Haiku: The Four Elements
Haiku Northwest members have compiled a collection of poems by its members titled “Haiku: The Four Elements,” containing haiku and senryu on the themes of earth, air, fire, and water. The program presents four readers with live music, most often performed with koto player Elizabeth Falconer. Haiku Northwest has performed this program at Seattle’s Northwest Folklife festival, Bumbershoot, the Seattle Cherry Blossom Festival, the Haiku North America conference, at Seattle’s Japanese Garden, and at other venues and events.
Haiku Northwest first performed “Haiku: The Four Elements” in May of 2005 at Seattle’s Folklife festival. Folklife recorded the performance and featured it on their podcast site on January 28, 2008. This recording, almost 17 minutes long (16:46), features the performance’s fire and water sections, with haiku and senryu read by Connie Hutchison, Christopher Herold, Michael Dylan Welch, and Ruth Yarrow, accompanied by Elizabeth Falconer on koto. The poems are by various members of Haiku Northwest. You can also listen to or download this podcast at the Trumix site.