Short poems, long memories. A tribute to haiku pioneer Gayle Bull

Sometimes it pays to wander at random, then be surprised at what awaits you. Ten years ago, I was the second writer-in-residence at a new program at Shake Rag Alley, a cultural center in the small, historic town of Mineral Point, Wisconsin.

Located in southwest Wisconsin, Mineral Point was founded by miners from Cornwall, England. Its homes and businesses, crafted mainly of a yellowish stone (I believe a form of sandstone), have been carefully restored, with many buildings pre-dating statehood. Pottery studios, art galleries, quaint hotels and unique restaurants dot the landscape of this town of 2,500 or so.

Three hours from my home base in Chicago, I was in Mineral Point for a week with no particular duties carved out for me but to write poetry, walk, think and meditate. However, it was early May, still off-season for many businesses which were either still closed until summer, or had shortened hours. That was a good thing; to be in a place and time with few distractions and get more writing done, which I did. Nevertheless, I also needed to take breaks and breathe some fresh Wisconsin air in between writing sessions.

On one particular walk, I wandered into Foundry Books, a little haven on the edge of town with new, but mostly used books. For some reason, I hadn’t been aware that Mineral Point even had a bookstore. The magnanimous proprietor Gayle Bull greeted me, and I told her I was mainly looking for books of poetry. After a chat, she learned why I was in town, and asked, “Have you ever been interested in haiku?” I think I answered something like, “A little. It’s something I teach children every once in a while in school workshops.”

She showed me an archive of haiku books and periodicals dating back to when she and her late husband Jim Bull edited the first American haiku magazine, American Haiku. Way back in the recesses of my memory, I remember submitting some “haiku” to this publication when I first started writing and being rejected. Ah, yes, and it was located in Wisconsin. But Gayle Bull’s warm demeanor and open enthusiasm for the subject made me forget about that. 

She opened up various issues of the magazine and pointed out haiku that resonated with her. Some haiku were three lines, some two and some even one line (called a monostitch). And none had to be the five-seven-five-syllable, three-line haiku most of us are familiar with. When haiku reached the American shores, she explained, haiku took on a new direction. The five-seven-five (17 syllable) format was perfect for Japanese, which uses more syllables in its words than in English (haiku expert Lee Gurga feels that American haiku should usually be no longer than 12 syllables). And counting syllables isn’t really the point. The point is to create two separate images that juxtapose, that cause that haiku aha! moment in the reader. 

After meeting Gayle, I made periodic trips back to Mineral Point over the following years, to take part in dining-room-table haiku workshops in the back of the bookstore where Gayle lived, to attend haiku lectures and, also accompanied by my poet husband Carlos Cumpian, the occasional Cradle of American Haiku conferences headquartered at Foundry Books, which hosted haiku events around town at various locations. 

I felt as if Gayle took me under her wing and nurtured my direction in this special genre, new, surprisingly deep, and exciting for me. I slowly began to write “real haiku,” versus the children’s workshop 5-7-5 syllable counters, made new friends among the close group of haiku aficionados and began to get haiku published in magazines such as Frogpond and Bottle Rockets. While I still mainly write conventional poetry (maybe not-so-conventional), haiku holds a special place for me as well these past years.

I owe much to my friendship with Gayle, who unfortunately passed away in 2019. I will always remember her fondly and have nothing but a grateful heart for who she was. Her birthday is August 8. And the good news is, haiku lives on in Mineral Point! 

Read more about Gayle Bull, Foundry Books and. Mineral Point in my memoir/reference/creativity guide Frugal Poets’ Guide to Life: How to Live a Poetic Life, Even If You Aren’t a Poet.

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Short poems, long memories. A tribute to haiku pioneer Gayle Bull

A Personal Field Trip to Four Elements Organic Herbals Apothecary

Somewhere there’s a certified organic family farm, surrounded by more than 9,000 acres of protected land, far from agricultural drift, with mineral-rich soil sitting on one of the most ancient outcrops of quartzite in North America. 

Four Elements organic farm in Wisconsin

In the pristine Baraboo Bluffs, designated as one of the Last Great Places by the Nature Conservancy, is the 130 acres where Four Elements Organic Herbals grows and handpicks herbs and flowers for its line of organic handmade soaps, balms, creams, oils, deodorants and hydrosols/toners.

