David R - I hope you don't mind me saying that your revisions have made a dramatic difference! How exciting!
Steve - that's a terrific idea. Drills is perfect for what we need, and the organised form you describe is very wise. I keep hearing Lee say 'respect the reader', which could be the single commandment for all poetry, but writing and sharing haiku confronts the importance of respect full-on.
I have been so impressed by the playfulness intrinsic to haiku. I delight in the feeling of foolishness and vulnerability the form inspires. It keeps you close to something so valuable. A child's perception. A child's heart.
So - I'm all for the sandpit approach! It took me a while to join in the warm-up, although I attended quietly. But if you had called it 'Sand-box' I would have jumped right in, believe me!! So SNAP!
I so agree that Lee's comments on context and the elements are invaluable - so crucial to the success of a haiku. I feel privileged to have shared in the conversation. I have collected his scattered pearls from all the pages of the thread, and they read wonderfully now that I have strung them on a single string. And I have done the same with your judicious gems, too!
I can't be around tomorrow for Lee's final day, so here's to sandcastles and rising steam!
Cally
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