Anyone who aspires to be a better writer knows the importance of thoughtful word choice and editing. The best writers exercise these muscles every day—but sometimes we forget how much fun writing can be, especially when we do it with friends. 

The game is a riff on the Japanese linked verse game known as renga, played by Japanese aristocrats a thousand years ago. In it, each person composes a haiku then passes it to a neighbor, who completes it with a 14-syllable couplet. This simple, limited poetry form encourages participants to choose words and metaphors with care. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a poet, you just have to be ready to play with words.

About the facilitator: Jean has been a student of the Japanese language since she first went to Japan as an exchange student in the 1980s. After a career in the US intelligence community and in Silicon Valley as a strategic geopolitical analyst, Jean retired to focus on writing a book about Japanese feminist poet Yosano Akiko (1878-1942). She has translated hundreds of Akiko’s poems and posted them online. She also writes her own haiku, two of which were recently selected for publication by the Japan Foundation of the UK. Jean is a Board member of the California Writers Club of Marin and a member of the Marin Poetry Center, the Tanka Society of America, Left Coast Writers, and the Japan Foundation. www.accidentalfeminist.net  

This program is brought to you in partnership with the California Writers Club of Marin.