Today We Fly

Tomorrow isn't guaranteed

Hello, Poets!

Today I’m sharing a look into my poetry comics process.

adult dragonflies
will not see end of autumn
but today they fly

Today We Fly

Everything I write or draw starts with an observation. Much of my haiku comes from things I have seen, heard, smelled, or tasted while walking. But even my more fantastical haiku about pirates, zombies, and time travel all start with some collision of insights from things I’ve read, watched, heard, or experienced.

The proximate source inspiration for today’s haiku comic is a walk I took around Library Pond (that’s what I call it, I don’t know its official name.)

The fish and dragonflies were out, and I knew there was a haiku comic somewhere in the scene. I snapped a few fast photos of dubious quality to use later for reference.

Here they are:

While I was primarily focused on what was going on in the water, I couldn't help but notice this duck. Usually the pond hosts mallard ducks and sometimes a few wood ducks. This guy was an interloper.

About 90% of the time, I start my comics with the words first. Below is my haiku session where today’s haiku comic began to take shape.

I like to write a series of haiku about the same topic, but if I’m moved to write something else, I do so. I usually record the day, date, time, and location of my notebook session. Recently, I started adding a small symbol to indicate the weather as well.

The haiku that ended up in today’s comic was the seventh one I wrote. Nine of the ten haiku are about dragonflies, but the weird duck stole the spotlight in haiku number six.

While writing, a free verse poem came to me and I wrote a rough version off to the side of the right page. In between haiku, I started doodling dragonflies and dragonfly wings as my mind worked around the syllables. I tried out a few ideas for panels, and then made a crude storyboard sketch of what the comic would look like.

At some point after I write a poem, I record it in my Excel spreadsheet because nothing is more poetic than metadata.

Most of my art is done collage style. I have a lot of swatches of colors that I have created with a hybrid physical and digital method. For the dragonfly body, I digitally cut a few shapes out of the swatch of cerulean-ish blue and pieced together the dragonfly. Below are the pieces I used on a blank canvas. I modeled the wings on veiny leaves because they have the same basic shape.

I’m excited to make some more paper-crafted poetry comics, but first I need a fat publishing advance, a decent crowdfunded project, a grant, or a larger subscriber base. (We are working on it and this will happen when the time is right.)

I made three different versions of the dragonfly because I wasn’t sure if I liked the legs or not. You cannot see it from my Zapruder-like photos of the pond, but when the dragonflies swoop down on their prey, their front legs are extended almost like raptor talons.

Once I assembled the dragonfly, the rest of the comic came together rather quickly.

I chose to illustrate this particular haiku because I needed a kick in the ass to remember that my future is uncertain, I need to fly (in my case make art) today.

I also felt that the scene at the pond at a distinctive late-summer bacchanalian vibe and wanted to capture some sense of a freedom of action.

Haiku Prompt

Because I write several haiku on the same topic or observation, I can recast the moment I’m writing about in a variety of different ways. Today try writing a series of haiku about a single event and taking different perspectives for each poem.

Feel free to use any haiku format you are comfortable with. As always, I would love to see one or more of your poems in the comments!

Be the poetry you want to see in the world!

Cheers,

Jason

P.S. I only occasionally share stuff about my process and from my notebooks in the free public posts. But, I share more of this content every week in my Tuesday paywalled posts. If you’re interested in the creative process, consider upgrading your subscription. Your support makes this entire enterprise possible.

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