by Alison

***Update: Readers now have a chance to win a subscription to Berry Blue Haiku. Just leave a comment below by Friday, July 16th and you will be entered in a random drawing.***

Oh, here is something that is not to be missed! The very first issue of Berry Blue Haiku is now out and on the virtual newsstands. Berry Blue Haiku is a new online haiku magazine created with kids in mind. The whole presentation - the haiku, the artwork - is simply stunning so be sure to take a look and enjoy.

The brainchild behind Berry Blue Haiku is the wonderful Gisele LeBlanc of Cobalt Crow Productions and Reflective Ink, a favorite poetry blog of mine.  And so I was curious to know how Gisele thought up and pulled together this incredible project. Here’s what Gisele has to say about poetry, children and the publishing process:

cover art by Joy Nelkin Wieder

How did you come up with the idea for this magazine?

I ran another small online magazine for children a few years back–it was called Dragonfly Spirit. We ran fiction, poetry, and nonfiction articles on poetry and art. That was when I took notice of haiku.

Then about a year and a half ago, I started focusing on writing poetry, and learned more about haiku. I absolutely fell in love with the form and couldn’t seem to get enough of it.

I had been thinking about starting a poetry magazine and realized that there was no haiku magazine out there targeted toward kids.

And that’s when the seed began to sprout.

Who is your target audience? Kids, yes, but I’m also thinking parents and teachers?

Yes, although the magazine is dedicated to kids, it’s also targeted toward teachers and parents who have an interest in or want to learn about haiku. We’ll be featuring articles and lessons on writing haiku that can be used both at home and in the classrooms. We want the magazine to inspire young and old alike.

You are accepting submissions at Berry Blue Haiku. Are you looking for submissions by children or adults?

The first issue contains material primarily by adults, but now that we are live, we are involving kids, too. In the magazine we are running haiku contests and challenges for kids and all entries, as well as miscellaneous submissions, will be considered for publication.

Initially, we had decided to run our contests/ challenges for children up to age 13, but we have decided that we will also welcome entries from students ages 14 - 18 (under a separate category).

What do you think children can learn from haiku?

I think haiku can help children see the beauty in simple moments. It can help foster an appreciation and reverence for nature. It’s also a wonderful form of expression, can be very therapeutic, and is a perfect introduction to poetry. And, learning to say what you want in so few words is also a great way to practice writing and language skills.

The first issue of Berry Blue Haiku is free. For a limited time yearly subscriptions (4 issues) can be ordered at a reduced rate of $3.49 and then after June 30th at the regular rate of 4.99. The next issue will be out on September 15th.

If you are interested in submitting your poetry, writing or illustrations to Berry Blue Haiku you can get more information here.