{feathers & lace}

{backstage : chanel}

[the coveteur via sarah at haute design]

{kate}

[paris nights & new york mornings]

{all is calm, all is bright}

[manzanita candelabra from west elm via love french bulldogs // thighsacheagain]

{kiki de montparnasse}

[julia restoin roitfeld for kiki de montparnasse via elle & la coquette du mode]

Wiltshire College Haiku Course led by Alan Summers: Become well-versed in haiku

New course on haiku!

For those on any of my previous courses, this one contains new approaches and subject matter. 

Suitable for people new to haiku poetry or already familiar with the subject.

Japan Times award-winning writer Alan Summers.


  

Become well-versed in haiku
Weblink: 

http://www.wiltshire.ac.uk/courses/part_time/detail.aspx?ref=CHAIKU&year=11/12 

Who is the course for?

This course is for everyone, whether new or familiar with the haiku genre.  It’s both for those wishing to increase their confidence in creative writing, and those wishing to further their general written skills.  This course is also ideal for those who enjoy trying something different, and new, in a relaxed, friendly, fun, supportive and inclusive atmosphere.
 
What does the course aim to do?

The course aims to bring participants a new depth of knowledge of a fascinating and addictive  form of writing, and to familiarise them with its leading writers and history.  It aims to bring a new creative outlet to student’s lives that can continue after the course – nobody is too busy to write haiku!

What will be covered?

The following topics will be covered during the course:

•    The origin, background, and history of Classical, Modern, and Contemporary haiku.
•    The various styles of haiku inside and outside Japan.
•    A number of tools and techniques to understand, and write, contemporary haiku.
•    How to keep a Haiku Journal.
•    How to edit & strengthen your haiku drafts with confidence using a self-critical and analytical eye.
•    What haiku editors and publishers are looking for in online and print journals, and competitions to send your haiku to (if you are interested in seeing your haiku published).
•    Depending on course length we will also cover forms related to haiku such as tanka and renga.



Alan Summers has a Masters Degree in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University; he is a past General Secretary of the British Haiku Society; and a Japan Times award-winning writer for haiku and renga.  His haiku are translated into 15 languages, including Japanese, Russian, and French, and includes British Sign Language.

Alan is an experienced workshop leader, and editor, in haiku and other haikai disciplines. He has appeared in literary festivals, and readings, all over Britain  His 1000 verse renga city-wide projects have been supported by local councils and libraries, and reported on by the BBC’s Poetry Season.

His poetry has been published and anthologized worldwide, including four leading British haiku anthologies: Wing Beats: British Birds in Haiku; Stepping Stones: a way into haiku; The New Haiku; and the Iron Book of British Haiku.

He is also regularly published in Japan, including Japanese newspaper publications: Yomiuri Shimbun; Asahi Shimbun; Mainichi Shimbun; The Japan Times; and The Mie Times.


QUOTES:

Alan is able to work with people who have no experience of poetry to encourage them to try it.  He watches and listens with patience and respect and offers guidance that is flexible enough to empower the workshop participants but firm enough to support them.

Rachel Sutton-Spence (2010)
School of Applied Community and Health Studies
Centre for Personal and Professional Development



"Very many thanks again for all your constant and splendid help, support and
patience.  I am well aware of the fact that I wouldn't be having such an
amazing journey with my haiku if wasn't for you."

Student, October 28th 2011


"As you probably know by now, I use every corner of my life as a way of
reflection of my psychological personal development - haiku in itself is
great for this, but working with you has just elevated the experience a 100
fold.  I can not put into words how much this has meant to me, so as I tried
to say on the phone the haiku is almost secondary, but of course both mean a
lot to me.  Your support over the last couple of years or so have just
been such an amazing gift to me - bless you."

Student, 27 September 2011


"Astonishingly moving haiku" 
YOMIURI SHIMBUN (Japan) January 2005


"Widely known haiku poet...as dry as vintage champagne"
YOMIURI SHIMBUN (14 million readers in Japan) September 2002

"...you are one of the poets I have been most interested in. I love your haiku style." 
Keiko Izawa, Yokohama, JAPAN

"Thank you very much for your support and participation to our festival. Everyone enjoyed it immensely."
Dr. MICHIKO KANEKO, British Sign Language Haiku Festival Organiser
Centre for Deaf Studies, University of Bristol

“Please keep up the great work!”  
Patrick Wafula, Community Based Organization (CBO) Teacher, Nairobi, Kenya, Africa 2007

.