Shirlie & I hiking at
Aldo Leopold Foundation trails

Four of us from Chicago were camping for a few days at the local Devil’s Lake State Park in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Before we ventured on one of our hikes up the park’s bluffs, my friend Shirlie pulled out a pump bottle of natural insect repellant from her knapsack. “Want to try it?” she asked. It was Four Elements Lavender Catnip Insect Repellant. She said she had purchased it at a shop in Evanston, a suburb of Chicago.

I was pleasantly surprised by my friend’s offering, as I had been using Four Elements products  I had immediately fallen in love with her soaps, in addition to a special roll-on facial oil called Golden Crown Botanical Elixir “designed for wise women with mature skin," for years. I first met Four Elements farmer and owner Jane Stevens at the Baraboo Farmer’s Market during a previous trip to the area.

Golden Crown
Elixir

Golden Crown Botanical Elixir is made from a list of luscious naturals: sage, calendula, gotu kola and ginseng infused almond oil, neroli, rose geranium, rose and clary sage essential oils, rose hip seed oil, vitamin E and something called “pretty face flower essence.” Smells so good! It keeps my skin glowing and I am totally unable to live without it. Thus, I have ordered it online ever since.

Evidently, Four Elements has increased their distribution beyond the local Farmer’s Market and online sales, as Shirlie could attest. Four Elements products are now available in retail locations in 36 states.

As I held and used the insect repellant that Shirlie just handed me, I asked her, “Do you have any idea where they actually make the Four Elements products?” She did not. “In the little town of North Freedom, just west of here!” From the Four Elements website, I had learned that they ran an apothecary of their products in North Freedom, eight miles west of Baraboo, the town closest to Devil’s Lake.

Coincidentally, with a Four Elements brochure tucked into my camping supplies, I had actually planned ahead to suggest a field trip over to the apothecary sometime during our stay in order to introduce Shirlie to their great products. Little did I know she was already familiar with them!

Four Elements Apothecary
in North Freedom, Wisconsin

No need to talk her into making the side trip to Four Elements Apothecary.  One afternoon, Shirlie and I and our significant others drove up to the Aldo Leopold Foundation Legacy Center and visited the buildings and trails on this bucolic, environmental site. On our way back, we made a loop into North Freedom (population 706) and pulled up to the unassuming storefront of the Four Elements Herbals Apothecary. 

Inside, we entered a modest shop area where the skin care and wellness products and testers were lined up on wooden shelves.  We were greeted by Molly, who explained how all the products are processed and packaged right on premises in a large area behind the shop.  And how everything that went into the products is grown and handpicked at the farm, located about six miles from the shop. How often does this this local farm-to-product process take place in America? Unfortunately, too seldom! The Four Elements farm itself, founded in 1987 and certified organic since 1990, is open to the public only on a special Open Farm Day held in late spring each year, or by appointment only.  This year marks their 30^th anniversary.

My cache from Four Elements Apothecary

After testing products on our skin, smelling their wonderfully natural aromas, and chatting with Molly about the benefits of each of the items we were interested in, both Shirlie and I gathered a cache of healthy selections to bring home with us. 

Hiking can sometimes leave me a little banged up after hitting stray tree branches or unseen jutting rocks, so I was eager to try the Four Elements Black and Blue Balm. In addition, my husband Carlos entered the apothecary with sore wrists and Shirlie with sore knees. After a couple of sprays of Four Elements Arnica Capsicum Botanical Liniment to the affected areas, the pain of both parties immediately vanished. Sold!

One of my family members is plagued by painful varicose veins, so I bought him a gift of Four Elements Very Close Vein Cream, which contains horse chestnut hull, gotu kola, St. John’s wort and other botanicals to help relieve vein pain, smoothly delivered in a shea butter and botanical oil base.

I was a little sad to see that my favorite and delightfully fragrant Four Elements Hunter’s Oakmoss and Pine Soap was being discontinued, but was able to pick up the last several bars half-off in the clearance bin.  A few other items rounded out my purchases including a Triple Lemon Tea, comprising lemongrass, lemon balm and lemon verbena. And Shirlie left with a healthy supply of items, as well, including a vial of the Golden Crown Botanical Elixir facial oil roll-on for herself. She and her beau Jim also liked the Herbal Shampoo in bar form. Easy to pack on camping trips, and not considered a liquid in flight carry-ons.

