Had the great good fortune yesterday to spend a day with Billie Wilson, in her home town of Juneau, Alaska. Billie and husband Gary kindly cleared their diary for us and were great hosts showing off their picturesque home area, otherwise known as the state capital of “The Last Frontier”. On our side, it was wonderful to spend time with honest-to-goodness locals and hear stories and experiences that only long-time residents can tell. (Three bears on the deck with their snouts pressed against the glass while Billie and Gary were watching TV!)
Billie and I also had time to talk haiku (like that was never going to happen)! Like me, she’s seeking to win back some time for writing (among other things Billie is an associate editor for The Heron’s Nest and Events/Registry editor for The Haiku Foundation). Sitting and thinking, we agreed, are an essential part of the haiku process (at least for us) and we both increasingly feel we have to “schedule” such time, which is exactly what we don’t want to do.
whalebone
from a beach near Savoonga –
winter rain
– Billie Wilson, First place in the Henderson Award, 2003
Savoonga has an interesting history, including a famine from 1878-80 that severely affected the native population. Read more here.
retreating glacier –
how long since we’ve heard
the black wolf’s song
– Billie Wilson
from Haiku in English: The first hundred years (Norton, 2012)
It’s probably difficult to live in Alaska and not have an environmental focus to your work. It’s an amazing place full of stunning vistas and can be surprisingly like New Zealand! Read more of Billie’s work. She may be the only regularly practising haiku poet in Alaska, although Billie has – and continues to try – to foster interest in her community.
Billie Wilson (left) and Sandra Simpson at the Mendenhall Glacier, near Juneau. Gary mentioned how far the glacier has retreated in the 50 years he’s been living in Alaska – the lake that is now the glacier terminus wasn’t there in 1958. Photo: Keith Frentz
that whale I could have touched
surfaces again
in my mind
– Billie Wilson, from a 2012 Per Diem feature at THF
Something we were out of step on was our coughing – we didn’t once manage to get it going in unison, though goodness knows we tried!
breath, a collection of haiku 
Lovely to see a photograph of you both!
Hi Rose, Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Billie and I had a lovely day together. Best wishes, Sandra