Haiku #39: Swamphen
A regal swamphen
Struts majestically across
Muddy river flats.
(C) 2008 Trevor W. Hampel
All rights reserved.
Read more of my poetry here.
Purple Swamphen
What I am reading: “The Canterbury Tales”
One of the required units of study for my Master of Arts course in Creative Writing is a unit on English Literature. It covers some of the great themes of English literature from Beowulf through to modern times. With such a broad scope there quite a deal of reading involved.
One of the texts I needed to read was Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. It had been over 40 years since I last read any of these fascinating tales. It was initially a struggle to come to terms with the version of English used at the time. As I got into it more, and as we read aloud from the text during the tutorial, I become more comfortable with reading it.
We weren’t required to read the whole work; that’s a major study in itself. We read sections only, dipping into several of the tales to sample some of the major themes. As I became more accustomed to the language being used I was amazed at the accomplishment of this important poet and storyteller. Some of the tales are hilarious and most that we read are good yarns. It was good to revisit them again after all those intervening years.
Haiku #38: Kookaburra
Kookaburra laughs
At my futile attempts to
Catch fish for my dinner.
(C) 2008 Trevor W. Hampel.
All rights reserved.
Laughing Kookaburra
Writing success – well, sort of
2 Comments »11th April, 2008; Category: Master of Arts course, Picture Books, Poetry, Writing for Children
Today is the last day of the first term of my time back at university. To refresh your memory, I’m doing my Master of Arts in Creative Writing. It has been 33 years since I’ve studied at this intensive level.
We have a two week mid-semester break from lectures. It might be just enough time to catch my breath – and to catch up on a little reading, not to mention starting on that essential planning for assignments due at the end of the semester. Whoever called it holiday has to be kidding.
Several weeks ago I presented my first tutorial paper. I was a little apprehensive about whether I had addressed the question adequately. I need not have worried. A Distinction was a little higher than I had expected. It is very encouraging and gives me the courage to keep on studying hard. This week I handed up two more major assignments.
The first was a major work in poetry. Normally I write little more than 15 to 30 lines for most of my poems; many are shorter than that. This poem had to be between 50 and 100 lines, the longest poem I had ever attempted. I even managed to write it in iambic pentameter. I also wrote it in blank verse; I didn’t have the mental capacity to make it all rhyme. I was very happy with the result.
The second assignment handed up this week was the text of a picture book for children. At about 700 words it may seem easy. Wrong. It went through six intensive drafts over quite a period of time. Every word has to count. It is a very delicate and demanding art. Again, I was quite pleased with the result.
Haiku #37 Willie Wagtail
Willie Wagtail flits
Unceasingly, freeing my
Garden of all pests.
(C) 2008 Trevor W. Hampel. All right reserved.
Willie Wagtail