• https://tomclausen.wordpress.com/
  • Mann Library reading 4-21-09

tom clausen

~ poems and photos

Tag Archives: life

homework- review- by tom clausen

01 Sunday Dec 2019

Posted by Tom Clausen in americana, Chapbooks, haiku, Haiku Way of Life, Lynx,, tanka, Published Poems, senryu, tanka

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

book review, chapbook, family, family life, haiku, home, homework, life, poems, poetry, senryu, tanka, writing

Homework by Tom Clausen. Saddle-stitched, full color cover, 4″ x 6″, 36 pages. $10., ppd. ISBN: 1-903543-00-2. Order from Snapshots Press, 132 Crosby, Liverpool, L23 8XS, England.

To quote the jacket notes: “Focusing squarely on domestic life, this collection of haiku, senryu, and tanka is often funny, often sad and always paradoxically both familiar and eye-opening.” It cannot be said better nor more succinctly what this newest book by Tom Clausen contains. I can only add my continuing praise for Tom’s work. It is always a revelation and delight how he seizes on the tiniest experience, and through his examination of it and the cool observation his own feelings, carries it over into a major event. This leaves the reader wondering, “Now, why did I not notice that?” and “Why did I not think of that as material for a poem?”. It seems that tanka is especially designed for the methods of Tom Clausen. Even when aware of the smallest thing, he is also aware of how that thing or event is affecting him. This occurs even in his haiku.

While some purists might fault his haiku for not being closely enough aligned with the nature-nature viewpoint, his sensibilities are absolutely accurate for tanka. This collection gains, I think, by the inclusion of his haiku (which often portray the lighter moments of family living). They seem to play off and actually highlight the attributes of his tanka. Altogether, the editing and arrangement of the poems seems especially fine and relevant. For anyone who has grown up in a family or is living in a family now, this book will take away those terrible moments of aloneness when one felt that no one else in the world ever had such moments of doubt, despair and pure undiluted joy. Tom has been there, and he has the courage to face them directly and honestly, and to continue to hang with the feelings until he has created pure poetry out of them.

no longer me
it proves a mystery who it is
I’ve become
walking around this house
with my family there inside

I sort of knew
my coffee cup
was empty –
so much I look in it
just to see

The sensitivity of the editor, John Barlow, is shown in the choice of a drawing done by Tom’s young daughter, Emma Clausen, as cover along with the insider joke of the title of the book – Homework. Delight piles on delight with this one. Review written by Jane Reichhold

a bit of life by tom clausen

19 Saturday Oct 2019

Posted by Tom Clausen in cats, Frogpond, haiku, poems and photos, Published Poems, senryu, Tom poems at other sites

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

beer, cats, haiku, life, little poems, poems, poetry, senryu

frogpond vol. 41:3  fall 2018

giving a piece of cardboard
a bit of life
our cat

corner pub
my dark stout
in a Bud Lite glass

falling apart by tom clausen

18 Friday Oct 2019

Posted by Tom Clausen in americana, cats, Gusts, mailboxes, nature, poems and photos, Published Poems, tanka, Tom poems at other sites

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

cats, life, mailbox, nature, poems, poetry, tanka

gusts  no. 30

 

the world
may be falling
apart
yet my skittish cat
settles on my lap

I’m not even looking
for anything
second time out
to the empty
mailbox

bits of birdsong by tom clausen

18 Friday Oct 2019

Posted by Tom Clausen in birds, haiku, landscapes, nature, otata, poems and photos, Published Poems, roads

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

haiku, life, nature, poetry

otata

pasture land-
speeding through
bits of birdsong

Why We Write Haiku by Tom Clausen

23 Friday Jun 2017

Posted by Tom Clausen in clouds, Favorite Haiku, haiku, Haiku Way of Life, Ithaca, landscapes, nature, poems and photos, sun, sunsets, Wabi Sabi

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

art, haiku, inspiration, life, photography, photos, poetry, relationships, sunsets, writing

Why We Write Haiku ( this list contains alot of overlapping and was intended just as a consideration of what might be some reasons…)

