NEIGHBORHOOD HAIKU:  MAY WORKSHOPs

Although you are welcome to write on your own using our guidelines, taking a workshop is a great way to learn more about contemporary and traditional haiku, sharpen your skills, and meet your neighbors!  Hosted by our wonderful community partners, some workshops are intergeneration, some are multimedia, all are fun and interactive!  Register for one or more.  Your poem could appear in a storefront window in Lexington Center or East Lexington as part of Neighborhood Haiku, a town-wide celebration.

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Free Haiku Introduction and Workshop 
Thursday, May 12, 7 to 8:30 pm via ZOOM, FREE HAIKU INTRODUCTION & WORKSHOP Led by Brad Bennett. Hosted by Lexington Council for the Arts

Celebrate the extraordinary in the ordinary with the most popular poetry form in the world! We will learn the key elements of haiku and some writing tips. Then we’ll write haiku inspired by Lexington and all it has to offer. Everyone is welcome to this fun and supportive workshop, beginners and folks who have written haiku before.
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Register here: 

Brad Bennett’s haiku have appeared in over thirty magazines and journals. He has published two collections of haiku, a drop of pond (2016), and a turn in the river (2019). A drop of pond won a Touchstone Distinguished Book Award from the Haiku Foundation. He has taught haiku to children and adults for over twenty years.

Free Hands-on Workshop for all ages 
​Saturday, May 14, 10:30 am to noon – in person, Intergenerational workshop – ages 5 and up welcome! Led by Jessie Brown. Hosted by Cary Library

Have you ever thought of a poem as a gift?  Write a haiku for someone else in this fun and interactive workshop with Jessie Brown, designed for people of all ages to work together.  Bring a grandparent, parent, sibling, or friend!  Write a poem inspired by nature, neighborhood, a favorite food, or animal.  Your finished poem may be painted in a storefront window in Lexington as part of Neighborhood Haiku, a public art project organized by the Lexington Cultural Council.

Register here:
 
Jessie Brown leads poetry workshops in schools, libraries, and cultural centers throughout the Boston area.  The author of Lucky and What We Don’t Know We Know; she also collaborates on interdisciplinary projects in poetry and the visual arts in local communities.

Walk & Haiku in Willard's Woods
Saturday, May 14, 10:30 am to noon – in person, $29 fee. Led by Brad Bennett. Organized by Lexington Community Education.

Haiku, the most popular form of poetry in the world, can help us connect more deeply to the natural world. What a great reason to get outside! Brad is offering 3 different walks, each exploring a different greenspace and a Japanese aesthetic concept. In Lexington, walk through Willard’s Woods and learn about Yugen – quiet grace and mystery.  Gather observations and insights and try your handwriting some haiku! Submit your poems to Neighborhood Haiku; one may be selected to be painted in a storefront window in Lexington. $29 registration fee per walk; scholarships available from Lexington Cultural Council.  
 
Complete information and registration here. 

Feel free to check out Brad’s other walks in Arlington and Concord.
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Brad Bennett’s haiku have appeared in over thirty magazines and journals. He has published two collections of haiku, a drop of pond (2016), and a turn in the river (2019). a drop of pond won a Touchstone Distinguished Book Award from the Haiku Foundation. He has taught haiku to children and adults for over twenty years. 

Free Haiku, History, Memory & This Moment 
Sunday, May 15, 3 to 5 pm – in-person. Led by Stephanie Rochester. Organized with Lexington Historical Society​

Haiku paints a vivid picture of a time, place or feeling in just a few words. Join Stephanie Rochester for an engaging and interactive workshop that focuses on taking moments in time and paring them down to their essential essence. Using a variety of prompts, participants will have the opportunity to write haiku and share their work in a creative and supportive environment. Submit your finished poems to Neighborhood Haiku, a public art project organized by the Lexington Cultural Council, for a chance to have your haiku painted in a storefront window in Lexington Center. 
Register here.
 
Stephanie Rochester lives NYC with her son and dog. A thrice nominated Big Apple Award Teacher, she is passionate about giving children with special needs a high quality and positive educational experience. Stephanie has been writing poetry and short stories for over 20 years. Her first poetry collection will be published later this year. ​

Haiku Art & Words 
Sunday, May 22, 2 to 4 pm - in person, FREE ALL AGES. Led by Jessie Brown & artist Laurie Bogdan. Hosted by Munroe Center for the Arts​

Join us for a fun, interactive, two-part program, open to children and adults.  Led by poet Jessie Brown, we’ll play with words first, trying out our own lines. “Short, sharp, witty – haiku are like candy,” she says. Make your own haiku or work with a grandparent, parent, sibling, or friend. Create a poem inspired by nature, a neighborhood, a favorite food, or animal.  

Then, in part two, artist Laurie Bogdan will help us transform our haiku into art!  Shape your lines in colorful signs to hang out on the fence outside the Munroe Center for everyone to enjoy; or make art you can fit in a mailbox, a haiku card for someone you love.  
Elementary school aged children and younger much be accompanied by an adult. Proof of vaccination is required for all participants.  
Register here.
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Jessie Brown leads poetry workshops in schools, libraries, and cultural centers throughout the Boston area.  The author of Lucky and What We Don’t Know We Know; she also collaborates on interdisciplinary projects in poetry and the visual arts in local communities.
Laurie Bogdan is a creator of public art and collage art using reproposed materials. She enjoys working with folks of all ages and bringing art opportunities to our local communities.

How do you Haiku? 
Monday, May 23, 7 to 8:30 pm – in-person. Adults and interested youth (ages 12 and up) welcome! Led by Jessie Brown. Hosted by Cary Library​

Join poet/teacher Jessie Brown for a fun and interactive workshop focused on writing haiku to explore and celebrate life in Lexington.  Think about the places we connect — on a walk-through town center or exploring green spaces. Around a table or at the playground. What makes you laugh?  Frown?  Feel lonely or full? Who are the people — or animals — that touch your day?  This summer, your finished haiku may be painted in a storefront window in Lexington Center as part of Neighborhood Haiku, a public art project organized by the Lexington Cultural Council.
Register here.
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Jessie Brown leads poetry workshops in schools, libraries, and cultural centers throughout the Boston area.  The author of Lucky and What We Don’t Know We Know; she also collaborates on interdisciplinary projects in poetry and the visual arts in local communities.