Campus Haikus (UHill Poetry Project)

Writers block- a dreadful virus that attacks and supresses your ability to produce creative masterpieces. Sadly, I seem to have caught a very severe case of writers block, as I have been unable to produce pieces of writing that meet the standards I have for myself as a writer. Poetry has always been one of my most favourite units in English, because it lets me to dig deep into my giant box of bizarre and unique ideas and create something that I’m truly proud of. After much procrastination, I decided to open my box a few days ago to search for some inspiration, but after fishing around for almost an hour, I still hadn’t caught anything. Writer’s block strikes again.

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But, I wasn’t discouraged. It was a beautiful sunny day, and I had to run an errand at the library, so I decided that I would come up with an idea while I walked. Luckily, I was not disappointed. On my way to the library, I heard the distinctive “gong” of the UBC Clock Tower. It was a little past noon, and students were lounging on white, puffy bean bag chairs in front of the Koerner Library. This scene served as the inspiration for the first in a collection of five haikus I would write over the course of the week. I decided that each poem would focus on one of the five senses. In honor of the booming Clock Tower, this haiku is about sound.

Clock Tower

  Curled on a white cloud,

only to be woken by

the footsteps of time.

               

On my way home from the Library, I thought that Id take a different route for a change in scenery. I walked through one of my favourite parts of UBC- the Rose Garden. I enjoy looking at the multicolored roses contrasted against the lush, dark green leaves while listening to the chirp f birds flying in the trees above. Most of all, I love the way the garden smells. Even in the winter time, a visit to the Rose Garden will make you feel as though you’ve walked into a spring paradise. Therefore, I dedicate my next haiku to the   beautiful, fragrant aroma of the garden.                                                                                 

Rose Garden

Diving into a

crimson sea to bathe in nature’s

fragrant perfume.

The last three haikus were written based on the fond memories that I have accumulated while growing up in UBC. They are a tribute to (in my opinion) the most beautiful, friendly neighbourhood in the world. The first is a Summer memory of going for long walks on the water’s edge at Spanish Banks. This haiku is about the “touch” sense.

Spanish Banks

Fine sand grains embrace

my toes as the cool sea breeze

 caresses my cheek.

I remember having the edges of my mouth stained purple from blueberry juice. Locally grown blueberries taste best- especially when grown at the UBC farm.

Blueberry Season at the Farm

Piercing delicate

skin to free the sweet, tangy

blood of ripe blueberries.

The UBC Japanese Garden is also a very beautiful place to visit. I particularly liked the miniature waterfall- the splashing water against the rocks is very soothing.

Japanese Garden

A lone twig rides the

river’s ripples, plunging into

the pool of diamonds.

        Having completed the (supposedly) harder part of the project, I ended up hitting another dead end when thinking of ideas about how to publish my poem. My Cousin, who is living is in elementary school in India is also doing a poetry unit in her class. I thought that I could send her my poems to read to her classmates in India, but when I called her to suggest my idea she told me that her teacher had finished the Poetry unit early in order to squeeze in an extra unit before the term ended. She sounded especially grumpy, because the rest of her friends had already started their summer vacations (Usually, summer vacation starts a month early in India), but her school is one of the only schools that operates differently. With that idea down the drain, I had to search for an alternative method of distribution.

Customized Poetry Napkins :)

My poems on the Feature Display.

Suddenly, I was hit with a stroke of inspiration- I could print my poems on bookmarks and make them available at libraries around UBC. That way, I could advertise my favourite places on campus and publish my poems at the same time. I went t the UBC Bookstore first, but they told me that they didn't allow any form of "advertising" at the cashier counters, and they rejected my bookmarks. Oh well. But I didn't give up there- my next stop was the Koerner Library, just a couple minutes walk away from the bookstore. I put my bookmarks next to the book return slot in hopes that people would either read or take one on their way into the library. From there, I went to the VPL library- another appropriate place to deliver book marks. The librarian took my bookmarks and displayed them in the "featured" section. 

My lonely poem napkins, longing
for a customer to notice them. 

       For my second form of publication, I wanted to somehow target coffee shops. Many, many
people visit cafes or popular coffeehouses (such as Starbucks or Blenz Coffee) on a daily basis, so it is an ideal place to get your poem across to a large number of people. To do this, I decided to make custom napkins with my poem written on the corner and keep a stack of them next to the coffee lids and sugar packets. That way,
when a customer is making their coffee, they can choose to brighten their day with a locally written poem. I visited the Starbucks and and Bean Around The World on West 10th, and the baristas at the counter were very friendly and willing to let me publish.

Napkins at Bean Around the World

I had some left over poem squares from the napkins project, and I needed a way to use them (I wouldn't want all that color printing to go to waste!) So I thought of the next most popular place to visit- the grocery store. The "Kin's Farm Market" is located near the VPL Library, and it is a popular destination for fruit and vegetable shopping. The cashier allowed me to display my poems next to the brochures so that customers would be able to read them.

Poems next to the brochures
 at Kin's Farm Market 

          My three forms of publication were hand-crafted bookmarks, customized napkins and (left over) poem squares. I visited a total of seven stores- I was successful in distributing my poems to five of them, and was rejected by two. In all, I think that my poem publication project was successful, in that I was able to target more people by taking the help of popular stores and coffeehouses. UBC is a truly beautiful neighborhood that should be enjoyed by everyone, and I am proud to have been able to share its beauty through my poems.