to express gratitude
to report something real with honesty
to share something directly and concretely
to share and create meaning
to say something meaningful in as few words possible
to communicate
to find a voice
to give a voice to nature and discovery
to celebrate our connection to nature, to all that is non-human
to sharpen and develop our awareness as a witness
to express observable truth
to give praise
to celebrate existence
grounding and centering
transcendence
to express admiration
to identify those primordial forces we love or relate to
to feel a sense of purpose
to express our longing and belonging
love for our being here now
to express joy and happiness in a moment
to show what is lost and found
as a means of catharsis
to show the aha moment and suggest the wonder of existence
the desire to turn words into greater awareness and understanding
in the eternal search for meaning and identity
to maintain a healthy focus and awareness
to attain some levity or lightness to our being
prayer like reverence and respect for what is before us
to achieve some clarity
to reduce confusion
to express insight
to improve and gain relationships and understanding our place in the world
in hope of finding a peace of mind and heart
to have an epiphany
to reaffirm what we know but had forgotten…nostalgia for our child mind
for the practice and routine of forgetting ourselves
an alternative focus and refreshing point of view
alter-identity
as a release from what bothers us or distracts us from the poetic in our lives
as an antidote to anger
to exercise a spiritual communion with our place in this world
to commune with the muse
to attain credibility
to fulfill the searching aspect of our being here now
to recognize what is mortal and immortal in us and our world
as a form of satori and connection
because we love poetry and sharing something
because we feel inspiration in moments freely found anyplace, anytime, anywhere
because we are in tune with a universal reality
to get some satisfaction
as a path out of depression
to find ‘the way’
to see and feel light
to report natural ‘news’
to commune with nature
nurture of a spiritual relation
to join a community of people sharing a poetic point of view
to be in the now
because we believe in nature and the poetic relationships small, large and wonderful
as a means of disciplined expression
in recognition of natural nuance
to exercise our senses
to praise the life in the inanimate
to write concisely
to write what is in the heart
to find our-self outside our-self
to respond to a calling
to give voice to wabi -sabi aesthetics
to be at home on this seamless journey through the here and now

 

Sun setting in some clouds on west hill... from Hungerford Hill Rd.-east hill today 6-21-15.

Gallery

Ithaca Wizarding Weekend 2016: 4 days of ‘Harry Potter’ fun by tom clausen

30 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by Tom Clausen in americana, autumn, close up details, Ithaca, poems and photos

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

art, festivals, Harry Potter, life, photography, photos, wizards

This gallery contains 20 photos.

dragonfly dream by tom clausen

09 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by Tom Clausen in close up details, dragonflies, nature, poems and photos, ponds, summer

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

art, haiku, life, nature, photography, photos, poems, poetry, summer

here
there
dragonfly
dreams

 

 

dragonfly-red-one-in-fall-creek

cold autumn wind by tom clausen

09 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by Tom Clausen in abandoned buildings, americana, autumn, barns, cats, haiku, Ithaca, landscapes, nature, poems and photos, Wabi Sabi

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

art, haiku, life, nature, photography, photos, poems, poetry, wabi sabi

cold autumn wind
in all the cracks
eyes of barn cats

 

 

 

barn-on-west-hill

wabi sabi in the alley by tom clausen

07 Friday Oct 2016

Posted by Tom Clausen in abandoned buildings, americana, close up details, haiku, Ithaca, poems and photos, summer, Wabi Sabi

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

age, art, haiku, inspiration, life, photography, photos, poems, poetry, wabi sabi, weathering

in the alley…
what  we can see
of ourselves

 

 

dscn7713
dscn7714
dscn7715
dscn7716
dscn7717
dscn7718
dscn7719
dscn7720
dscn7721
dscn7722
dscn7723
dscn7724
dscn7725

dried out by tom clausen

07 Friday Oct 2016

Posted by Tom Clausen in autumn, close up details, fields, haiku, Ithaca, leaves, nature, plants, poems and photos, summer, Wabi Sabi

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

art, death, haiku, leaves, life, photography, photos, plants, poems, poetry

off and on
this communion
with beyond…

 

 

milkweed-leaf-dried-on-the-stalk
milkweed-leaves-dried-in-the-field
milkweed-leaves-dried-into-sculpture
milkweed-leaves-shape
dried-milkweed-leaves

← Older posts

Recent Posts

  • unfolding the sunset by tom clausen
  • sparkling sun by tom clausen
  • upside down by tom clausen
  • water on ice by tom clausen
  • molten by tom clausen

Categories

  • abandoned buildings (17)
  • Akitsu Quarterly (1)
  • americana (192)
  • autumn (158)
  • barns (11)
  • bees (7)
  • bicycles and cycling (4)
  • birds (24)
  • bottle rockets (5)
  • butterflies (6)
  • cats (7)
  • cemeteries (7)
  • Chapbooks (8)
  • close up details (265)
  • clouds (76)
  • Cornell (4)
  • deer (19)
  • Dim Sum (2)
  • dragonflies (5)
  • Favorite Haiku (2)
  • fields (67)
  • flowers (62)
  • forests (3)
  • Frogpond (4)
  • frogs (6)
  • fungus (5)
  • gardens (39)
  • gorges (51)
  • Gusts (1)
  • haiku (237)
  • Haiku Way of Life (5)
  • Heron's Nest (1)
  • hills and mountains (38)
  • horses (1)
  • ice (8)
  • Ithaca (224)
  • lakes and rivers (65)
  • landscapes (233)
  • leaves (104)
  • Lynx,, tanka (2)
  • mailboxes (2)
  • Mexico (2)
  • moon (10)
  • nature (420)
  • ocean imagery (10)
  • Old Vehicles (8)
  • otata (1)
  • parks (73)
  • paths (92)
  • Peru (19)
  • photos (92)
  • plants (78)
  • poems and photos (958)
  • ponds (36)
  • Published Poems (18)
  • puddles (14)
  • Readings (1)
  • reflections (41)
  • roads (25)
  • rust (8)
  • sea shore (1)
  • senryu (4)
  • snow (21)
  • spring (67)
  • squirrels (7)
  • summer (125)
  • sun (29)
  • sunsets (32)
  • tanka (23)
  • Tom poems at other sites (12)
  • Tom selected favorites (14)
  • trains (12)
  • trees (149)
  • turtles (7)
  • Wabi Sabi (184)
  • water reflections (91)
  • waterfalls (30)
  • winter (50)

