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FAST FACTS:
| COURSE NAME: |
Haibun Writing |
| FACILITATOR: |
Pamelyn Casto
p.casto@worldnet.att.net |
| DURATION: |
Four-Week Course |
| PRICE: |
$80.00 |
| COURSE BOOK (required): |
Journey to the Interior: American Versions of Haibun, Edited by Dr. Bruce
Ross. Boston — Rutland, Vermont — Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc. 1998 |
| START DATE: |
Monday, January 12, 2004 |
| SIGN UP DEADLINE: |
January 9, 2004 |
WORKSHOP SYLLABUS
Haibun writing is enjoying an astounding rise in popularity with writers and publishers alike. Briefly, haibun is a combination of
vivid prose paragraphs, short poetry (haiku), and sometimes simple pen and
ink art work (haiga — and the haiga portion of the haibun can be art work that's generated with photographs or computer graphics as well). Haibun can be as short as a paragraph or as long as a
novella. This course will focus on the paragraph-length haibun.
Haibun is often referred to as a travel journal/diary or a type
of nature writing. But it's actually much more than that. It's
an old and honored literary form that makes use of various fine
literary techniques. Haibun can record a journey to an actual
far-off place, and/ or can record the journeys we make in our
everyday lives or in our minds. It can be a multimedia type of work and with the Internet and new technologies it's rising in writer/reader popularity. Today there are several print and online journals that request haibun submissions. Course participants will study the art of haiku and the art of haibun as the two types of writing (poetry and prose paragraphs) intersect. |
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"Overall, I can't say enough good things about the course and I highly
recommend it to anyone who wants to be creatively challenged, to learn a
lot about haibun, and to have fun doing it!"
— Karla Dalley |
This four-week course, limited to approximately fifteen students, will help aspiring
writers understand some effective principles for writing haibun and participants will also learn about
marketing their haibun work.
Facilitator: Pamelyn Casto
email: p.casto@worldnet.att.net
Week One: Introduction to Haiku Poetry & A Brief Look at Haibun and Haiga
The first week will include an overview article on some history of haibun
and some of its characteristics. Participants will first explore the art of haiku, which look easy to write, but are definitely not. Then participants will explore how haiku fit with the prose paragraphs of haibun. There will be reading assignments and related exercises. Week Two: The Reverse Haibun
Participants will study a variety of haibun with a special focus on the "reverse" haibun, and create haibun paragraphs from published haiku. There will be reading assignments and related exercises. Participants will also critique work of others in the course and will receive critiques for their own work as well. Week Three: Writing Haibun
Participants will write full haibun pieces, creating their own prose
paragraphs and haiku. There will be reading assignments, exercises, and
critiques as well. Week Four: Markets for Haibun
This final week will discuss marketing haibun and possibilities for the art
form (as well as for finishing up any unfinished workshop business).
PREREQUISITE: None, other than a strong desire on the part of workshop participants to
learn as much as possible about writing haibun.
REQUIRED COURSE BOOK:  Journey to the Interior: American Versions of Haibun. Bruce Ross, Editor.
Boston — Rutland, Vermont — Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc., 1998.
OBJECTIVE:
By the course's end, participants will have gained a greater understanding
of some of the important principles of writing haiku and haibun and a
greater awareness of markets for this type of writing. Participants will
have created several haiku and haibun and will have a collection of ideas
for future haibun pieces.
MORE COMMENTS FROM STUDENTS TAKING PAM'S HAIBUN CLASS:
"I needed something to jolt me back into my writing because the marketing
phase of trying to get my book published has been very draining, creatively.
Haibun did the trick though for me, I've been writing every day. I'm also
looking forward to revitializing my visual art interests by incorporating
some images into my work as well."
— Janet Paszkowski "The level of participation of the students was very high, and everyone did a
great job critiquing fellow students' work. The style of critiquing was
friendly and constructive, and an important part of the process.
"Finally, I find that Pam herself gives very insightful feedback on student
work. She is a very sophisticated reader with a finely tuned ear, and she is
able to deliver her critiques in a way that provides a good model for the
rest of us."
— Erica Fox
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR: Pamelyn Casto created
and runs the Flash Fiction Writing Workshop (http://home.att.net/~p.casto),
and is the editor of the online monthly Flash Fiction
Flash: The Newsletter for Flash Literature Writers (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FlashFictionFlash).
Pam's work — articles, stories, essays poems — has been
published in both print and on the 'net, including in The
Toastmaster Magazine, The Art of Haiku 2000, Potpourri,
Perihelion, Ship of Fools, flashquake, Mindprints,
Agrippina, Wild Strawberries, Riding the
Meridian, Fiction Fix, Amaze: The Cinquain Journal,
Suddenly Sudden Fiction and Prose Poetry (Vols III & V).
Pam's articles on writing flash fiction have been published in
various Writer's Digest publications and her article
on flash fiction writing appears in the 7th Edition (2003) of Bridging
The Gap: College Reading (Longman). For the last three years, several times each year, Pam has taught online courses on writing flash fiction.
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