It was a highlight of our central Wisconsin trip to finally visit the Four Elements Herbal Apothecary in person to hand-pick new items and learn more about its earth stewardship and fair trade practices, and the dedicated local talent who grow, create, package and ship products

Owner Jane Stevens & her crew
who farm and create the Four Elements products.

they believe in.

Four Elements. Earth (some of the best soil on the planet). Air (clean air from 55,000 acres of surrounding forests). Water (set among the Baraboo, Wisconsin and Mississippi River watersheds). Fire (summer days of 16 hours of sunshine). It is all pure and vibrant in central Wisconsin. Hoping next year to take part in Four Elements Open Farm Day come spring! 

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For more information about Four Elements Organic Herbals, visit: http://www.fourelementsherbals.com

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A Personal Field Trip to Four Elements Organic Herbals Apothecary

Your Stay at a Writer’s Colony Is a Fabulous and Frugal Choice

I’m a poet and a playwright, and as many writers like me, I find myself ever needing more dedicated time to write.  Even though I am now fortunate enough to work my day job from home, scheduling my own hours to complete assignments and attend conference calls, you’ll find me in-between those hours keeping keen watch on my computer and phone for incoming messages and requests.

By midday I may be off to teach yoga for a few hours at a time, and just when I return home to send off more tweets and Facebook posts on behalf of my employer, and maybe even then try to squeeze in writing a poem, another scene or a blog post such as this, I'll look at the clock and suddenly see it’s time to make dinner for my husband who’s spent another wall-to-wall weekday pounding that challenging turf called teaching English at a Chicago public high school.

Yes, like many writers who juggle life and work schedules, I yearn for more time to write. My writer husband definitely does as well.  Beyond that, simply as people and as a couple, we need a scheduled vacation every once in a while. Here’s the question: Why not combine both vacation and dedicated time to write, and apply for a stay at a writer’s colony? My answer to that question is, yes, I have done so a number of times, and stays at colonies have been among the most interesting, satisfying and creatively prolific vacations yet. 

I have gone solo, as well as with my husband, one time even bringing our small son along to a private writer’s casita in the New Mexican mountains for two weeks, where we mixed writing with side excursions to Albuquerque, Taos and Santa Fe. I have spent two weeks at a working organic fruit and vegetable farm, pitching in with farm chores in the mornings and writing in the afternoons and evenings in an off-grid cabin. I have served as a writer-in-residence in a circa 1835 townhouse in the rolling hills of southwest Wisconsin, and stirred up recipes that inspired food poems in the culinary suite of a writer’s colony in Arkansas.

Most recently, my husband and I were both accepted for a two-week residency at Rivendell Writers’ Colony in Sewanee, Tennessee, (pronounced swan’-knee) situated about four miles from the heart of town, in a grand old stone manor overlooking spectacular Lost Cove, an area where writer Walker Percy spent many a summer sojourn.  I chose to apply to Rivendell as it’s a day’s drive from our home in Chicago, while at the same time knowing the breathtaking Cumberland Plateau terrain would offer a total change from our urban life in the Midwest flatlands.

I chose Rivendell because while it’s part of an estate with a long history, it has been transformed into a writers’ colony only over the past few years. Not too many people know yet about this gem. The time to apply was now!

I also chose Rivendell because of its emphasis on food writers.  The Southern Foodways Alliance holds periodic workshops at Rivendell, and one of its directors serves as an advising editor to Rivendell. The colony director Carmen and her husband Michael nurture a lush garden of raised beds near the manor house, where residents can sometimes pick lettuce, tomatoes, herbs and other seasonal offerings to add to their meals.  

That brings me to mention Rivendell’s two kitchens, one country style and the other commercial grade, where residents can prepare and cook their own meals.

And lastly, I chose Rivendell because it is a short drive from the University of the South, home to Sewanee School of Letters, Sewanee Review and the Sewanee Writer’s Conference. Sewanee Review is one of the oldest literary magazines in the U.S., started in 1892. And the Sewanee Writers’ Conference has been an annual event for more than 20 years, gathering poets, playwrights and fiction writers from across the country. What a literary atmosphere in such a magnificent corner of Tennessee.

So what’s so frugal about a stay at Rivendell, which requires a fee for your residency, and where you need to supply your own food and cook your own meals? Firstly, the subsidized cost of a two-week stay is far less, perhaps one third or even a quarter of what you’d pay for a comparable hotel stay, if you are accepted as a writing resident. And, just as an aside, how many spots where you've stayed offers an open-air deck where you can practice yoga on a cool morning?

