stale scent of honeysuckles
    from my tongue

    ***

    Hope you find these to your liking, Aubrie! It’s still Friday, April 20th where I am, so I hope I’m not late!

    Reply

    1. Kathy, not too late at all! I’m still awake and working away, and as you noted, it’s still Friday. Waiting for the whole world to catch up. 😉

      I’d love to use this one:

      middaydreams
      the forgotten melt
      of iced tea
      from within my hands
      a note to say I miss you

      Reply

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