Paper Poetry | Writer’s Lift
Living Up To Her Name — Thalia Dunn
Paper Poetry’s ‘Sparked Ink’ Writer — April 2021
Branches, dressed in ice, glisten in early morning, frozen in beauty. TD 2021
Rushing waves of wind snatch and tear at barren trees; Winter’s final storm. TD 2021
Robin, sing to me, thrill me with your cheerful notes as you welcome spring. TD 2021
And on that ‘cheerful note’, let us warmly welcome Paper Poetry’s ‘Sparked Ink’ Writer for April 2021 — Thalia Dunn.
Thalia has been delighting us in recent times with her haiku and tanka poetry about winter and spring. But more than that, she has been sharing with us the lessons she has learned as she deep-dives into the traditional forms of these popular Japanese micropoems.
Beauty of haiku is its painting of nature using only words
Haiku flirts with life with delicate images to evoke nature
from What a Haiku is Not by Thalia Dunn, 2021
Earlier this year, Thalia set herself a 30-day challenge to write a haiku or tanka every day. Not just any old haiku — it needed to have quality and authenticity in the way it captured the true essence of nature and evoked an emotive response. Along the way, Thalia made a number of discoveries. She writes, ‘I have discovered that haiku has sharpened my outlook on life as I intentionally look for the images in my day that I want to frame and enjoy.’
However, halfway through her challenge, she decided her ‘starry-eyed idea’ to write haiku or tanka every day was exactly that — starry-eyed, as in, she couldn’t do it. Instead, she realized ‘this writing challenge isn’t about writing; it’s about self-discovery as a writer.’ Through the process of experimenting with haiku, Thalia came to understand more about herself as a writer, ‘learning to be more accepting of my rhythm as a writer, taking more time to edit and sift through the words that eventually grow into something I share with the world.’
Further evaluation and tweaking of her goals brought her face-to-face with the need to dig deeper, and delve into the ‘underlying feelings and emotions that can add more depth to my writing and poems.’ In reaching a place where she can show vulnerability in her writing, Thalia shows us, her readers, what it means to mature and grow as a writer, and the reciprocal benefits that has with engaging and connecting with readers.
Fresh, delicate scent of Spring teases my senses; new season beckons
from Haiku for Spring by Thalia Dunn, 2021
How appropriate, then, is it that Thalia means to blossom..to flourish, and that her namesake is the Greek goddess of pastoral poetry?
And in keeping with all things appropriate, and as nature would have it, Thalia Dunn’s favorite flower is the Thalia daffodil (narcissus triandrus ‘Thalia’), ‘the perfect symbol…of renewal, joyfulness, and creativity.’
You can read more about Thalia’s writing challenge in the links below. Maybe, it will inspire you to set your own writing challenge. If it does, we’re here at Paper Poetry to support you in any way we can. Please feel free to share your ideas in the comments below or email us at: [email protected] with a brief outline of what you have in mind.
If you’re new to haiku, you might like to start here -
For the month of April, you’ll find Thalia’s Paper Poetry content under the ‘Sparked Ink’ Writers tab. Please take a few minutes to acquaint yourself with her beautiful words and to reach out and connect with her if you have not done so already. And of course, keep a look out for more of Thalia’s inked sparks of creativity in the weeks and months to come. ✨
A note about ‘Sparked Ink’ Writers
Each month, the editors of Paper Poetry choose one or two of the publication’s current writers and highlight their sparkling words and art in the ‘Sparked Ink’ Writers tab. It’s one of the ways we show our appreciation to our writers and their amazing variety of talent. Our previous ‘Sparked Ink’ Writers are — Priyanka Srivastava ✨ James G Brennan ✨ Megan Nicole Morgan ✨ Amy Knight ✨ Katie Michaelson ✨
May your ink be ‘sparked’ today, Warm regards,
Paper Poetry editors