Blogroll

  • American Tanka
  • Blogging Along Tobacco Road
  • bottle rockets press
  • Charlotte Digregorio's Writer's Blog
  • Donna the Buffalo
  • Haiga Online
  • Haiku Canada
  • Haiku Society of America
  • Issa's Untidy Hut
  • Living Haiku Anthology
  • Living Senryu Anthology
  • Mann Library Daily Haiku
  • Michele Harvey
  • Modern Haiku
  • Red Moon Press
  • Snapshot Press
  • Tanka Society of America
  • Terebess Asia Online
  • The Heron's Nest
  • Tiny Words
  • Tom Clausen Twitter
  • Turtle Light Press
  • Upstate Dim Sum
  • You Tube Tom Clausen

Published poems

  • Modern Haiku
  • Akitsu Quarterly
  • ephemerae
  • Mayfly
  • Frogpond
  • Heron’s Nest
  • Woodnotes
  • Gusts
  • red lights
  • Haiku Canada
  • Raw Nervz
  • American Tanka
  • Dim Sum
  • Haiku Headlines
  • Ribbons
  • Haiku Quarterly
  • bottle rockets
  • South by Southeast
  • black bough
  • Heron’s Nest
  • Frogpond
  • Akitsu Quarterly
  • Modern Haiku
  • Mayfly
  • Haiku Canada

Archives

  • April 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • August 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013

Recent Comments

Ellen Grace Olinger on sparkling sun by tom clau…
Swimmin’ Puddl… on shallow puddle by tom cla…
Tom Clausen on water on ice by tom claus…
Bill Waters on water on ice by tom claus…
Rushi on puddle wreath by tom clau…

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Categories

  • abandoned buildings (17)
  • Akitsu Quarterly (1)
  • americana (192)
  • autumn (158)
  • barns (11)
  • bees (7)
  • bicycles and cycling (4)
  • birds (24)
  • bottle rockets (5)
  • butterflies (6)
  • cats (7)
  • cemeteries (7)
  • Chapbooks (8)
  • close up details (265)
  • clouds (76)
  • Cornell (4)
  • deer (19)
  • Dim Sum (2)
  • dragonflies (5)
  • Favorite Haiku (2)
  • fields (67)
  • flowers (62)
  • forests (3)
  • Frogpond (4)
  • frogs (6)
  • fungus (5)
  • gardens (39)
  • gorges (51)
  • Gusts (1)
  • haiku (237)
  • Haiku Way of Life (5)
  • Heron's Nest (1)
  • hills and mountains (38)
  • horses (1)
  • ice (8)
  • Ithaca (224)
  • lakes and rivers (65)
  • landscapes (233)
  • leaves (104)
  • Lynx,, tanka (2)
  • mailboxes (2)
  • Mexico (2)
  • moon (10)
  • nature (420)
  • ocean imagery (10)
  • Old Vehicles (8)
  • otata (1)
  • parks (73)
  • paths (92)
  • Peru (19)
  • photos (92)
  • plants (78)
  • poems and photos (958)
  • ponds (36)
  • Published Poems (18)
  • puddles (14)
  • Readings (1)
  • reflections (41)
  • roads (25)
  • rust (8)
  • sea shore (1)
  • senryu (4)
  • snow (21)
  • spring (67)
  • squirrels (7)
  • summer (125)
  • sun (29)
  • sunsets (32)
  • tanka (23)
  • Tom poems at other sites (12)
  • Tom selected favorites (14)
  • trains (12)
  • trees (149)
  • turtles (7)
  • Wabi Sabi (184)
  • water reflections (91)
  • waterfalls (30)
  • winter (50)

Archives

  • April 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • August 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
Follow tom clausen on WordPress.com

Recent Comments

Ellen Grace Olinger on sparkling sun by tom clau…
Swimmin’ Puddl… on shallow puddle by tom cla…
Tom Clausen on water on ice by tom claus…
Bill Waters on water on ice by tom claus…
Rushi on puddle wreath by tom clau…

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel