tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33720238102123403052024-03-20T04:48:50.627-04:00No more moon poemsJosh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-9894347556884455622013-03-10T12:21:00.000-04:002013-03-10T12:21:21.905-04:00Hiatus<p>For anyone still following or who stumbles across No More Moon Poems, I'm on tentatively permanent hiatus. Around the time of my last post (Sept. 2012), I took over editorship of the haiku journal <i>South by Southeast</i>. That editorial work now consumes the haiku portion of my time. And that along with a small side business, a full-time job, and time I spend helping to organize a local book arts group has meant that something had to give. Perhaps I'll get back to No More Moon Poems at some point in the future.</p>
<p>In the meantime, feel free to follow (and support!) us over at <a href="http://southbysoutheasthaiku.blogspot.com/">South by Southeast</a>. And if you're interested in seeing what I get up to in my book arts and bookbinding work, stop by my <a href="http://bluebluerbooks.blogspot.com/">Blue Bluer Books blog</a> or follow <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BlueBluerBooksJoshHockensmith">Blue Bluer Books on Facebook</a>.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-83487673210409509142012-09-28T17:14:00.002-04:002012-09-28T17:14:58.409-04:00Poem on Red DragonflyWhat a nice surprise -- Melissa Allen included a haiku from <i>No more moon poems</i> the other day over on her haiku blog, <a href="http://haikuproject.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/across-the-haikuverse-no-30-all-fall-down/">Red Dragonfly</a>.<br />
<br />
It's a beautiful site, well worth a follow.Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-57315180299454517592012-09-22T16:03:00.000-04:002012-09-22T16:03:03.760-04:00Update: South x Southeast haiku journal<br />
For those of you who are also interested in the haiku journal <i>South by Southeast</i>, please take a moment to read my recent post over there regarding some editorial changes we're undergoing:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://southbysoutheasthaiku.blogspot.com/2012/09/some-changes-at-sxse.html">http://southbysoutheasthaiku.blogspot.com/2012/09/some-changes-at-sxse.html</a><br />
<br />
Exciting -- albeit extremely busy -- times!<br />
<br />
<br />Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-56920325529967762012-09-07T06:57:00.001-04:002012-09-07T06:57:34.664-04:00snakeskinA variation on the last post:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />snakeskin<br />
<br />
off<br />
<br />
looking for heaven <br />
<br />
<br />Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-29296076921038401872012-08-17T21:32:00.000-04:002012-08-17T21:32:03.084-04:00off<br />
<br />
off<br />
looking for paradise --<br />
cicada husk<br />
<br />
<br />Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-76972775771656425352012-08-10T23:18:00.000-04:002012-08-10T23:18:17.173-04:00evening heat<br />
<br />
evening heat<br />
tree frog chant<br />
trickles down my neck<br />
<br />
<br />Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-17101541356556181512012-08-09T23:00:00.002-04:002012-08-09T23:00:58.800-04:00even from the radio<br />
<br />
even from the radio<br />
the loons' cries...<br />
<br />
<br />Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-5994496290145177982012-08-06T21:23:00.000-04:002012-08-06T21:23:25.633-04:00tick-tock-tick<br />
<br />
tick-tock-tick<br />
dragonfly in the sun<br />
cocks her wings<br />
<br />
<br />Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-65208526331583099022012-08-01T22:46:00.001-04:002012-08-01T22:46:43.672-04:00Sunday morning<br />
<br />
Sunday morning --<br />
the skink's blue tail<br />
never still<br />
<br />
<br />Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-42961760796596315842012-07-29T22:57:00.000-04:002012-07-29T22:57:21.789-04:00newly planted<br />
<br />
newly planted<br />
our banana tree<br />
droops<br />
<br />
<br />Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-49724444758754705482012-07-20T23:23:00.000-04:002012-07-20T23:23:34.452-04:00after Communion<br />
<br />
after Communion<br />
he kneels, fumbles<br />
to check his phoneJosh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-29994838349958060492012-07-19T23:45:00.000-04:002012-07-19T23:45:08.236-04:00in the shade<br />
<br />
in the giant agave's shade<br />
a ring<br />
of younger agaves<br />
<br />
<br />Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-57276837951019977302012-07-18T22:32:00.000-04:002012-07-18T22:32:24.421-04:00closing her eyes<br />
closing her eyes<br />
my wife<br />
catches her first wave<br />
<br />
<br />Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-2768974023806074022012-05-28T22:26:00.000-04:002012-05-28T22:26:34.011-04:00a haiku from Muriel Rukeyser<br />
The sea<br />
comes toward me<br />
across the sea<br />
<br />
<br />
[excised from Muriel Rukeyser's "The Outer Banks", discovered in the <em><a href="http://www.nclr.ecu.edu/issues/2005.html">North Carolina Literary Review</a></em><a href="http://www.nclr.ecu.edu/issues/2005.html">, issue no.14 (2005)</a>]Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-51853713012572826452012-05-20T10:20:00.000-04:002012-05-20T10:20:14.725-04:00Don Wentworth on R.H. BlythDon Wentworth -- editor of the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/lilliputreview/home">Lilliput Review</a> and <a href="http://lilliputreview.blogspot.com/">Issa's Untidy Hut</a> haiku blog -- recently posted a brilliant riff on R.H. Blyth. It begins:
