Don’t feed the deer

This comic is inspired by the deer population roaming the University of Victoria campus during the SHARP 2017 conference.

Happy Birthday, SHARP!

I’m currently attending the SHARP conference. The Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing is turning 25, so I thought I should pay them a tribute.

 

Watch for. . .

This Old Pond comic is inspired by a SHARP 2017 talk by Lisa Gitelman, New York University: “Emoji Dick, Prequels and Sequels”.

Did you know Amazon produced a translation of Moby Dick using emoji? The book is called Emoji Dick. It could have been a fun project. Unfortunately the book is gibberish, as most translations were produced randomly. Here are some pictures:

 

Emoji Dick

 

Lisa Gilteman presents Emoji Dick at SHARP 2017 conference.

YouTube Star

This Old Pond comic was inspired by a talk at SHARP 2017 by Silke Jandl, University of Graz: “Which YouTuber Book Are You?”: Social Media, Materiality, and YouTubers’ Bestsellers.”

 

Digital Preservation

This Old Pond comic was inspired by a presentation by Corey Davis (University of Victoria) “A Website on the Shelf: Libraries and the Challenges of Digital Preservation” at SHARP 2017 conference.

Haiku Festival Board Game

This Old Pond Comic is inspired by a presentation “Serious Fun: Gaming the Book Festival” at SHARP 2017 by Beth Driscoll (University of Melbourne) and Claire Squires (University of Stirling) about the creation of a Book Festival board game.

Book Festival-opoly board game by Beth Driscoll and Claire Squires

 

7th International Festival of French Haiku

I attended the 7th International Festival of French Haiku that took place in Quebec city from October 13-16, 2016. There were 97 participants that came from all regions of Quebec, France and even Switzerland.

There were many activities including haiku readings,  an origami-flower workshop, a butoh workshop, a panel, a presentation about the marriage of forms between haiku and other artistic expressions, a reading of haiku with jazz music, a dinner, and a stage presentation by three innu women that transformed the audience.

Participants received many gifts including an amigurumi frog made by Andrée Paradis and a koma temari created by Diane Lemieux.

Visit the site Vieil Etang to see more photos, read  a  detailed description of the event (in French), and watch videos featuring my two performances: a 10 minute presentation about Vieil Etang (the French version of Old Pond Comics) and a 3 minute haiku reading (both in French).

The Festival International Francophone de Haïku takes place yearly in a French-speaking city (often in Europe).  For more information, visit the Association Francophone de Haïku website or subscribe to the French haiku journal Gong.

Words: Haiku on Paper

Did you know many haiku poets are also paper artists? Among them, Terry Ann Carter, Claudia Radmore, Steve Addiss, and more, will have artwork in the international exhibit Words: Haiku on paper in Whitehorse, Yukon. The exhibit coincide with the Haiku Canada conference in May 2016.

Support the Go Fund Me campaign to receive a catalogue featuring work by your favorite artists/haiku poets.  I just donated now and the process was really easy.

Thanks for sharing the campaign on Facebook and Twitter to help fellow haiku poets.

I created some haiku-origami pieces for the exhibit. Not sure if they’ll be in the final exhibit or not. I mean, I was told they will be, but it seems unbelievable that my work would be exhibited next to international artists, so I’ll believe it when I see it.

I’m keeping the final artworks a secret, but you’ll find above an earlier version of “Childless” with the frog origami not yet mounted.

Any artwork not selected for the final show will be featured in store windows on Main street during the conference. It’s gonna be great to see haiku everywhere in Whitehorse during the Haiku Canada conference. Thanks to Helen O’Connor for curating the exhibit.

My Haiku Canada Weekend 2016 Freebie

I spent Easter Sunday cutting, folding and sewing a small comic book.

I will be giving them away at the Haiku Canada Weekend, May 20-22, 2016, in Whitehorse, Yukon.

Every year, I was always waiting to the last minute to prepare my freebie, but this time I decided to prepare them early so I could focus on my presentations: I will be the keynote speaker and cartoonist-in-residence at the next Haiku Canada Weekend in May. I hope you can join us!

Haiku Canada (Whitehorse, Yukon)

I look forward to being cartoonist-in-residence at the next Haiku Canada conference. The conference will take place May 20-22 2016 in a town with a rich history : Whitehorse, Yukon.

I’ve been reading a lot of the history of the Yukon and the Gold Rush. I just finished Jack London’s The Call of the Wild and I’m currently reading a biography of poet Robert Service (nicknamed the “Canadian Kipling”).  I read tons of guidebooks to learn about the geography and history of the Yukon Territory. I’m really excited about the trip and the conference.

The title of the conference is A celebration of haiku – north of 60 – with frogs!  And I also have the immense honor of giving the keynote speech. I hope you can be there.