NEIGHBORHOOD HAIKU COMES TO LEXINGTON

We’re celebrating Lexington with Neighborhood Haiku – a public art project bringing original poetry to storefront windows! Inspired by a successful project organized by our neighbors at the Arlington Commission for Arts & Culture, we’re inviting the whole Lexington community to take up pen and write a 3-line poem! Thirty haiku will be selected to be hand-painted in storefront windows as a way to show our local small businesses some love and showcase local creativity. All haiku will be published on LexArtsCouncil.org and all authors will be invited to read at a July celebration.  So take the haiku challenge! 
 
You can write on your own, collaborate with friends or family, or take a workshop.  Anyone who lives, works, or spends time in and is inspired by Lexington is eligible to submit.  Poems are due on June 1 via email to: LexingtonHaiku@gmail.com
 
What should the haiku be about?  Whatever you like, but best to anchor your haiku in observation of the world around you.  Community and conversation, local shops and restaurants, history and nature – there’s a lot here in Lexington to inspire your poems.  Haiku offers a fun and challenging form to capture a moment or memory.  You can pack a surprising amount into these short, short poems – 17 syllables max – but you have to pick each word strategically.  Many haiku incorporate humor or have a surprise twist at the end. 
 
One of the best ways to polish up your haiku skills and fire up your imagination is a workshop. Workshop schedule and registration, our Open Call, Rules, Inspiring Examples, and Links to Resources are all below.

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Coaching and inspiration to get you going!
Want some coaching and inspiration to get you going on your Lexington-inspired Neighborhood Haiku?  Watch this recorded workshop with haiku poet and educator Brad Bennett, organized by Lexington Council for the Arts

Lexington_haiku_workshop_with_Brad_Bennett.mp4 from Cecily Miller on Vimeo.

WORKSHOPS
​GO TO OUR WORKSHOPS PAGE FOR FULL DESCRIPTIONS AND REGISTRATION.

Thursday, May 12, 7:00 to 9:00 pm: Neighborhood Haiku
Haiku and local inspiration, a virtual workshop with Brad Bennett.  Free. Via zoom hosted by Lexington Council for the Arts.  Registration required, here.
 
Saturday, May 14, 10:30 am to noon: Haiku for you!
A hands-on intergenerational Haiku workshop for all ages with Jessie Brown.  Free. Hosted by Cary Library.  Registration required, here. 
 
Saturday, May 14, 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm (rain date May 15): Inspired by Willard’s Woods.  Haiku walk and workshop with Brad Bennett.  $29; scholarships available. Organized by Lexington Community Education. Registration required, here. 
 
Sunday, May 15, 3:00 to 5:00 pm: Haiku, history, memory, and this moment!  Neighborhood Haiku workshop with Stephanie Rochester.  Free. Hosted by Lexington Historical Society. Registration required, here.

Sunday, May 22, 2 to 4 pm: Haiku in Art & Words
An intergenerational, all ages hands-on workshop combining poetry and art. Led by Jessie Brown and Laurie Bogdan.  Free.  Register, here.

Monday, May 23, 7:00 to 8:30 pm:  How do you haiku? 
A hands on workshop with Jessie Brown.  Free. Hosted by Cary Library.  Registration required, here. 

Learn more

OPEN CALL
WRITE HAIKU ON YOUR OWN OR WITH FRIENDS & FAMILY

This project is open to people of all ages and cultural backgrounds with any level of writing experience and you don’t have to take a workshop. All are welcome to participate in workshops and to submit poems which will be published on the website of the Lexington Council for the Arts. You don’t have to live in Lexington, just draw inspiration from Lexington’s green spaces, neighborhoods, and history – write a place-based poem. 
 
Please review the rules, inspiring examples and resource links lower down on this page as well as the FAQ section. If you still have questions or want help, please email us at:  LexingtonHaiku@gmail.com

WHY HAIKU?

Although haiku originated in Japan, it has spread around the globe and been used by diverse poets to write poetry true to their experiences and perspective.  With its compact form, haiku is most often used to call attention to small, closely observed moments in the human or natural world. Powerful yet accessible, these three-lined poems can use contrast, humor or surprise to create a shift in mood.  Their short, sharp images often provoke longer reflection.  Check out our Inspiring Examples (below) to get a sense of the variety.  With the constraint of no more than 17 syllables (you can use fewer), haiku offers an engaging opportunity to play with words and see how much you can say in as few words as possible.  We invite you to give it a try!

