Update

This is a short note to readers of this blog regarding my slow rate of posting recently.  I have been working on a few projects which have taken priority.  One is a commentary on the book A Guide to True Peace, which is a manual on Quaker contemplation.  It was published 200 years ago but is based on material that goes back to the 1600’s.  I have been spending a lot of time doing research and tracking down the original sources for many of the passages in the Guide.  I love this kind of research; nothing makes me happier than sitting on the floor surrounded by dusty tomes (or books from reprint houses), tracking down the history of a passage and how it has changed as it gets used over the centuries. 

I am in the final editing phase and I hope to have it completed by the end of next month.

I have, at the same time, been working on a 100 Verse (Hyakuin) renga.  Like most of my renga it is a solo work.  Writing a solo 100-verse renga is time consuming.  The thing about a renga that long is you have to keep in mind topic placements and spacing and many other factors for it to come out right.  In addition, my hope was to incorporate the type of rhyme scheme I have sometimes used in shorter renga where the last syllable of the last line of verse X rhymes with the last syllable of the first line of verse X + 1.  I finally finished it on Monday; and I was able to incorporate the rhyme scheme through the whole of the renga, and, in addition, discovered some additional rhyme usages in the process.  It still needs a little tweaking, but basically I am satisfied with it.

My hope is to return to more regular posting in October.

Thanks for your patience.