Haiku:
Expressing Your Deepest Self in 17 Syllables

with Clark Strand

A Day-Long Workshop
Saturday, March 18, 2022, 10:30 am - 3:30 pm
Part One: 10:30 am - 12 pm - presentation
12 pm - 2 pm - lunch break and personal time for writing haiku
Part Two: 2 pm - 3:30 pm - kukai contest
Eastern Time (USA, Canada)
Please convert to your Time Zone

This Program Will Not be recorded.
Program Cost: $75

ENROLL NOW

“The greatest haiku ever written are still simple. Still basic. Still only 17 syllables long.”

Every art form has its basics—those fundamental principles, forms, or techniques that must be set in place before you can learn the finer points of the craft. Watch children in any beginning ballet class, and you’ll see them learning the same five positions. Art classes the world over invariably begin with the line.

Haiku also has its basics. But there is a difference. The art of haiku lies in sticking to the basics rather than using them to develop larger, more complex expressions of the art. There are no Swan Lakes in haiku. No Sistine Chapels. The greatest haiku ever written are still simple. Still basic. Still only 17 syllables long.

This day-long workshop offers an introduction to the basic principles of haiku so that poets can begin writing right away. The atmosphere will be friendly, open, and collaborative, with an emphasis on using haiku to connect more deeply with ourselves, with one another, and with the Earth.

Who Is It For

People who like to read or write poetry
People who want to refine their writing skills by learning to make every word count
Those interested in strengthening their healing connection with the natural world and experiencing the comfort of its seasonal rhythms
Those looking for a positive, life affirming experience of community in a setting where every voice is heard
Those interested in the deep expression of their Self

Your Instructor

Clark Strand is a former senior editor at Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. His books include Seeds From a Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey and The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary, which was co-authored with his wife, Perdita Finn. He teaches the popular group “Weekly Haiku Challenges with Clark Strand” on Facebook and leads Tricycle's monthly haiku challenge, as well as the Tricycle Haiku Challenge Facebook group.

“Whether you’re a beginner, or if you’ve been writing haiku for years, if you have a chance to study with poet/author, Clark Strand, grab it. A gifted poet and teacher, Clark has a knack for diving deep into his students’ poems, gently guiding each of them to grow. His deep understanding and knowledge of the form makes him one of the finest (if not the finest) teachers of haiku in the English language.”

—Suzanne Tyrpak, Author & Haiku Poet

What You Will Learn

How to use 5-7-5 syllable form to create a miracle of poetic compression
How to craft a “season word” to connect yourself and your reader to the natural world
How to create an original “turn of thought” that gives your 17 syllable haiku MORE than 17 syllables of meaning
How to create and maintain a daily haiku practice so that your poems get better and better over time
How to use haiku to connect with others—by joining an existing haiku community . . . or starting one of your own

“Enter a world of poetic play.”

To study haiku with Clark Strand is to enter a world of poetic play that is grounded in nature and the seasons. In his Weekly Challenge group and Master Class, I learned to turn my eye inward and outward as we studied haiku masters, ancient and modern, wrote dozens of haiku, shared them with the group, and received feedback from Clark. Working with a group of interesting people from various walks of life became a highlight of my week.

—Susan Polizzotto

“Clark Strand weaves poetry, weather, and Zen into a delightfully luminous pathway anyone can walk.”

—Rick Fields, How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America

“…expressing ourselves and nature in the spirit of play.”

Clark is an exceptional and rare teacher whose love of haiku is infectious. He has a vast knowledge of haiku and expertly guides us in expressing ourselves and nature in the spirit of play. Also, the support and encouragement from this community has made writing fun again and, as I've found, invaluable to writing consistently.

—Kelly Shaw