HAIKUsutradhar : 14th February 2025

A FRIDAY FEATURE

Host: Gauri Dixit

Prompter for February: Srinivasa Rao Sambangi

OUR MISSION

1. To provide a new poetry workshop each Friday, along with a prompt.

2. To select haiku, senryu, and haiga each month for the journal, haikuKATHA. Each issue will select poems that were posted in this forum from the 3rd of the previous month to the 2nd of the current month.

FEEDBACK GUIDELINES ( Included as a guideline, please do not be constrained by these while proving feedback )

Let the feedback be specific and constructive. Don’t be vague. Here are some helpful lines you could use to give feedback.

What is working for me :

1. The seasonal reference is good.

2. The image is very clear.

3. I love the internal rhythm.

4. When read aloud, the poem flows well.

5. The 'cut' which is so important in haiku is effectively done here.

6. I like the format ...it's short,long, short. Nice

7. I love the indent you have given

Points that aren't working for me:

1. The image is abstract

2. The lines are long.

3. Some words are redundant and can be safely removed.

4. The lightness of haiku isn't here.

5. Abstract words take away the haiku's charm

6. There is no 'cut' (kire) in this haiku.

7. There are two kigo (seasonal words) in this ku.

8. This is reading more like free verse.

9. This ku is reading as three separate lines. There is no connect.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

1. Post a maximum of two verses per week, from Friday to Friday, numbered 1 & 2. Post only one haiku in a day, in 24 hours.

2. Only post unpublished verses --- nothing that has appeared in peer-reviewed or edited journals, anthologies, your webpage, social media, etc.

3. Only post original verses.

4. For each poem you post, comment on one other person’s poem.

5. Give feedback only to those poets who have requested it.

6. Do not post a variety of drafts, along with a request for readers to choose which they like most. Only one poem is to appear in each original post.

7. Post each revision, if you have any, above the original. The top version will be your submission to haikuKATHA. Do not delete the original post.

8. Do not submit found poetry or split sequences.

9. Do not post photos, except for haiga.

10. haikuKATHA will only consider haiga that showcase original artwork or photos. Post details re: the source of the visual image. If you team up with an artist or photographer, make sure that it’s their original work and that they are not restricted by other publications to share it. We won't be responsible for any copyright issues.

11. Put your name, followed by your country, below each poem, even after revisions.

Poems that do not follow the guidelines may be deleted.

Founder/Managing Editor of haikuKATHA Monthly Journal: Kala Ramesh

Associate Editors: Ashish Narain Firdaus Parvez Priti Aisola Sanjuktaa Asopa Shalini Pattabiraman Suraja Menon Roychowdhury Vandana Parashar Vidya Shankar

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PROMPT:

14th February

Srinivasa Rao Sambangi

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Week 2

Merriam Webster Dictionary defines poverty as “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions”. Poverty is a global issue that affects millions of people around the world. It’s characterised by a lack of basic necessities like food, water, housing and education. Poverty can also lead to poor health, displacement and exploitation.

8.5% of the global population that is almost 70 crores of people live on less than Rs180 per day. This is against the global average per capita income of more than Rs2000 per day. The gap between poor and rich is widening day by day. Progress on shared prosperity has stalled since the pandemic due to slow economic growth and a divergence in mean economies.

The prompt for your haiku/senryu this week is poverty

Examples:

farmer’s child

grinding rice

looks to the moon

        --- Basho

windfall

the piece of loaf in garbage

missed by stray

          ---Vishnu Kapoor

fasting

in the name of god

mother’s lies

       --- Srinivasa Rao Sambangi

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Looking forward to reading your haiku.

Write on! Gauri