Charlotte Digregorio of Winnetka, IL, author of six award-winning books, including Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All, and a haiku collection, will give a workshop and do a reading at the annual gathering of the Haiku Circle, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, June 2 at 152 Mount Herman Station Rd. in Northfield, MA.
Digregorio will speak on “Writing Artful Senryu,” the latter being a poetic form, in the style of haiku, though written with themes about human nature, human struggles, and weaknesses. The form originated in Japan in the 1700s and is now written worldwide in about 56 languages.
Her workshop description follows:
It often seems that excellently-crafted poetry is more commonly found among published haiku than senryu. We’ll briefly consider senryu’s history and discuss what notable authors have said about the significance of making a distinction between the two forms. Then we will delve into what triggers our observational skills, imaginations, memories, and psychological insights/associations in writing artful senryu. We’ll discuss several literary techniques that will enrich your humorous and serious senryu, leaving a lasting impression on readers. Among them: use of inanimate objects, hyperbole, irony, satire, wit, puns, parody, tone/mood, sound, and line breaks. In reviewing many masterful senryu, become inspired to write them with flair, allowing your imaginations to wander and wonder!
Digregorio writes twelve poetic forms, has won forty-six poetry awards, and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Recently, she received an official commendation from Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner for her achievements as an author, educator, and speaker nationally and internationally. Her poems are translated into eight languages; she translates poetry books from Italian into English; and her traveling haiga (haiku/art) show is at libraries, hospitals, corporate centers, and restaurants, among several venues. Four of her reference books have been adopted as supplemental texts and are featured selections of book clubs. She gives workshops at national writer's conferences; is a writer-in-residence at universities; teaches haiku in public schools; judges national writers’ contests; and speaks at libraries/chain bookstores. Digregorio hosted a radio poetry program, and was an executive officer of the Haiku Society of America. She is an Ambassador of The Haiku Foundation. She blogs about writing for publication and poetry, and posts The Daily Haiku from global poets at www.charlottedigregorio.wordpress.com. Digregorio taught languages and writing at universities, and holds graduate degrees from The University of Chicago.