Delve into the history of English-language haiku in the most direct way possible: by reading its poets. The Book-of-the-Week series presents a new, digitized version of a book of haiku, recent or classic, drawn from The Haiku Foundation Digital Library and other holdings. Host: our digital librarian, Dan Campbell.
Penny Harter had a reputation and extensive publishing credentials in “long poetry” before she came to haiku in the 1970s. This collection, from From Here Press (1980), gives a flavor of her earliest work. You can read the entire book…
Sam Savage, before his acclaim as a novelist, tried his hand at numerous tasks, including letterpress printer and haiku poet. He set this first volume, from Hardscrabble Press in 1999, himself. You can read the entire book in the THF…
Ce Rosenow is past president of the Haiku Society of America, and author of two volumes of haiku. This is the earlier, from Mountain Gate Press in 2004. You can read the entire book in the THF Digital Library. All…
Mike Dillon has been plying his way with haiku for three decades. This is his only full-length book from all that time, from Red Moon Press in 2003. You can read the entire book in the THF Digital Library. All…
Jeff Witkin left only two books of haiku before leaving haiku, but they made their mark. This is the earlier, from Tiny Poems Press in 1997. You can read the entire book in the THF Digital Library. All haiku in…
Paul O. Williams wrote science fiction, critical theory, and some of the best traditional haiku in English. These are from one of his most beloved volumes, from Conflower Press in 1982. You can read the entire book in the THF…
Elizabeth Searle Lamb’s earliest published haiku date from the 1970s, well before her time as editor of Frogpond. Here is some of that early work, from High/Coo Press in 1982. You can read the entire book in the THF Digital…
David Cobb is the doyen of British haiku, and co-founder of the British Haiku Society. This work finds him in typical top form, from Snapshot Press in 2000. Snapshot Press declines to make this book available to The Haiku Foundation…
Gary Hotham has worked several recurrent images in his 4-decade history engaging English-language haiku. Here is some of his earliest work (1978, High/Coo Press). You can read the entire book in the THF Digital Library. All haiku in the Book…
Tom Clausen not only hosts this feature, but has long worked in the genre himself. Some early work can be found here, in a self-published chapbook dating to 1994. You can read the entire book in the THF Digital Library.…
Jeff Winke has been writing and editing strong haiku for four decades. This attractive chapbook, from Distant Thunder Press in 1988, finds him at his robust best, with his special feel for environments well on display. You can read the…
Caroline Gourlay is one of the UK’s strongest haiku voices. This attractive book, from Brooks Books in 2005, shows her in her most lyrical and distinctive mode. Snapshot Press declines to make this book available to The Haiku Foundation Digital…
Bernard Lionel Einbond was a charter member of the Haiku Society of America, and won the Japan Air Lines Contest in 1989 with a poem that legitimized the English-language haiku enterprise to many in Japan and elsewhere. This 2000 volume…
Fay Aoyagi’s first collection of haiku, from her own Blue Willow Press in 2003, was like a breath of fresh air, mingling wafts of old and modern Japan among the zephyrs of Northern California. You can read the entire book…
Ruth Yarrow is a naturalist and activist, and her passion for her vocations can be discovered even in her earliest work, such as this small volume published by High/Coo Press in 1981. You can read the entire book in the…
Stanford M. Forrester’s bottle rockets press has put out several themed anthologies. This one (2005) features an all-star cast and is one of the strongest efforts. All haiku in the Book of the Week Archive are selected by Tom Clausen,…
Charles B. Dickson’s work dropped out of view for a time, and perhaps exhibiting his work here will help people reacquaint themselves with his consistent quality. This attractive chapbook was published by Skyefield Press in 1988. You can read the…
Marlene Mountain is the doyenne of English-language haiku. She burst upon the scene with the publication of this iconic chapbook, self-published in 1976, which contains many of her early classics, making it an excellent volume with which to inaugurate our…