Tanka by Alan Summers appears in 140 and Counting ebooks for Kindle, Nook etc...

http://www.upperrubberboot.com/140-and-counting/

I'm delighted to announce I have tanka poems published by Twitter based magazine.

Seven by Twenty is an online magazine using Twitter as its publishing platform. Here is a collection of the best twitter literature from the first two years of the journal's history, on relationships, nature and the night, work, animals, seasons, science fiction and fantasy, and mortality, by 119 authors from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. 

Plucky underdog online journal Seven by Twenty is an online magazine using Twitter as its publishing platform, for readers at home and on mobile devices, which started publishing weekdaily in July 2009. Seven by Twenty specializes in literary and speculative writing that fits in a tweet – they mostly publish haiku and related forms (like scifaiku and senryu), and cinquains and American sentences, and very, very, very short stories.

140 And Counting is a collection of the best twitter literature from the first two years of the journal’s history, on relationships, nature, work, animals, seasons, science fiction and fantasy, and mortality: 141 clever little allotments of literature by 119 authors in 1 exquisite ebook!

• ISBN 978-1-937794-05-7 (epub) available for iPad, Nook, etc. from Goodreads.
• ISBN 978-1-937794-03-3 (mobi) available for Kindle on Amazon.com.

Amazon.com kindle version:
http://www.amazon.com/140-And-Counting-ebook/dp/B006KLYF8G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324468534&sr=8-1

Amazon.co.uk kindle version:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/140-And-Counting-ebook/dp/B006KLYF8G/ref=sr_1_15?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324467915&sr=1-15


.

{new spring things at chloé}

[r du jour] & top image via {this is glamorous}

{lana}

[w magazine, photography by jacob sutton]

{perfect packaging}

[solid frog]

{byredo}

[that kind of woman]

{erdem pre-fall 2012}

[vogue]

{sequins & leather shorts}

***

{bejewelled}

***

{russian princess}

[such perfect timing : first, a stunning glimpse at st. petersburg, russia, and now this . . .]

Madalene de la Motte by Thomas Whiteside for Tatler Russia December 2011 via noir facade

Gaun Natal Mini Dress, Lebih Simple Tapi Elegan

seperti apa ya trend busana Natal dan tahun baru kali ini?

Seperti kita ketahui, beberapa pusat perbelanjaan maupun butik telah mengeluarkan produk fashion Natal dan Tahun Baru.

Sepeti gaun, sepatu dan aksesoris lainnya yang sesuai edisi Natal.

Dari amatan kebanyakan menghadirkan gaun untuk pesta Natal dengan warna cerah, bermotif ramai tapi simpel. Tapi, ada yang berbeda di trend fashion Natal wanita kali ini. Beberapa gerai fashion menawarkan mini dress untuk pesta Natal dibanding gaun panjang. Ini merupakan sebuah trend terbaru fashion Natal bagi wanita.

“Ini sebuah trend baru dimana wanita sekarang lebih memilih simpel dalam gaun pesta Natalnya. Sebab, mengenakan gaun panjang tentu saja lebih ribet, makanya muncul mini dress,”

Seperti di gerai tanah abang , produsen pakaian wanita ini mengeluarkan beberapa gaun edisi Natal. Salah satu gaun yang ditawarkan adalah gaun pendek, panjangnya mencapai lutut atau mini dress. Bukan hanya itu, potongan gaunnya sederhana, tetapi menimbulkan kesan elegan dan mengikuti lekuk tubuh.

“Untuk gaun Natal tahun ini lebih simpel supaya lebih mudah dan leluasa pemakainya,”

Menurutnya, gaun panjang dengan dilengkapi aksesoris, sudah mulai ditinggalkan oleh para feminiesme. Ini karena wanita sekarang tak mau tampil norak karena terlalu banyak aksesoris di gaun. “Trend sekarang itu dengan fashion Natal yang simpel,” .

