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QUI
VIVE!
NOT YOUR MAMA'S HAIKU ANTHOLOGY
Philadelphia
Youth Poetry
from Cliveden of the National Trust
Qui
Vive! helps middle and secondary school students from
the Greater Metropolitan Philadelphia area believe in themselves
as writers through the process of experimenting with, manipulating,
publishing, and performing the written word. We believe
that youth who think of themselves as competent and creative
writers, who see their lives and communities as rich sources
of material, produce powerful and interesting creative and
expository writing. We offer a variety of workshops year-round.
If you or your school district would like to know more about
the programs we offer please contact:
Dr.
Leif Gustavson
Arcadia University
Education Department
450 S. Easton Rd. Glenside PA, 19038
Tel. 215.572.2118
E-mail: gustavson@arcadia.edu |
Prof.
Tyler Doherty
Arcadia University
English Department
450 S. Easton Rd. Glenside PA, 19038
Tel. 215.572.2870
E-mail: dohertyt@arcadia.edu
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For
more information about Qui Vive! or to listen to some of
the poets reading their work, check out their Web site:
www.arcadia.edu/quivive
Selected
Poets:
Alexa
Beacham
"At
first, when I came to this workshop, I didn't even
know what a haiku was. Just that it was a type of
poetry and that this was the only time I had available
between other activities. In these few weeks, I
learned a lot more about haiku, how it is written,
and what it is written about. During one of the
first few weeks, I read a haiku about a beetle.
My first impression was, 'OK, really? Who would
write a poem about a beetle?' But I have written
and will be presenting two poems about beetles so
I guess that answers my question.
One of the things I really wanted to talk about
in this is what my poems are about so you can understand
them. Most of them are written about nature, some
are written about performances, and two are dedicated
to Natan. Most of you are probably wondering who
Natan is and this is the part I had to explain so
you could understand my poems.
In third grade there was a new boy in my school.
He was skinny, had a weird name, and didn't fit
in. In fifth grade he was in my class and as he
got older he seemed to fit in less and less. He
seemed like he wasn't 'with it' socially as in he
wore shorts that were shorter than other boys and
jeans that came up six inches past his ankles. But
something that our fifth grade eyes seemed to look
past was how smart he was. And I really mean smart.
We used to have walkmans that would read books to
you and you could listen to the radio on them but
Natan would listen to a station that had chess matches
on it. They would say the location and Natan would
know where that was in his mind. I used to think
if I knew anyone who was going to Harvard it was
Natan.
One day, when Natan was in seventh grade, on March
17, 2010, Natan went skateboarding on his usually
quiet street. He went to cross the street and a
truck came by going sixty miles an hour and hit
Natan. He was in the hospital for a few hours before
he died. March 18, 2010 was a normal school day
until the intercom turned on to tell us the news.
Until then, I had never seen that many people cry.
I remembered that once Natan had been crying at
the table I was sitting at during lunch for himself.
Now we are all crying for him."
Audience
stares
Eyes boring
Into mine
The
rows of white flowers
Waving in the wind
Invisible ants among them
I
know someone who is going to be famous one day
She announced as I mumble
I used to
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John
Dean
"Haiku
is one of the most challenging forms of poetry.
One might think it is easy because it is so short
but every word is important when you only use a
few. It requires a keen sense of observation and
helps you expand your vocabulary when you search
for that perfect word."
Two
gnats battle to the death,
One succeeds.
Patriotic
Breeze
The flag
moves,
but not enough.
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Kelsey
Detwiler
"Why
Haiku?"
Cinnamon
trident seedpods covered
in ants
S-curve
slim morning glory vine around
dead hemlock
Spring
warm blue cobblestones
under the spider
Early
evening
arched branches to the grass
last quince bloom
on
red bricks
whirls of shaded white galaxies
bird droppings
black-barked
maple
one leaf hanging ripped
in the rain
ivy
twined into chainlink fence, tangled
in pink plastic
ant
weaves and stutters spindly legs
up my foot
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Sam
Ritz
"Imagine
a split second. A brief moment -beautiful or fascinating.
Time passes on, hour hand drips past each number
on the clock. People move, things change-but the
image is immortalized in loving detail-Haiku is
the inscription of that split second. In our society,
where large amounts of ideas and data are consumed
at the same time, Haiku allows our hearts and minds
to digest and truly absorb one breath of our world's
beauty, rather than skimming over many at once.
Haiku is a zoom lens, peeking in on something that
one wishes to notice."
Fly
before my eyes
black mass
fluttering around pupil
the
gnat crawls
to the pleasant mushroom
rib side in
twilight
shutter
extends reach
to the apple blossoms
the
passing cars
street light cowering
in the face of reality
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