<blockquote><p>"Sometimes, it seems that R. H. Blyth is to modern American haiku as Sigmund Freud is to modern psychology: a bit of a dotty old granddad, overdressed in a woolen suit on a hot, humid day, crumbs of this and that all down his front, with a glint in his eye of philosophical shenanigans none too pleasing to the parents in attendance.</p>
<p>Of course, all the grand kids are jumping up and down in his lap like there's no tomorrow."</p></blockquote>
<p>Hmm -- taken out of the context of the full essay that sounds more negative than it should (funny and accurate as it is). The piece turns into more of an appreciation as it goes on, though.</p>
<p>For the full post, check out <a href="http://lilliputreview.blogspot.com/2012/05/r-h-blyth-aim-of-haiku.html">http://lilliputreview.blogspot.com/2012/05/r-h-blyth-aim-of-haiku.html</a>.</p>Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-68922228555795874832012-03-30T21:29:00.003-04:002012-03-30T21:52:48.766-04:00On a different note: Discovering William T. VollmannAlthough I've been aware of his name for years, I'm just now starting to read and discover the work of William T. Vollmann. The first thing I read was his book about hopping freight trains, <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780061256769">Riding Toward Everywhere</a>, and I'm hooked. That book is full of close observation that will make any haiku poet smile, and portrays a gritty, wandering world that Basho and Issa would surely recognize. <br /><br />Here are a couple of favorite short passages:<br /><br /><blockquote>Now from the blackness I began to see other stars, right over that foot-high strip of steel that reminded me not to fall into Anywhere. I sent my hand an inch over the edge and touched cold wind. I touched darkness. And beside me there came more and ever more stars, brighter and whiter and clearer than I had seen in a long time. Indeed, I had forgotten the stars, as I so often will on those other nights of my life. No matter what I have accomplished and whom I have loved, how much I have lost by missing the stars for so many of my nights! And now I am grey, and who knows when I will die, and never see the stars again? Who would I have been if I could have been alongside these stars always?</blockquote><br /><br />And, talking about the loneliness of riding freights, and the decline in the number of hobos on trains these days:<br /><br /><blockquote>I had expected my travels to be picaresque, teeming with wise, bizarre or menacing outlaw characters. At the very least, I had imagined that without really trying I would meet dozens of people of Pittsburgh Ed's sterling caliber. In fact my various odysses were haunted by absence, with only here and there a few lost voices... singing about the way things used to be <em>back then</em>, as if they were crickets who had inexplicably outlived their summer.</blockquote><br /><br />Man, I love that last line. I highly recommend that book, and now have moved on to a collection of essays, <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781560254416">Expelled from Eden</a> -- also excellent so far.Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-63292613607937883572012-03-22T23:16:00.002-04:002012-03-22T23:20:55.550-04:00in mid-airin mid-air<br />the inchworm<br />spins<br /><br />through the open window<br />the choir's<br />hallelujahs <br />ascend<br />and ascendJosh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-56607462993254266722012-03-05T22:59:00.004-05:002012-03-05T23:50:00.790-05:00Haiku and photography VI<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpIt__FaQVF4TdhVW0RmpAt915q12ixWkpT3EcvSNDzPHbTCv5bMRTOOYhVc_KF9S2gOlXt8vwW_nmve10fZHrf8dJbBe6LrqpghP1rqj9-mye2fQ61b43Y98CpHZY-23Chu1yiEwOrch/s1600/Naksan.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 219px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpIt__FaQVF4TdhVW0RmpAt915q12ixWkpT3EcvSNDzPHbTCv5bMRTOOYhVc_KF9S2gOlXt8vwW_nmve10fZHrf8dJbBe6LrqpghP1rqj9-mye2fQ61b43Y98CpHZY-23Chu1yiEwOrch/s320/Naksan.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5716630377223525634" /></a>At work in the art library today, I came across this beautiful book of photographs: <em>Naksan</em> by Korean photographer <a href="http://www.boomoon.net/index.html">Boomoon</a>. It's a series of black-and-white photos of a storm-swept beachbreak. I think that they first appealed to me because the ocean they show looks very familiar -- not the perfect, air-brushed waves of a surf magazine or the raging, dramatic seas of shipwreck drama. Just the kind of normal, sloppy, unremitting ocean that any beach bum or surfer has watched for hours and hours on end, waiting for the prettier days to come.<br /><br />That made the photos appeal to me in a haiku-aesthetic kind of way, in the way that they chronicled a sequence of regular moments and were not conventionally beautiful or overtly dramatic. The book ends with an essay by Shino Kuraishi (about whom I know nothing, unfortunately). The essay begins:<br /><br /><blockquote>"Long ago, there was a term in Zen Buddhism, genjô, which has been translated as "actualization" or "realization." It refers to things manifesting themselves before our eyes as they are, appearing in a raw, unprocessed form. By all rights, the photographic apparatus was well suited to reproducing this ultimate ideal, the unadorned, unvarnished manifestation of things. But photography has produced no more than a mere semblance or pseudo-actualization, and all too often has degenerated into the realm of fiction where the "thing as it is" becomes "something it is not," providing ample evidence of repeated disgrace."