Reichhold, Jane(t E.) 1937-

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REICHHOLD, Jane(t E.) 1937-

PERSONAL: Surname is pronounced "Rike-hold"; born January 18, 1937, in Lima, OH; daughter of John Howard (a banker) and Erma Marie (a secretary; maiden name, Bible) Styer; married Robert Steiner, March 30, 1957 (marriage ended); married Werner Reichhold (an artist), November 20, 1971; children: Heidi Vetter, Bambi Honer, Hans. Ethnicity: "Euro." Education: Attended Bluffton College, Ohio University, and Fresno State University.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Kodansha America, Inc., 575 Lexington Ave., 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10022-6102. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Teacher of children's art classes, 1962-66; freelance writer, 1963—; owner of a pottery workshop studio in Dinuba, CA, 1967-71. Haiku Writers of Gualala Arts, leader and publisher of the monthly publication Haiku Sharing; AHA Books (publishing company), Gualala, CA, founder, 1987; publisher of Mirrors: International Haiku Forum, 1988-95. Tanka Splendor Awards, founder, 1989. Sculptor, with work exhibited throughout Europe.

MEMBER: Haiku International, Haiku Society of America, Haiku Canada, German Haiku Society, Poetry Society of Japan, Haiku Poets of Northern California.

AWARDS, HONORS: Merit Book Awards, Haiku Society, 1988, for Tigers in a Tea Cup, 1991, for Silence, and 1992, for A Dictionary of Haiku: Classified by Season Words with Traditional and Modern Methods; recipient of two awards from Museum of Haiku Literature, Tokyo, Japan.

WRITINGS:

Tigers in a Teacup (haiku poetry), AHA Books (Gualala, CA), 1988.

(Editor) The Land of Seven Realms, AHA Books (Gualala, CA), 1989.

(With Bambi Walker) A Literary Curiosity: ThePyramid Renga "Open," AHA Books (Gualala, CA), 1989.

Narrow Road to Renga: A Collection of Renga, AHA Books (Gualala, CA), 1989.

A Gift of Tanka: Contemporary English Tanka, AHA Books (Gualala, CA), 1990.

A Dictionary of Haiku: Classified by Season Words with Traditional and Modern Methods, AHA Books (Gualala, CA), 1992.

Wave of Mouth Stories, AHA Books (Gualala, CA), 1993.

(Editor, with Werner Reichhold) Wind Five-Folded, AHA Books (Gualala, CA), 1994.

(With Werner Reichhold) In the Presence: Tanka, AHA Books (Gualala, CA), 1998.

(Translator, with Hatsue Kawamura) Saito Fumi, WhiteLetter Poems, AHA Books (Gualala, CA), 1998.

(Translator, with Hatsue Kawamura) Akiko Baba, Heavenly Maiden Tanka, AHA Books (Gualala, CA), 1999.

Geography Lens, AHA Books (Gualala, CA), 1999.

(Translator, with Hatsue Kawamura) A String of Flowers, Untied . . . Love Poems from "The Tale of Genji," Stone Bridge Press (Berkeley, CA), 2003.

Writing and Enjoying Haiku: A Hands-on Guide, Kodansha America (New York, NY), 2003.

Also author of Shadows on an Open Window (haiku poetry), 1979; Installation: Collage in Space, 1982; From the Dipper . . . Drops, 1983; Duet for One Mirror, 1983; Thumbtacks on a Calendar, 1985; Cherries/Apples, 1986; Graffıti, 1986; As Stones Cry Out, 1987; Silence, 1991; Trashopper Haique, 1992; Classical Mega-Brain Potential, 1992; (with Werner Reichhold) Inksmith, 1992; (with Werner Reichhold) Oracle, 1993; Bowls I Buy (e-book), 1996. Author of Breasts of Snow: Tanka of Fumiko Nakato, 1922-1954, Japan Times Book Company. Editor of Round Renga Round, 1990.

Editor of "Poet Tree," in Coast, 1991-97, and Mirror, 1987-95. Contributor of articles and poetry to periodicals in the United States, Canada, England, and Europe. Editor, Geppo, 1991-94; coeditor, LYNX, 1993—.

Reichhold's papers are archived in the American Haiku Archives, State Library of California, Sacramento, CA.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Translating Midaregami (title means "Tangled Hair"), written by Akiko Yosano, 1901.

SIDELIGHTS: Jane Reichhold told CA: "It was very gratifying to be able to write the book Writing and Enjoying Haiku: A Hands-on Guide for Kodansha. All too often haiku are treated as if they are toys or merely something for teaching children. The form is simple and easy to write and therefore an excellent beginning to introduce children to poetry and writing, but haiku is also very much more. Because haiku is the world's shortest poetry form, it is at once a basic building block for literature while standing tall in its own right as profound poetry.

"As with all philosophical truths, the more one learns about haiku, and the two forms from which it evolved—tanka and renga, the more one realizes that Oriental poetry has a great deal to show us about using images, manipulating poetic devices, and viewing the world around us. Most people feel they 'learned all about haiku' in grade school, but writing my book gave me the opportunity to show what they were not taught and why.

"Many of the famous poets of the twentieth century studied haiku, and it changed the way they perceived reality and the way they used words to write their poems in all genres. Following this example, it seems wise for any writer to get a basic grounding in the form. Through my years of writing thousands of haiku, I have been able to glimpse and organize what inspired them.

"Yet, there is something more important than poetry or writing. Yes, even and especially for writers, there is an asset more vital. That is learning to live what has been called the 'way of haiku.' Too much of English-language poetry is based on laments, whining, complaints, and oh-woe-is-me. These feelings we will always have, and they have been repeatedly expressed in good and bad poetry for several centuries. What we need to experience is how to go into each day excited by the possibilities it holds, to be aware of the majesty of our universe even as it settles as specks of dust on the table, to be open to the flashes of inspiration, and to be able to write down these feelings in a succinct fashion. This richness of life, living, and joy is available to every person in any situation. Nothing is more sacred than a mind bent to beauty, majesty, and awe. And that is where haiku is.

"Already blue / the cool breeze / from the sea."