Haiku as a Way of Healing: Peter Cherr ’79 and His Daily Poetry Challenge

Peter C. Cherr, BA ’79. MALS ’80, put himself through Wesleyan, working as a security guard, in the dean’s office, the admissions office, and for the summer school, and majoring in philosophy and religion, one course short of a world music major and doing his thesis in film. At Wesleyan he learned to problem solve and how to think globally in all of his future endeavors. Presently Peter is a retired New York City teacher, a consultant in organizational behavior and interpersonal communications. He has written his entire life, ever since he was able to hold a pencil and form words on paper, and his latest project, launched as a response to our present global pandemic crisis, is “Haiku in the Time of Corona Virus.”

For “Haiku in the Time of Corona Virus” Peter is writing at least one haiku a day and, by posting it on Instagram (@peter_c_cherr, #HaikuintheTimeofCoronaVirus, https://www.instagram.com/peter_c_cherr/) with an appropriate photo, attempting to bring some focus to our situation and our lives, much like samurai used to do when they wrote haiku before going into battle. Perhaps people will read the haiku over time and enjoy them…..a bit of respite from all of this craziness, or be inspired to write their own. NOTE: Haiku is a form of Japanese verse written in 17 syllables divided into 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. True haiku is not just one long sentence divided into three lines.

To follow the project on Instagram, please follow Peter’s Instagram handle, @peter_c_cherr, and the website Kind Over Matter (kindovermatter.com) in their “Poetry Corner.”