I don’t know about you, but the more I learn about food, the harder it seems to find restaurants where I’d care to dine.  When establishments serve Grade A eggs or meats, it does not mean that the animals weren’t factory farmed or fed GMO grains.  I eat more organic food than ever, and sometimes the only way to make sure I’m getting the caliber of meals using the wholesome foods I prefer is to cook them myself. 

As a food poet, of course, cooking (and even drinking) are surely part of my research! Even making different popcorn recipes that I shared with other residents in the evenings helped inspire a new poem. What could be more frugal and fantastic than passing around a bowl of buttery popcorn, chatting on the outdoor patio overlooking the cove, and checking out Rivendell’s vivid sky full of stars.

Of course, frugality-wise, it didn’t hurt that I also applied for and received an Illinois Arts Council Professional Development Grant to help fund my stay, food purchases and road trip expenses. 

Check your local arts council and see what type of help they can extend for writing retreat stays to help you complete your latest writing project. At Rivendell, I did just that, writing a number of new poem drafts (sometimes two a day) to add to my current manuscript, “Botanical Bandwidth: More Poems About Food, Drink, Herbs and Spices.”

In addition, it just so happened that the first week of our summer residency at Rivendell also coincided with the last week of the Sewanee Writers Conference taking place in town.  Besides the paid workshops and meetings the conference participants attended (of which we weren’t part of and costs upwards of $3,000), there was a sizable schedule of daily lectures and readings open to the public, free of charge. 

Not only did we enjoy two lectures on fiction writing and one on playwriting, we personally met some of our favorite writers who were on hand, including poet A.E. Stallings and fiction writer Tim O’Brien. What frugal serendipity!

Noteworthy to any working vacation, the town of Sewanee is surrounded by a spectacular network of hiking trails, with views that are priceless. What writing experience isn’t enhanced by an inspirational hike through the woods?

Find out more about Rivendell.

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Your Stay at a Writer’s Colony Is a Fabulous and Frugal Choice

Make Spiritual, Creative & Dream Journaling weekend your spring getaway

I'm leading a three-day Spiritual, Creative and Dream Journaling retreat the weekend of April 25-27, 2014 at The Christine Center in central Wisconsin. If you or anyone you know might be interested in attending, see more here.

Make this hands-on journal-writing exploration your spring post-Lent and post-Easter getaway to greet the season with new inspiration. Perfect for beginning and seasoned journal writers alike. The Christine Center is set near a state forest with lodging in hermitages, each unique, that dot wooded paths. Delicious vegetarian meals are served in the main building where the workshop takes place, along with optional attendance at morning and evening meditations, chakra-focused chanting, wood-fired sauna, a sky full of stars, and more.

Spiritual, Creative and Dream Journaling Retreat
Three-day journal-writing exploration
Friday, April 25 - Sunday, April 27, 2014
Christine Center, Willard, Wisconsin, tucked away in a pristine setting in central Wisconsin in

Deepen your spirituality, better understand relationships, foster creativity and delve into your nightly dreams with more focus through journal writing. Over the course of this three-day retreat, leader Cynthia Gallaher will help you uncover the journaling method or methods that best suit your personality. You’ll take part in hands-on explorations of journal dialogs, Japanese haibun (journal entries that end in a short poem) and naikan gratitude journal methods, Leonardo Da Vinci-style notebooks, artists’ journals, modern dream journaling techniques and more.

This retreat provides a stimulating and non-judgmental atmosphere for both newer and long-time journal writers. By the end of the retreat, participants can experience more clear direction toward spiritual, creative and emotional renewal through journal writing, and be motivated to develop a regular journal writing practice. Tuition is on a sliding scale basis. Range is from $85-$125, plus meals and lodging.

* Friday night, April 25, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.: Journal writing introduction, overview personality quiz and getting started.
* Saturday morning, April 26, 9 a.m. to noon: Stepping Stones and Dialogues as the basis of modern journaling.
* Saturday afternoon, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Japanese techniques, artist and creative journals, and what would Leonardo da Vinci do?
* Saturday evening, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Dream journaling
What do you do when life gives you synchronicities, serendipity, coincidences or confirmations?
* Sunday morning, April 27, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.: Final thoughts for future journaling.

Cynthia will also include a few PowerPoint presentations, provide handouts and display selected books on journal writing.

