Monday, March 05, 2012

Poet Owen Bullocks' Greensplat Newletter Vo.1

The Greensplat Newsletter
Welcome to the first Greensplat Newsletter! Why that strange name, I hear you ask. Well, it's the
name of the village in which I grew up, in Cornwall, UK. The village no longer exists, but lies at the
bottom of an expanding clay mine. Last year I wrote this tanka:

you don't see
the value of something
until it's gone
I want to name a newspaper
after my village

I realised that I would soon need to act on the impulse of the poem. So here it is! I'll keep you
informed of some things that are happening in the world of poetry and that might help you stay in
touch and develop, especially workshops.
Speaking of which, I gave a Poetry Workshop in Paeroa on Febraury 17th, attended by 14
enthusiastic and engaging writers. The day was organised by the Bay of Plenty branch of the New
Zealand Society of Authors. We began by discussing the strengths of two contemporary poems by
Irish writers Catherine Phil MacCarthy and Mary Rose Callan. Then came a free writing exercise,
with a twist, further discussion on work by Brian Kennerley and Philip Gross and then the
fashioning of material collected into a free verse poem. After lunch, we looked at examples of
villanelles from Dylan Thomas and Elizabeth Bishop before launching into a re-write of the
morning's work into that form - what an exercise for the brain! After readings from ancient
examples we considered modern tanka and its structure, and had a go at writing one or two!
The Sociey of Authors will be hosting further workshops in the area in the near future. If you're part
of a writing group, why not consider inviting me to run a workshop for you.
For those of you who would like more dialogue and guidance for your work, I now offer a one-toone
Mentoring Service to help aspiring poets reach a publishable standard.
Batches of 5-10 poems are preferred, but this is negotiable and whole manuscripts will be
considered. Like my mechanic, I work at an hourly rate. Contact me at: bullock.trail@orcon.net.nz
It's a pleasure for any teacher to see a Former Student go on to enjoy success and publication. One
such name that makes me glow with pride is Kirsten Cliff. She has kindly allowed me to re-print
one of her tanka and a few comments which she sent me:

re-negotiating
my drug regime
with the doctors
I tell them that today
they may see me cry
Kirsten Cliff (first published in paper wasp 17:3)

"You have certainly played an instrumental part in my developing as a poet: being the first to say
my haiku was good and that I should submit to Kokako, then teaching me through the Waiariki
course and again recommending I seek publication for some of my poems, right through to your
tanka workshop with the Papamoa Poets group, which got me firmly on the tanka trail."
Kirsten is now one of New Zealand's most frequently published poets in the genres of haiku and
tanka, appearing in a range of journals internationally. Her work was anthologised in the taste of
nashi - New Zealand Haiku.
Working through a Poetry Course online can be a good way to develop your writing skills.
Currently, I am teaching at the New Zealand Writers' College. In this 'Introduction to Poetry' course,
students work at their own pace on three modules taught over 3-6 months, which cover line breaks,
figures of speech, rhythm and rhyme. The course outline can be found here:
http://www.nzwriterscollege.co.nz/
In the second semester this year (beginning July 16th), the Waiariki Institute of Technology's
'Reading & Writing Poetry' looks at a wide variety of forms - Free Verse, the Ballad, Waiata,
Pantoum, Villanelle, Sonnet, Haiku and Tanka - and the skills needed to succeed with them. You'll
also find courses such as 'Travel Writing' and 'Penning the Past' at this address, under the Computer,
Technology and Communications heading: http://ecampus.waiariki.ac.nz/

For myself, the recent emphasis has been on tanka. This has probably got something to do with the
fact that for the last year I've been one of the editors of Take Five: Best Contemporary Tanka,
Volume IV. It's been a massive task in which a team of ten editors read something like 22,000 tanka
published all over the world in 2011 to find the best and the most representative work. And it's
almost done! The anthology will be published in May, 2012.

For those who are interested, the previous, third volume, which includes tanka by six New
Zealanders (Andre Surridge, Catherine Bullock, Elaine Riddell, Owen Bullock, Patricia Prime and
Tony Beyer), is available here: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/take-five-bestcontemporary-
tanka-vol-three/15826236
But longer poems are once again in the ascendant as I've agreed to be Guest Editor for Poetry NZ
#45, due for publication in September, 2012. A few years ago I edited three consecutive issues, #s
35-37, and my own work was featured in #27. You can find more information here:
http://www.poetrynz.net/
Notice: Haiku Festival Aotearoa, June 15-17, 2012, Tauranga
The festival includes workshops on haibun, tanka, haiku and renku. I am giving a workshop on
'Haiku as Performance' on Saturday 16th at 11 am. More information at:
http://hfa2012.wordpress.com/
Please check out my website for more info and available books:
http://www.owenbullock.com/
Footnote:
If you wish to receive future copies of this report contact Owen Bullock [bullock.trail@orcon.net.nz]

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