HAIKU MASTER IN MIAMI: An Evening of Japanese Poetry, Culture, Food and Drink

Press Release (ePRNews.com) - COCONUT GROVE, Fla. - Apr 12, 2017 - Edible South Florida and O, Miami present a unique immersion into Japanese culture led by poet and photographer Kit Pancoast Nagamura at the home of her pioneer forebears, The Kampong in Coconut Grove.

Nagamura, who has lived in Japan for 25 years and appears regularly on NHK World’s TV program HAIKU MASTERS, will share the elements of traditional haiku: rhythm, seasonality and fusoku-furi – “not too far, not too close.” Guests will then set out to be inspired by the lush tropical surroundings of The Kampong and create their own poetry and photo haiku. They’ll return to present their creations on stage.

The evening showcases other South Florida Japanese culture, food and drink, including:
   •    Ikebana – the traditional art of flower arranging – by Mieko Kubota, formerly artist-in-residence at the South Florida Folklife Center of HistoryMiami. She will use some of the tropical foliage found on the grounds of The Kampong
   •    Japanese arts and crafts on display courtesy of the Miami Friends of Japanese Garden, supporting Ichimura Miami-Japan Garden on Watson Island
   •    Handmade wood and linoblock prints of Japanese pop culture by Miami artist and illustrator Brian Reedy
   •    Okonomiyaki, savory Japanese pancakes, from Lan Pan Asian, and other tastes
   •    Matcha Coco samples from Yoko Matcha
   •    Special Japanese-inspired cocktails by Gio Gutierrez and Gabe Urrutia of Spirited Miami
   •    Miami Beach Botanical Garden, hosting Japanese Spring Festival Sun., April 30

HAIKU MASTER IN MIAMI
When: Tue., April 25, 2017 6:30-9:30pm
Where: The Kampong, 4013 Douglas Rd., Coconut Grove, FL 33133
Tickets: $5 – http://www.eventbrite.com/e/japanese-culture-night-at-the…
Carpooling/car service highly recommended because of limited parking. Parking fee $5

About Kit Pancoast Nagamura
Kit Pancoast Nagamura is an award-winning photographer and poet who shows widely throughout Japan, and her work is currently held in numerous international collections. She writes a long-running column for The Japan Times and appears regularly on NHK World’s TV programs “Journeys in Japan” and “HAIKU MASTERS.”

The child of two pioneering Florida families – the Pancoasts and the Fairchilds – Nagamura spent her early years at The Kampong, soaking in her great-great grandparents’ paradise of flowers, fragrances and leaf-filtered light. When she was learning to read, her Swiss grandfather gave her a book that featured Japanese haiku of the greats, including Basho, Buson, Shiki and Issa. These works resonated, because superb haiku does just that, across every age group.

As the daughter of outspoken environmentalist parents – one an artist and founder of The Bakehouse Art Complex, and the other a renowned architect – Nagamura has long known that vanishing nature equals vanishing nurture, and she uses whatever skills she has to remind people of what we cannot live without. The haiku poem is a powerful way to accomplish that; good ones will lead the next generation into a crucial passion for the interconnectivity of nature and the fleeting moment.

About O, Miami
Every April, with principal funding provided by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, O, Miami produces the O, Miami Poetry Festival, a month-long initiative with the mission of every single person in Miami-Dade County encountering a poem.

About edible South Florida
Since 2010, edible South Florida has been the voice of the local food movement, covering food and drink, farms, restaurants, artisans, edible gardening and sustainable living through its quarterly magazine, website and social media. Edible South Florida is one of 90+ publications that make up the award-winning Edible Communities in the U.S. and Canada.

About The Kampong
One of the jewels of South Florida, full of history, beauty, and biological richness, The Kampong is the former estate of famed plant explorer David Fairchild, who traveled throughout Southeast Asia and other tropical locales to gather exotic plants and introduce them to the U.S.  In 1984 The Kampong was entered into the National Register of Historic Places and later became part of the National Tropical Botanic Garden.