Haikufest Archives - Evanston Public Library

If you missed her fascinating May 7th presentation at Haikufest, rest easy because we are thrilled to introduce local poet and painter Lidia Rozmus as the next artist in our ongoing exhibition series Local Art @ EPL. From now through the end of May, her elegant collection Between a Word and a Brush Stroke will be on display on the 2nd floor of EPL’s Main Branch. For her exhibit, Ms. Rozmus chose a beautifully understated selection of her work in haiga, a Japanese art form that combines haiku poetry with a 13th-century style of black-ink painting called sumi-e. While planning your May visit, don’t forget to click on over to Ms. Rozmus’ website to preview her sumi-e paintings, sample pages from her award-winning books of haiga, and learn more about her artistic background. Finally, make sure to check back with Off the Shelf later in the month for a featured interview with the artist herself. Stay tuned.

Charlotte Digregorio is an award-winning author, teacher, and poet in the traditional Japanese form of haiku. Her poetry has been featured in such publications as Modern Haiku, frogpond, The University of Chicago Magazine, bottle rockets, and Shamrock Haiku Journal, and as Midwest Regional Coordinator of the Haiku Society of America, the Winnetka resident works tirelessly to promote haiku through workshops, conferences, and contests. On May 7th, you can hear Ms. Digregorio speak about the history of haiku when EPL proudly hosts Haikufest from 1-5:30 p.m. in our 1st Floor Community Meeting Room. Featuring a writing workshop, haiku contest, book signings, and additional talks by prolific haikuists and artists, Haikufest is a free, HSA-sponsored poetry event that promises to education and inspire haiku lovers both new and old. To pre-register, simply contact Ms. Digregorio at (847) 881-2664 or EPL at (847) 448-8600. In anticipation of Haikufest, we recently spoke with Ms. Digregorio via email where she shared some of her haiku and poetic inspirations, discussed her work with HSA, and previewed Haikufest’s exciting line-up of speakers.

Continue reading “An Interview with Charlotte Digregorio” →