At the completion of this retreat, participants will be able to:
~ Focus on the type of journal writing to fit his or her personality.
~ Access their own list of numerous, personal journal writing topics and questions.
~ Use journaling methods of Stepping Stones and Dialogues to address personal and creative issues.
~ Understand and use the Japanese methods of haibun and naikan.
~ Create a Leonardo da Vinci-style notebook, artist’s journal or other type of creative journal.
~ Create an active, personal dream journal.
~ Use journaling to explore & understand personal values, issues & memories.

Retreat leader Cynthia Gallaher is a poet, playwright, nonfiction writer and journal writer. She leads journal writing workshops in libraries, schools, centers and spas throughout the Midwest, and teaches an online course on journal writing at the University of Illinois at Chicago. ◦

Make Spiritual, Creative & Dream Journaling weekend your spring getaway

Spiritual, Creative & Dream Journaling Retreat in November 2013

Save the weekend before Thanksgiving and take special time for yourself before the holidays. Head up to beautiful, peaceful central Wisconsin for my Spiritual, Creative and Dream Journaling Retreat at the Christine Center.

Spiritual, Creative and Dream Journaling Retreat
Three-day journal writing exploration
November 22-24, 2013
Christine Center
Facilitator: Cynthia Gallaher

Deepen your spirituality, better understand relationships, foster creativity and delve into your nightly dreams with more focus through journal writing. Over the course of this three-day retreat, leader Cynthia Gallaher will help you uncover the journaling method or methods that best suit your personality. You’ll take part in hands-on explorations of journal dialogs, Japanese haibun (journal entries that end in a short poem) and naikan gratitude journal methods, Leonardo Da Vinci-style notebooks, artists’ journals, modern dream journaling techniques and more.

This retreat provides a stimulating and non-judgmental atmosphere for both newer and long-time journal writers. By the end of the retreat, participants can experience more clear direction toward spiritual, creative and emotional renewal through journal writing, and be motivated to develop a regular journal writing practice. Tuition is on a sliding scale basis. Range is from $85-$125, plus meals and lodging.

Friday night, November 22, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.: Journal writing introduction, overview personality quiz and getting started.
Saturday morning, November 23, 9 a.m. to noon: Stepping Stones and Dialogues as the basis of modern journaling.
Saturday afternoon, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Japanese techniques, artist and creative journals, and what would Leonardo da Vinci do?
Saturday evening, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Dream journaling intensive -- plus, what do you do when life gives you synchronicities, serendipity, coincidences or confirmations?
Sunday morning, November 24, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.: Final thoughts for future journaling.

Cynthia will also present a few PowerPoint presentations, provide handouts and display selected books on journal writing.

At the completion of this retreat, participants will be able to:
•Focus on the type of journal writing to fit his or her personality.
•Access their own list of numerous, personal journal writing topics and questions.
•Use journaling methods of Stepping Stones and Dialogues to address personal and creative issues.
•Understand and use the Japanese methods of haibun and naikan.
•Create a Leonardo da Vinci-style notebook, artist’s journal or other type of creative journal.
•Create an active, personal dream journal.
•Use journaling to explore and understand personal values, issues and memories.

The Christine Center is a natural sanctuary for spiritual deepening and global transformation near Willard, Wisconsin. It is situated in a tranquil forest setting with a guest house, small hermitages (cabins) and camping on 125 secluded acres. Besides the workshop programming, there are opportunities to take part in trail hiking, morning and evening guided and silent meditations, vegetarian meals, a wood-fired sauna and more.

Bio:
Retreat leader Cynthia Gallaher is a poet, playwright, nonfiction writer and journal writer. She leads journal writing workshops in libraries, schools, centers and spas throughout the Midwest, and teaches an online course on journal writing at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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Spiritual, Creative & Dream Journaling Retreat in November 2013

British blog features Wisconsin organic retreat

The British blog, Shedworking, which is devoted to stories on garden offices and other small dwellings, recently featured a story on my two-week experience on the Poetryfarm in southern Wisconsin.

While there, I spent half my day working on a 12-acre organic fruit farm, which sold its goods at the Madison Farmers' Market, and the other half day spending time on my own creative writing. I was assigned a private, one-room "pod" where I wrote, read, slept and sought inspiration from the clean air, rustle of apple trees and grape vines, sunsets and the magnificent, starlit sky. ◦

British blog features Wisconsin organic retreat