The Arizona Matsuri in Phoenix sponsors an annual Haiku Contest (now in 6th year), open to all students and adults, plus a Japanese Language category. Here’s the information on who won in Southern Arizona, published on their website in the 2020 E-book:

https://www.azmatsuri.org/haiku

High School Haiku category –Outstanding haiku on page 17 of 2020 E-book:

Raquelle Wuollet, BASIS Oro Valley, Tucson

“Falling desert snow

A fleeting gift from winter

Granted once a year”

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College & Adult Haiku category

Carolyn Sugiyama Classen (aka Carolyn Classen), Editor at SAJCC’s website and founding SAJCC member won an Outstanding haiku in this category. This is her first win in a haiku contest. Her haiku was on display on Feb. 22 to 23 at the Arizona Matsuri festival’s haiku booth. Page 21 of online 2020 E-book.

(Issei are first generation Japanese Americans, who emigrated from Japan. Shikata ga nai means “It cannot be helped”, which was what the Japanese Americans used to say about the WWII Internment camp evacuation).

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Japanese Language Haiku category

Miki Pimienta, active SAJCC Council member & volunteer, past winner of several AZ Matsuri haiku (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) , on page 28 of 2020 E-Book

“Hana kaoru Habarina yoru no Enkai da

Fragrant flowers Javelina evening Feast”

Congratulations to all the 2020 Haiku contest winners.

2020 E-book : https://4c48e4ff-9f71-42e9-a59b-33f3e36f4621.filesusr.com/ugd/f10fde_d1953f69a1ba48e09f02ebc85654de1d.pdf

3/11/20 notice from Yume Japanese Gardens Facebook page:

“GARDEN VISITS, EVENTS & CLASSES WILL BE SUSPENDED BEGINNING MARCH 14 TO SAFEGUARD THE HEALTH OF VISITORS & MEMBERS

CLOSURE IS TEMPORARY AND WE WILL REOPEN AS SOON AS PRUDENT”

This includes following events:

March 21 Two tea ceremonies

March 26 to 28 Enchanted Evenings

April 4 “Little One Inch” puppet play, and Butoh performance

www.yumegardens.org

Carolyn’s note: One case of corona virus (COVID 19) in Pima County to date, but 8 others in Pinal and Maricopa Counties up north. Stay tuned for further updates. Check our Calendar for event cancellations.

A Haiku Writing Walk
with world renowned haikuists
Yukihiro Ibuki and Danny Bland
Friday, March 13, 1 pm
$25
Space is limited. Please call 520-303-3945 to reserve your spot.

” A haiku writing walk is a time to observe, reflect on, and collect perceptions and images both of nature and life which are used in the appreciation and creation of haiku, the iconic Japanese short poem.

In this 2-hour workshop, we will begin with the reading of haiku (in English and Japanese) and a discussion of the history, form, characteristics and dynamic of haiku, led by haikuists Yukihiro Ibuki and Danny Bland. We will then spend a quiet time in the gardens to read haiku placed in various locations and to gather our own personal images and impressions. An informal time then follows where we will enjoy, appreciate, and share our impressions and haiku together.

Yukihiro Ibuki was born in Kyoto, Japan and has composed Haiku since high school, belonging to the Haiku association “Kyo-kanoko.” His poems were selected as Outstanding Haiku at the Arizona Matsuri Haiku Expo in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Danny Bland is a novelist, a haikuist and a tour managerist (manager). He is the author of two volumes of haiku titled, “I Apologize In Advance For The Awful Things I’m Gonna Do” and “We Shouldn’t Be Doing This” (Stabby Crow Press). You can read a new haiku everyday on his Facebook.”

www.yumegardens.org, 2130 N. Alvernon Way, Tucson

Haiku Hike

“The Downtown Tucson Partnership together with the University of Arizona Poetry Center are proud to announce the 2nd annual Haiku Hike literary competition. Twenty winning haiku poems will be printed on acrylic signage and displayed in downtown planters located on Congress Street and Stone Avenue in Downtown Tucson. These signs will provide visual and cultural interest throughout the spring season, beginning April 3.

What is a Haiku…

… a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables in three lines of five, seven and five.

All haiku entries will be judged by Tucson’s Poet Laureate, TC Tolbert.

This year’s theme will be “Living in the Present Moment.” Learn more about how to write a haiku here.

Only one entry per person, with a maximum of three haiku allowed. Submissions will be accepted through March 10. Winners will be announced on Downtown Tucson Partnership’s website, social media and by email to all entrants on March 19. All winners will receive public recognition and have their work featured on public signage, online and in the media.

A few general rules:

1. One entry per person, with a maximum of three haiku allowed.
2. Once your haiku are submitted, you aren’t able to edit them. So be sure to look them over before you submit.”

Submit haiku here: https://www.downtowntucson.org/haikuhike/

Intro to Forest Bathing

“The healing Japanese practice of forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, involves deeply attuning your senses to your surroundings on a forest walk so as to experience a health-restoring sense of well-being. A way to calm mind and spirit, it offers a range of research-proven benefits; among them are reduced stress, lower blood pressure, increased physical energy, and improved concentration.

In a similar vein, Dr. Lee Ann Woolery, ecologist, artist, and resident of the Sonoran Desert, has developed the practice of mindfulness drawing in nature. In two experiential workshops at Yume, she will present forest bathing and her technique of mindfulness drawing and show how to combine them to tap into the energy or “spirit” of a natural setting and to experience “flow,” a state of energized focus bestowing a sense of being at one with your environment.

Sign up for one or both workshops! No art experience is necessary. The cost is $55 for adults. Click Here to Purchase Tickets”

Dates: Monday, March 2 and Wednesday, March 11.

Time: 9:00 am to Noon

For more information, visit: http://www.ecoartexpeditions.com/

www.yumegardens.org