INSPIRING EXAMPLES

Poet and teacher Jessie Brown worked with Cecily Miller to launch the inaugural version of Neighborhood Haiku in Arlington Heights in 2021.  Jessie chose examples of haiku written by a diverse group of poets, including local folks, youth, and published poets.  You will also find some examples from the 2018 Bikeway Haiku, organized by Cecily in collaboration with the Bicycle Committees of Arlington, Lexington and Bedford to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Minuteman Bikeway.  Take a look here.

​Our Haiku Advisor Brad Bennett recommends browsing The Heron’s Nest, an on-line haiku journal, for more inspiration, here!  

NEIGHBORHOOD HAIKU COMPOSITION RULES

All haiku should be three lines long, with concrete sensory details, and no more than 17 syllables long; you can try for less!  You do NOT have to structure your lines using the conventional 5/7/5 rule (5 syllables on the first line, 7 on the second, and 5 on the last), although of course you may if you choose.  No titles please!
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SELECTION PROCESS

A selection committee of poets will choose up to 30 original haiku for installation in storefront windows. Although writers may suggest a window location for their submission, the project organizers will be responsible for choosing the installation sites for selected haiku.  Additional haiku may be selected for display in public spaces as other opportunities arise.

DEADLINE AND HOW TO SUBMIT​​

DEADLINE: Wednesday June 1, 2022 . Send up to 3 poems per person to LexingtonHaiku@gmail.com.  Please include:

• Your name 
• Your name as you would like it to appear in author credit – can be full name, or first name, or first name followed by an initial, or “anonymous”
• If under 18, your age and school
• Your affiliation to Lexington – do you live here? Work here? Visit for enjoyment?
• Your best telephone contact​ ​

FAQ

​Who can enter?
We encourage submissions from writers of all ages, as well as writers of any cultural background.

Do I need to live or work in Lexington?
No. To participate in a workshop or submit poems, you just need to be familiar with Lexington and draw inspiration from its unique qualities.

What do you notice here? It may help to take what the Japanese call a “ginko walk” in preparation for writing – with all your senses open, stroll around streets, go into shops, and explore local parks. What strikes you?

Can I submit with a friend?
Absolutely. We encourage friends or family members to collaborate

Are workshops required?
No, but if you attend one, you’ll learn strategies for writing more powerful poems, to get the attention of readers and listeners!

Do the haikus have to be for specific windows?
No. They just need to reflect neighborhood experiences that people can identify with. To write a more site specific poem you can, however, center your haiku on a story or observation about a particular local shop. Make sure that your haiku does not end up being an advertisement or review for a business.

How do you choose locations for the winning haiku?
It depends on how many businesses participate. Authors can make suggestions, but the project team is responsible for matching displays with sites throughout the neighborhood.

What will the window displays look like?
Each will be different, hand-painted by our team of artist volunteers.

How can I join the team of artist volunteers?
We are looking for creative folks to join us. Just send an email to LexingtonHaiku@gmail.com with the subject “painting haiku” and we’ll get back to you.

What makes a winning haiku?
Besides the basic format (see “Why Haiku?” “Examples” and “Rules” above), the best haiku rely on fragments and phrases, rather than full sentences. They use sharp images that appeal to the senses (sight, sound, taste, texture, smell) to create an “aha” moment for the reader. Some contain a twist or a surprise in their compact form.  They compel a response – sometimes laughter, sometimes reflection, sometimes a wistful feeling. Come to a workshop to learn more!

LINKS TO RESOURCES

Check out these websites, below, for writing strategies and ideas for haiku.  

Ten tips for writing haiku
What makes the best haiku
​An introduction to haiku
“How to haiku” video
Bare Bones School of Haiku

​Project Team

Project Leaders

• Brad Bennett, Haiku Advisor
• Laurie Bogdan, Project Manager
• Jessie Brown, Poetry Advisor and Workshop Leader
• Cecily Miller, Artistic Director
• Kenji Nakayama, Artist and Sign Painter
• Stephen Poltorzycki, Project Champion/Lexington Arts Council Member

 
Project Partners

• Cary Library
• Lexington Community Education
  
• Lexington Historical Society
• Munroe Center for the Arts
  

 
Project Supporters

• Town of Lexington
• Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency
• Lexington Arts Council 
• local business supporters

​PAINTING VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR LETTERING HAIKU

​We are also looking for volunteer painters – artists, designers, and creative people who would like to learn hand-lettering with a brush from master sign painter Kenji Nakayama.  Kenji will hold a workshop and offer coaching on our painting days. Check out his amazing work. Please write to LexingtonHaiku@gmail.com to join our painting crew.

Neighborhood Haiku in Lexington is supported by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency, and from the Town of Lexington.
 
Additional funds provided by the Lexington Arts Council and donations from local business supporters.