Frogpond 34.3 • Autumn 2011 (pdf) - Haiku Society of America

words. The title should set the stage; the prose should show
but not tell. The haiku should refl ect or expand the prose, not
repeat it. When your haibun read in its entirely is subject
to more than one interpretation, you are on the right track.
Notorious
Your reputation as a haibun writer is something to be valued.
Failing to keep track of your haibun submissions makes you
look bad when two editors accept the same work. “Not previously
published” means just that. It does not mean, “I don’t
remember submitting it anywhere else.” Similarly, “imitation
is the sincerest form of fl attery” does not apply to haibun submissions.
The work you submit, whether it places the reader
squarely on Mystery Street or puts the reader into The Big
Sleep, must be your own.
Farewell, My Lovely
Finally, before you press send or drop the envelope in the slot,
read the rules for submission. Doing so will ensure the editor
will give your work a thoughtful reading.
Roberta Beary is the haibun editor for haijinx. Her collection, The
Unworn Necklace (Snapshot Press, 1st Hardcover ed. 2011), was selected
by Ron Silliman as finalist for the William Carlos Williams
Award of the Poetry Society of America. She lives near Washington,
DC with her husband Frank Stella.
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82 Haiku Society of America