</blockquote><br /><br />The opening of this quote speaks directly to the way that haiku and photography have often seemed like beautiful partners to me. As the quote continues, though, it also unintentionally points out a limitation that can plague haiku practice if taken too strictly -- a prejudice against presenting anything other than the 'thing as it is.' While such haiku can be the most sublime examples of the form, not every one has to be a somber sermon. Some imagination, some humor, some adornment are necessary to liven things up, to keep us fresh enough to appreciate the more subtle, serious moments that otherwise might become monotonous. And besides, sometimes the thing-as-it-is IS imaginative, deceptive, varnished, adorned, etc., and there's no disgrace in that...<br /><br />In any case, this is a beautifully produced book put out in 2010 by Nazraeli Press. I'm looking forward to seeking out more of Boomoon's work.Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-44567123106941034002012-03-04T22:36:00.002-05:002012-03-04T23:05:11.560-05:00spinach seed<br /><br />spinach seed<br />nestling<br />in the cool, wet soil,<br />the pink, pulsing earthworm<br /><br /><br />Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-87227624629183191042012-03-02T21:32:00.002-05:002012-03-02T21:51:05.802-05:00"in our bodies now" featured on The The poetry blogReally pleased to announce that <a href="http://www.thethepoetry.com/2012/03/joshhockensmith/">The The poetry blog</a> has featured my haiku sequence "in our bodies now" as their poem of the week for this week. <br /><br />Thanks to wünderpoet/friend Colie Hoffman for introducing me to The The, and for inviting me on. I'm honored to share space with the steady stream of excellent poets and poeticizers they publish there.Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-62330365133656281422012-02-29T22:19:00.004-05:002012-02-29T22:28:27.287-05:00Haiku artist's book<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOy1QJD-weqMcc0bEXyyjUHyeCKZEHr_ZFLIXWIozGLUPTu-KReeL7TmMezit5d6XthEgiFaG4SXTgNiiHM7wljk8q4VnoF5B8xO5dPb7cAGhezSJe9hnK9hvxXUz5hektOuzypx8oxBOe/s1600/nodding+off.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOy1QJD-weqMcc0bEXyyjUHyeCKZEHr_ZFLIXWIozGLUPTu-KReeL7TmMezit5d6XthEgiFaG4SXTgNiiHM7wljk8q4VnoF5B8xO5dPb7cAGhezSJe9hnK9hvxXUz5hektOuzypx8oxBOe/s320/nodding+off.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5714764477874172594" /></a>Last fall I used haiku from <em>No more moon poems</em> to create a one-of-a-kind artist's book. To learn more and to see more photos, check out my new post on the <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://bluebluerbooks.blogspot.com/2012/02/5-haiku.html">blue bluer books</span> blog</a>: <a href="http://bluebluerbooks.blogspot.com/2012/02/5-haiku.html">http://bluebluerbooks.blogspot.com/2012/02/5-haiku.html</a>.<br /><br /><br />Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-83029559560446372022012-02-22T09:11:00.002-05:002012-02-22T22:43:36.207-05:00the rock wall<br /><br />the rock wall<br />ripples<br />like a running wolf<br /><br /><br />Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-18271634363823054942012-02-18T17:15:00.003-05:002012-02-18T17:22:51.878-05:00Alan Watts on haikuDon Wentworth over at <a href="http://lilliputreview.blogspot.com/2012/02/reactions-to-watts-on-writing-reader.html">Issa's Untidy Hut</a> recently shared this, and I had to pass it along, too. A lecture by Alan Watts about haiku (and zen):<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XxCGFSxDTo&feature=player_embedded#!<br /><br /><br />I'm still only 15 minutes into it myself, but it's outstanding. (It's 43 minutes total...) Enjoy!<br /><br /><br />Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-36906471618795274192012-02-16T22:35:00.004-05:002012-02-16T22:44:32.026-05:00doubts<br />doubts<br />each painful as the sun<br />slightly empty<br /><br /><br /><br />-----------------<br />(today's haiku composed of lines chosen at random from poems by Frank O'Hara. Selected from <em><a href="http://bluebluerbooks.blogspot.com/2012/02/new-addition-to-library.html">In Memory of My Feelings</a></em>.)Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372023810212340305.post-45452288044118818972012-02-15T22:01:00.003-05:002012-02-15T22:15:15.428-05:00at the diner<br />Inspiration these days has been coming more from Frank O'Hara and visual artists than in haiku form, so a little sketch today. This one is inspired by a Jasper Johns print in the wonderful book <em><a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780870705106">In Memory of My Feelings</a></em> (New York: MoMA, 2005)<br /><br /><br />at the diner<br />in a booth, <br />mint green,<br />the painters'<br />animated<br />talk<br /><br />in the shallow bowl <br />of the spoon<br />just a smudge<br />of black <br /><br /><br />Josh Hockensmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08076902096863597045noreply@blogger.com0