Haiku Bridges: Mt. Fuji to the Land of Whitman:
2nd Annual Nick Virgilio Haiku Conference
April 28, 2007

Workshops Offered:
WRITING HAIKU AND SENRYU
Instructors: Raffael de Gruttola and Alan Pizzarelli
The workshop will demonstrate the differences between the haiku and senryu forms, using examples of each by poets working in these genres today. There will be a brief description and explanation of what constitutes a haiku in comparison to a senryu and how to make a distinction between the two. Participants will be asked to submit a haiku or senryu of their choice, if they wish, for discussion.

UNDERSTANDING, TEACHING AND WRITING HAIKU
Instructors: Marilyn Hazelton and Ralph Quinn
What are sabi, karumi, kogo kizuko; and how can understanding these concepts help us appreciate and write contemporary English language haiku? Marilyn Hazelton and Ralph Quinn will connect traditional and contemporary haiku, ranging from the poetic refinement of Basho to the gritty, urban refinement of Nick Virgilio. Participants will be encouraged to write a brief series of haiku stimulated by the technique of repeating a phrase, with examples from Shiki and Virgilio.

************
NICK VIRGILIO
Nick Virgilio was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1928. He graduated from
Temple University with a BA in English (1952). In 1962, he discovered haiku
poetry at Rutgers-Camden's library where he came across A Pepper-Pod,
Kenneth Yasuda's collection of English-language haiku. From then on, Nick
devoted his life to studying, writing and promoting haiku. The prolific poet
looked to his friends, including his parish priest Father Michael Doyle, for
feedback on his new creations. As his friends attest, "What do you think of
this one?" was Nick's favorite question. Nick's book, Selected Haiku,
published in a second edition in 1988, is one of the most important books
ever published by an American haiku poet. He died on January 3, 1989, while
preparing to tape the TV show Nightwatch on which he was invited to
discuss his passion for haiku. (adapted from Cor van den Heuvel, "Nick Virgilio and American Haiku: Creating Haiku and an Audience," www.nickvirgilio.rutgers.edu).

OUR WORKSHOP LEADERS:
Raffeal de Gruttola
Raffael de Gruttola is the past president and treasurer of the Haiku Society of America and has been an active haiku poet for many years. He has one book of haiku, Recycle, published in 1989, and another book of concrete renga, Circling Bats, in collaboration with Carlos Colon, published in 2001, and a book of haiga, Echoes In Sand. His haiku have been published in many haiku magazines both in the States, as well as Japan, Canada, England, Romania, and in Europe. He has written tanka, collaborated with visual artists for haiga, and has been invited on two occasions to Japan to participate in haiku and renku collaborations with poets from around the world.

Alan Pizzarelli
Alan Pizzarelli studied haiku and related forms under the tutelage of Professor Harold G. Henderson, author of An Introduction to Haiku and Haiku in English. His work has been widely anthologized in many major publications, including in each of the three editions of The Haiku Anthology, edited by Cor van den Heuvel. He was also a consultant for Jack Kerouac’s Book of Haikus edited by Regina Weinreich. He currently is the Senryu Editor of www.simplyhaiku.com.

Marilyn Hazelton
Marilyn Hazelton has taught haiku in public and private schools, from 3rd grade through high school. Rostered as a poet with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts since 2000, her work includes residencies or readings in France, Japan and Morocco. Her poetry has been published in Modern Haiku, Bottle Rockets, and Red Lights. She is a co-facilitator of the Grand Central Tanka Cafe, the first and oldest tanka critique group in the U.S. and will be a presenter at Haiku North America in Winston-Salem, NC, this August.

Ralph Quinn
Ralph Quinn studied Japanese language and culture for three years in Japan and then at the University of Chicago, where he received an M.A. in Japanese language and intellectual history. His research included the influence of
Buddhism on the Japanese view of nature. For many years, Ralph was a translator of Japanese. He now teaches writing at the University of the
Arts, Rider University, and Rutgers-Camden, where in fall 2006 he taught a course on haiku.

NOTE: The Nick Virgilio Haiku Association is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all in every aspect of our operation. Public accommodations for people with disabilities enables those with disabilities to participate in the First Annual Nick Virgilio Conference, A Haiku Eye On Camden. Parking for people with disabilities will be provided. In compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act, we request that you notify NVHA to specify needed assistance by calling Mary at 215-635-6220, 10 days prior to the event.

Funding made possible in part by the Camden County Cultural & Heritage Commission through the NJ Council on the Arts/ Dept. of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; Rutgers-Camden English Department; and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities