THE HAIBUN GALLERY: 17th October 2024. Billie Dee, featured poet

hosts: Shalini Pattabiraman & Vidya Shankar

mentor: Lorraine Haig

A Thursday Feature

17th October 2024

This month we have the pleasure of celebrating the work of Billie Dee. 

Billie Dee is the former Poet Laureate of the U.S. National Library Service. A retired health care worker, she earned her doctorate at U.C. Irvine, completed post-graduate training at U.C. San Diego. Although she writes in a variety of genres, her primary focus is Japaniform poetry. A native Californian, she now lives in the Chihuahuan Desert with her family and a betta fish named Ramon. Billie publishes both online and off.

You can access Billie’s blog in the link attached below. 

Website: www.billie-dee-haiku.blogspot.com

Billie Dee

Proper Living

Grandpa won’t oil the squeaky windmill, says he likes it that way—tells him

where he’s at in a dust storm. A man of strict habits, he’s extra gentle

with horses and kids.

double yolked egg

the rooster-spur scar

on Mama's shin

Up before dawn, he shaves without a mirror, chooses a blue plaid shirt

with mother-of-pearl snaps at the cuff, which he keeps neatly tucked

into dark trousers. He won’t wear jeans like Daddy, “cause no gentleman

rides out looking like that.” Come sunset he smells like a hot branding iron.

shelling peas

into the enameled pan

plink-plink-plink 

After dressing the tack with neatsfoot oil and brushing his Stetson, Grandpa

strips to the waist in the cow shed. A red-handled pump squeals till primed,

then gushes into the wash trough. Fresh-laundered coveralls keep the man tidy

while he milks the three golden guernseys.

sink high

a line of damp

marks Granny's apron

Source: Contemporary Haibun Online, 19:3, Dec 2023

SP: How do you view the relationship between title, prose and haiku?

BD: I see each element as part of a three-legged stool. Careful attention to each is necessary to balance a well-written haibun. Traditionally, the prose—whether narrative, lyrical, speculative, or otherwise—should be concise and clearly written. Likewise, the title and haikai ought to be fresh and inviting. Ideally, all three are disjunctive but clearly (or intuitively) linked.

SP: Do you believe haibun has any specific boundaries that one must follow?

BD: Yes. Each element of the poem (title, narrative, and verse) should be balanced and engaging. To honor the tradition of classical haibun writing, the prose is usually concise, even compressed. On the other hand, some of my favorite poets use inventive ruminations, run-on diction, even wildly divergent passages. The key point is to stimulate reader anticipation and (most importantly) imaginative participation.

I also think the haikai should be able to stand alone as an independent poem. I realize, not everyone agrees with this—but for me as a writer and editor, it’s a core requirement.

Prompt: 

On your page, list a name, a place, an animal and a thing. Now write a haiku/haibun using this list but set it in your grandparents time. Create another list and write a different haiku/haibun and set it in an imagined future. Next connect these two pieces together to make one. You might need some tinkering but try not to change heavily. 

PLEASE NOTE:

1. Only two haibun per poet per prompt.

2. Share your best-polished pieces.

3. Please do not post something in a hurry or something you have just written.

    Let it simmer for a while.

4. Post your final edited version on top of your original verse.

5. Don't forget to give feedback on others' poems.

We are delighted to open the comment thread for you to share your unpublished haibun (within 300 words) to be considered for inclusion in haikuKATHA monthly journal.

Important: Since we're swamped with submissions, and our editors are only human, mistakes can happen. Please, please, remember to put your name, followed by your country, below each poem, even after revisions. It helps our editors; they won't have to type it in, saving them from potential typos. Thanks a ton!