Faktanya, gaun mini dress wanita yang akan dipakai untuk perayaan Natal mulai bermunculan di gerai-gerai fashion.

Sementara itu, Pengamat Mode mengatakan, bukan hanya potongan busananya saja, kesan mewah juga bisa didapat melalui warna gaun mini dress. Warna yang memberikan kesan elegan biasanya yang berwarna gelap, atau cenderung dikatakan sebagai warna tua.

“Misalnya, warna hitam, abu-abu, dan coklat. Warna ini, selain mudah untuk dipadu padankan, juga sangat masuk ke usia berapa saja. Warna ini biasa disebut warna tua, tetapi cocok dimana saja dan untuk siapa saja, karena warnanya yang memberikan kesan elegan,”

Nah, untuk trend mini dress busana Natal wanita, dengan potongan sederhana, garis tegas sesuai bentuk tubuh wanita membuat mini dress tak repot dipakai.

“Untuk mempertajam kesan elegan yang diberikan, bahan gaun juga sangat penting untuk diperhatikan,” tambahnya. Menurutnya, bahan yang biasanya memberikan kesan mewah adalah Sifon, polyster, katun dan lainnya. Hanya saja, kekurangan dari sebagian bahan ini tidak menyerap keringat (sifon), sehingga bagi wanita aktif harus berhatihati menggunakannya. “Pada umumnya, gaun lebih banyak terbuat dari bahan sifon dan polyster, karena menimbulkan kesan mewah yang diberikannya,”

Pilihan Gaya Wanita yang Simpel

BAGI para perempuan yang berencana membeli atau membuatkan busana Natal, jangan lupa mempertimbangkan postur tubuh Anda.

Tujuannya apalagi, kalau bukan agar potongan gaun terlihat pas pada tubuh. Agar tak salah memilih busana Natal dan Tahun Baru, berikut beberapa tips memilih gaun Natal :

Tubuh Lebar Pilihlah dress yang tidak kedodoran.

Bahan dress Anda ibaratkan seperti kulit kedua. Walaupun ukuran badan lebar tapi lekuk tubuh harus tetap terlihat. Pilih gaun yang berbahan sifon, sutra atau taffeta tipis.

Busana sebaiknya berukuran pas di lutut, karena semakin panjang ke bawah, maka akan semakin menambah kesan lebar. Sebaliknya jika berukuran di atas lutut, akan terlihat sedikit vulgar dengan bagian paha yang terbuka. Usahakan garis leher dress Anda memperlihatkan tulang belikat.

Dengan kata lain, hindari memakai dress dengan leher kura-kura (turtle neck) atau kerah tertutup, karena akan memberi kesan mencekik. Tubuh Kecil Pilih mini dress yang panjangnya di atas lutut.

Pilih mode leher V atau kotak yang agak rendah, kira-kira sampai di bawah lengan. Untuk potongan pinggang, sebaiknya pilih empire cut atau potongan di bawah dada. Maksudnya, agar memberi ilusi jenjang pada bagian tubuh bawah. Jika ingin memadukan dress dengan celana, pilihlah celana berpotongan pipa sehingga kaki terlihat jenjang. Coret rencana memakai gaun panjang hingga pergelangan kaki, karena hal itu akan membuat Anda tenggelam. Untuk potongan lengan, bisa apa saja, tergantung selera fesyen.

Tubuh Ramping Anda bisa mengenakan hampir semua jenis dress. Mulai dari yang mini hingga maxi dan berbagai jenis bahan. Tambahkan busana Anda dengan berbagai aksesori, baik perhiasan, ikat pinggang maupun clutch agar terlihat berbeda di hari istimewa ini. Namun saat beribadah ke gereja, sebaiknya kenakan dress yang tak terlalu terbuka sehingga tak terlihat mencolok, santun tapi chic. Kalau Anda melirik floral dress, pastikan masih ada warna-warna merah, hijau atau putih di dalamnya.

{perfectly pretty}

{gilded halls}

{heather marks by koray birand for vogue hellas december 2011 via fgr}