Haiku for Lower East Side History Month!
May is Lower East Side History Month, and to that end a host of chalking activity was occurring on the opening weekend due to #chalkLES, a multi-organization effort to write historical tidbits on the streets of the Lower East Side. The organizer of #chalkLES (and generally amazing LES mover-and-shaker), Ryan Gilliam, invited Guerilla Haiku to add some more chalkdust to the scene. To which we resoundingly said YES! On the eve of our Saturday frolics, I decorated my beloved Tenement Museum with haiku inspired by its work and mission. But the day truly began in Seward Park where the melting pot...
Read MoreFirst GHM Event hosted by Celeste in McAllen, TX!
Here are Celeste’s reflections on her experiences: The day of the event, I was nervous, but excited. My event started at 11, so I got to the meeting place at 10:30. At 11 people started showing up, and at 11:30 I said an opening speech that explained how the event will carry out. All 3 adult advocates showed up, but only 6 out of the 15 people who committed to coming actually showed up, so I made 2 teams of 6 out of the people who did come, and I included myself in one of the teams. We had an hour and a half to write haikus; at 1:30 we met back at the cafe. Teams chose their...
Read MoreGuerilla Haiku’s San Antonian Residency!!
Artpace is an organization committed to bringing excellent local, national and international artists to San Antonio and giving them space and resources to create new work in the city (and engage the community in their process). They also organize one of the most ambitious community engagement efforts I have yet to experience: Chalk It Up, San Antonio. In this one-day-only event, tens of thousands of San Antonians come together to chalk up one of their major downtown streets. Artists make murals, teams from local schools and organizations create team pieces and everyone is invited to add to...
Read MorePedal Farmers use Guerilla Haiku to spread word about their work in Newark!
A group of students from all over Newark and surrounding areas are brought together by local non-profit, Project USE, in the summer to tend gardens. Self-anointed “The Pedal Farmers” these intrepid youth not only tend community gardens, they sell their produce at local farmer’s markets learning much about organic food; growing, eating and marketing it. As a team-building activity, these youth came together to cover the Ironbound in haiku one hot, early morning. Though many commuters were set on their morning routine, others were interested in our pursuit of poetry, and...
Read MoreEnglish Language Learners make tremendous Guerilla Haikuists!
A group of courageous design students, all english language learners at the New School this summer, joined me in a morning of haiku adventures all about the Union Square/Washington Square neighborhood. As I informed them of their mission, to approach New Yorkers on the street and get them to write haiku with them, the faces of this international crowd- from Asia, to the Carribbean, to the Middle East, to Europe, collectively blanched. “Using english, to get strangers to write with us?!?” they were thinking…”how is THIS going to work.” Two hours later they...
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The Haiku Mistress
Actor and educator, Caley Vickerman, discovered haiku in 6th grade and they remain to this day a favorite method of expression; simple, precise and immeasurably powerful. It became her fervent wish to create events that celebrated haiku (and humanity). Thus the Guerilla Haiku Movement was born! …And the Haiku Mistress gratefully continues to celebrate! 
We are the Guerilla Haiku Movement; a cadre of artists, fun-lovers, and fools that use sidewalk chalk and the ancient Japanese poetic tradition of Haiku to tell our stories and the stories of our communities inside of one moment. Check out our events page to join us in a city near you!