A while back there was a controversy on the Haiku Now Facebook page. I wrote a poem about a spider slipping on ice. Quickly, someone said you didn't see that, that was a desk haiku and the debate began! Contributors…
One of the greatest gifts I was given in 2011 was given to me by Michael Dylan Welch. He didn't just invite me to Haiku North America, he sent email after email pitching it to me; he worked out logistical…
Don Wentworth is the editor of Lilliput Review and author of Issa's Untidy Hut. Responding to my question "What are your hopes for American haiku over the next year?" Don offered this: chatting on the porch, two sparrows flitting in autumn mist…
One of the greatest gifts I was given in 2011 was given to me by Michael Dylan Welch when he invited me to Haiku North America. I filled one notebook after another taking notes at each presentation. Two of the…
"What are your hopes for American haiku in the next year?" It may have been an awkward question, but many gave it some thought and came up with good answers. In this post Michael Dylan Welch gets a turn. I…
Poet Jane Hirshfield said she's coming off the most overfilled year of her life. She traveled to China, Japan, Lithuania, Canada, Poland, and all over the US. She published "The Heart of Haiku" in late June and then "Come, Thief" this…
Since Charlie mentioned HSA President Ce Rosenow in his answer I'd like to start off this next post with Ce's reply to my question, "What are your hopes for American haiku over the next year?" "I have many hopes for…
It's that time of year! Best movies, best blogs, best albums of the year! I love year-end lists, and more than year-end lists, I love when artists are focused on the future. It's always a good sign for the art.…
Has anyone seen these while out and about in NYC? I've heard of haiku on buses and subway cars, but this is something else. I wanted to laugh it off, but these haiku also come with visual art. Makes it…
The Haiku Foundation annual Matching Grant Fundraising, which runs from Thanksgiving Day through St. Nicholas’ Day (December 6) is off to a great start. Thanks to the largesse of Fund Challengers Roberta Beary, Kristen Deming and Anonymous, we are offering…
The Haiku Foundation hosts its annual Matching Grant Fundraising beginning this Thursday, Thanksgiving Day (in the United States) and running through December 6, St. Nicholas’ Day. These days are obviously chosen for their symbolic suggestiveness: though this has been a…
Kozan Ichikyo died at 77 on Feb.12, 1360. Empty-handed I entered the worldBarefoot I leave it.My coming, my going —Two simple happeningsThat got entangled. A few days before his death, Kozan called his pupils together, ordered them to bury him without…
Whether it’s for gems to share with readers or to light the way in my personal quests, I am always searching for nuggets of wisdom. Sometimes I strike it big and they are revelations that seem like they should be…
"Traditionally the Japanese print haiku in magazines and books in one vertical column of writing...This equates to one horizontal line of type in Western languages..." --William Higginson in The Haiku Handbook Peggy Willis Lyles, Geraldine C. Little and Marlene Mountain…
In the post "Free poetry by putting it on your cell phones!", I wrote that one problem that poetry faces in this country is that it isn't a part of people's everyday lives. Thankfully, microblogging and texting can change that. Poetry now comes…
One PR problem that poetry faces in this country is that it isn’t a part of people’s everyday lives. The only time poetry is brought to them is when it is on an English class syllabus. Twitter and text messaging…
If haiku were just a calming, traditional Eastern art for one to sit with for 10 minutes, how would it be different than a cup of tea? At the Haiku North America convention that was held in Seattle this summer,…
What is it about compact poetry that makes it special? Makes it seem more charged? For me, compact poems are all essence. Sometimes, a small poem can be a good sign that the poet put the pen down before the…
The Award The Haiku Foundation’s Touchstone Awards Series enters its second year. and includes the Touchstone Distinguished Book Awards for 2011. The Touchstone Awards Series is a family of awards designed to recognize and reward excellence in the field of…