Ice Skater Haiga

CONGRATULATIONS KIM YU-NA OF SOUTH KOREA FOR WINNING THE GOLD!

As I said earlier, I will explain a little more about haiga. Here it is. Haiga is a combination of haiku or other poems and pictures. It is also variously called haiku painting, poem painting, photo haiku or haiku photo. I just call them picture poems. The accompanying graphics are sometimes related to the poems, but, most of the time, the pictures only complement them.

Haiga originated in Japan alongside the development of haiku around 1600. Since poets used calligraphy in writing haiku, the subsequent addition of the same brush and ink artwork with the poem followed. Normally, the same poet adds painting to his works, but nowadays it is not unusual to have two artists compose haiga, the poet writing the verse and the painter doing the artwork in a collaborative effort. You will find examples here in my blog.

Bird haiga

Cast your worries and fly with me to nirvana.


Haiga or picture poem, as I call it, originated in Japan. Alongside the image, the poet write the haiku part. I will elaborate more on haiga next time. Meanwhile, here is a haiga collaboration between Stevie Strang and myself, pictured below. Stevie is not only a professional photographer but she is a darn good poet too. Hope you like our work.

Chinese ink painting haibun

Saturday, February 20, I participated in a Poets on Site reading highlighting the art works of Hyunsook Cho displayed in the Gallery of Contemporary Art at the Paciific Asia Museum in Pasadena, CA. Her works, “Sketches of China: Works on Paper” were on exhibit in the museum from January 6 to February 11. Sketches present the artist’s re-interpretation of traditional Chinese ink painting in different media - watercolor, gouache, graphite pencil and dried leaves collected by the artist in China. Members of the Southern California Haiku Study Group wrote poems, either haiku or habun, on their favorite painting. Here is my haibun or prose poem with Hyunsook's painting.




No matter where my restlessness and sense of adventure lead me in my travels abroad, the call of the tropical sun proves irresistible, beckoning me home to a familiar place where I grew up. The venerable and ancient mountains always bring balance and sense of power in my life. In their shadows, I am refreshed and strenghtened to face life’s challenges once more.

in majestic display
the China mountains
of my childhood

Haiku Society of America meeting

Last night, I was brave enough to do a mic reading of my haiku poems for the first time. The occasion was in conjunction with the "Urban Haiku Reading" sponsored by the Southern California Haiku Study Group and its parent entity, Haiku Society of America. held in Pasadena, CA. Today, there will be a whole afternoon of activity at the Pacific Asia Museum, 46 N. Los Robles, Pasadena, CA tel (626) 449-2742. If you are in the Los Angeles area, check it out. I read my haiku poems below.


morning chill
she grabs me back to bed
a little longer

store sign
we mend broken hearts
Valentine's Day

LA storm
the Asian magnolia
remains in bloom

still in bloom
California flowers dance
to winter song

Ash Wednesday

dust we are
to dust we shall return
the irrefutable law of nature

Happy Valentine's Day!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL!
Vic Gendrano

This Valentine's Day

I would trade all your gifts--
The heart-shaped chocolates
And lovely red roses
For warm embrace and kiss.

I would also forgo
The sleek ready-made card
With manufactured words
For whispered sweet-nothings.

The candlelight dinner
With romantic music
I would gladly exchange
For quiet night with you.

But this Valentine's Day
I'm left with memories
And numbing emptiness
Since you are far away.

In my book: Rustle of bamboo leaves

First love

Originally published in World Haiku Review, Vol. 2, Issue 2, July 2002. Included in my book, Rustle of bamboo leaves.

Super Bowl Champions

who dat?
from the ruins of Katrina
to Super Bowl champions
New Orleans' Saints
harbingers of hope

Parking sign's haiku

multilingual haiku
posted on some parking signs
in West Hollywood

The haiku were written in either Russian, Spanish, or English. This came from the evening news a night or so ago, Check this link: Parking sign haiku
I found another site showing pictures of the signs here: Rebecca Lowry's Pictures