Haiku in Hadley Press Release

June 26, 2020

For Immediate Release

Contact: Dina Friedman, Hadley Cultural Council

(413) 586-2388/hadleyculturalcouncil.aol.com

HAIKU IN HADLEY ENRICHES WALKERS AND BICYCLISTS

People whizzing by on the Norwottuck Rail Trail might want to slow down and read the short musings on the blue signs sprinkled on the Hadley portion of the trail, a collection of contemporary haiku poems written by New England poets and curated by the Hadley Poet Laureate, Wanda Cook. 

The project, Haiku in Hadley, “aims to bring poetry back into people’s lives in small but significant ways, and to inspire joy and celebration of small nature-based moments,” said D. Dina Friedman, a member of the Hadley Cultural Council, which is the main sponsor of the project. Two Hadley-based businesses: Multi-Arts, and Valley Malt; and the Massachusetts Cultural Council have also contributed to the effort. 

“The original idea, proposed by the Poet Laureate, was to have haikus posted in area businesses,” said Cultural Council member, Katie Richardson, “but with people’s activities being curtailed during the COVID pandemic, we thought it would be better to put the haikus where people are more likely to see them.”

There are currently fourteen haiku signs on the path, starting at the eastern edge of the Connecticut River, and going past Maple Street. The poems, which are summer-themed, will be on display for a month, and then will circulate to area neighborhoods. A new batch of fall-centered haikus are planned for display later in the year.  

In addition to the bike path signs, Cook has also initiated a postcard project, which involved sending beautifully designed haikus to area residents. Recipients are asked to keep the cards for a few days and then send them to someone else in Hadley. 

Wanda D. Cook was appointed Hadley’s first Poet Laureate in January.  Ms. Cook, a longtime resident of Hadley, is a widely published poet and educator whose work has appeared in print and on-line journals, as well as juried anthologies. She has served as the New England Coordinator for the Haiku Society of America since 2010 and as Coordinator of the Haiku Poets’ Society of western Massachusetts since 2000.