Woodnotes — #26

Woodnotes #26 included the first of four seasonal haibun by Donna Claire Gallagher, “Autumn Trail,” with the three issues after this featuring a similarly titled haibun for each subsequent season. H. F. Noyes contributed a “Favorite Haiku” commentary on a poem by Helen J. Sherry. And a highlight of this issue was results and commentary for HPNC’s first-ever rengay contest, with a first-place tie going to “Moving Inside” by Valorie Woerdehoff and Connie Meester and to “Tidewater Marsh” by Ebba Story and Cherie Hunter Day. The commentary, which I wrote, reported on the observations of all three judges that “Moving Inside” worked on a literal/narrative level but also on an erotic level, giving rise to an awareness that rengay could develop more than just a single theme. “Tidewater Marsh” also distinguished itself through a clear sense of place and an emphasis on connecting with nature. Three honourable mention rengay also appeared. The “Haiku Life” segment of the “Woodnotes” news items included two limericks, and one more appeared in one of the mini-reviews. Here’s one of the limericks, by Elaine Chan, quoted from a letter to the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle:

To keep letters brief, it is true

That some would say, “Make them haiku.”

But if you’ve designs

On adding more lines

a limerick, maybe, would do?

Staff

• Editor: Michael Dylan Welch

• Associate Editor: Kenneth Tanemura

• Typesetting and layout: Michael Dylan Welch

• Cover and interior art: Helen K. Davie

Pages 56

Haiku/Senryu 102

Tanka 15

Haibun 1

Rengay 5

Limericks 3

Essays 1

Reports 1

Reviews 1

Mini-Reviews 17

Editorials 1

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