Fanmade Friday | Mouse of Zen

The outpouring of support and understanding has been so overwhelming.  Thank you again, friends.

It has come to my attention that in my spam purge, some of my existing comments were also deleted and I was unable to send private emails last week to the following: MG13, Serenity Jess, Halfbeard and Darker Image.  Please accept my apologies.  If you try to leave a comment in the future and have trouble doing so, please email me at carrie@hauntedmansioncollectibles.com so we can get it straightened out!

And Congratulations to Charlotte!  She is the lucky winner of the handmade Oogie by Karl.  And Karl, thanks again for paying it forward.

Now…I’m so excited to introduce our first Fanmade Friday guest for 2010.  In the crazy, fast paced and often nonsensical prosing on Twitter, Mouse of Zen tweets stand out with refreshingly simple, yet captivating lines about one of my favorite subjects, Disney.  The author of Mouse of Zen, J.B. Conway, writes haikus, hundreds of them, all about Disney.  So of course, I had to inquire about my favorite ride, the Haunted Mansion.  Last year, in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Haunted Mansion, MOZ released a series of Haunted Mansion Haiku and teamed up with yours truly to combine his haunting refrains with some of my favorite photographs.  The results were pretty exciting!

My pen name is J.B. Conway & go by “Brad” to family & friends. J.B. was my grandfather’s name & I decided to use it for the name tag on my police uniform along with my “author” name of choice. Been in police work since 1998. Before that, I was a “sandwich artist”, LOL!

How did you first come to writing Haikus?  Why that format?

After 9/11, I began writing poetry in reference to how mad the incident made me feel. After about 100 poems into the book, I came across some haiku & began to write my own for the book. I wrote 205 haiku & enjoyed the process of trying to write something rather powerful in such few words, I had several published in various haiku “e-zines” that were well known for rather good haiku. I am after a similar feeling that gave me by attempting to get some of my Mouse Of Zen haiku into Celebrations magazine for the 1000s of Disney fanatics to enjoy!

There seems to be a big leap from your first book of poetry, Crime Scene Lyrics, to your new Mouse of Zen project.  Why the shift?

Simple. “Crime Scene” was prechildren & “Mouse Of Zen” was postchildren! Wanted to create a “database” of how Disney me me feel after bringing our children there for the first time in 2006. Something my kids could share with their own children off in the future!

I love the haiku you wrote about your daughter eating a Dole Whip. Not only do I see her sitting there with her sticky face, but I can also picture you, watching her, soaking in the moment. Does your poetry come to you in the moments, or is it more a reflective process?

I write the “Mouse Of Zen” haiku based on memories of our family trips. Recently, I have found myself enjoying brilliant WDW photography & writing something “on the fly” based on the photo. This past trip in September 2009 was the first trip we have been on since I created the “Mouse Of Zen” so I wrote around ten haiku that was more of ” in the moment”.

How many Disney haikus have you written?  Do you have a favorite theme within Disney?

The first MOZ book has been completed and that will consist of 300 haiku. I have already started the process of writing the next 300 for volume 2. Think I am about 12 into book #2!

How many Disney parks have you visited?  Do you have a favorite?

Only been to WDW but would like to go to Disney Land one day. Due to finances, parks outside the United States will probably always remain a dream of mine. Epcot is my favorite park of WDW!

Speaking of favorites, do you have a favorite haiku you’ve written?  Can you share it?

I don’t recall an exact favorite haiku but it seems my favorites seem to be the ones based of memories of my children!

When can we expect your Mouse of Zen book to be released? How can I get a copy?

The book will be avaliable within the next couple of months. I plan on offering signed copies of around a 100 limited run. If there is demand for more “signed copies”, I will gladly increase that past 100!

reprinted with permission – © J.B. Conway

If you would like to learn more about his Mouse of Zen projects, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook and of course, www.mouseofzen.com

Every time MOZ’s  ”Disney inspired, mouse-size poetry” pops up on twitter, I’m instantly transported into my own personal Disney oasis.  Even if its just for a moment.  I can taste the dole whip, smell the churros and popcorn, feel the magic of Disney.  I’m really honored J.B. joined us today for Fanmade Friday.  I know I can’t wait to get my hands on his new book.