Poet Profile

Klaus-Dieter Wirth

As a linguist (English, French, Spanish) Klaus-Dieter Wirth earned his living in the teaching profession, mainly at high schools and the university of Düsseldorf lecturing in philology and literary translation. His first contact with the haiku took place in 1967, yet he really started writing haiku not before the early nineties. Especially since his retirement in 2001 he has been deeply involved with the haiku movement worldwide putting his main emphasis on promoting its global significance and interchange. According to the Japanese tradition he exclusively concentrates his interest on the genre of haiku (and senryû). As another matter of principal he does not take part in competitions charging entry fees for in his opinion it is against the spirit of haiku, an attitude which of course reduces the possibility to win awards. Haiku service should be voluntary, an act of selfless devotion. He is a member of several international haiku societies (D, GB, F, NL/B, USA, CAN) actively collaborating on different journals, especially Sommergras (D), Blithe Spirit (GB), Gong (F), Chrysanthemum (a German-English Internet magazine), and Whirligig (a biannual Dutch-English publication). Accordingly Klaus-Dieter Wirth's haiku poetry is widely represented predominantly in magazines and anthologies covering all of these languages.

Awards and Other Honors: International Kusamakura Haiku Competition: Second Prize (1997), Third Prize (1998), Second Prize (2000), Third Prize (2007); Museum of Haiku Literature Award (Tokyo, 2002); Special Prize HIA in the 2nd Lecture Meeting and Haiku Contest (HI No 42); Special Certificate, Genkissu! Spirits up! Worldwide Hekinan Haiku Contest (2006).

Books Published: Zugvögel/Migratory Birds/Oiseaux migrateurs/Aves migratorias [a quadrilingual haiku book in German, English, French, and Spanish].

a robin alights
on the handle of my spade
signalling a break

dozing dog
puffing a petal
gently away

night drive
heading straight for the moon
wheels marking time

the old clown
redoing his smile
for the last time

so great the silence
the mime's rowing through, he rolls
without any boat

blazing midday sun
the stork on the edge of her nest
sets the shadow dial

Credits: "a robin alights" - Lishanu No. 1 (2005); "night drive" - Frogpond XXIV:1 (2001); "so great the silence" - Blithe Spirit 12:4 (2002); Museum of Haiku Literature Award (Tokyo); "dozing dog" - Modern Haiku 35:1 (2004); "the old clown" - Chrysanthemum 7 (2010); "blazing midday sun" - Hermitage III (2006).