Poet Profile

Helga Härle

Helga Härle spent a few years studying in Germany, one year in Northern Sweden plus one year on a small island in Lake Mälaren, before returning to Stockholm. Creative writing teacher, poet, and language nerd (studied five).

Awards and Other Honors: 10th International Kusamakura Haiku Competition; 10th Mainichi Daily Haiku Contest; Capoliveri Haiku Contest (2007); Second European Haiku Conference Contest; and several awards (2009) for my work as a creative writing teacher as well as author grants (2006, 2007, 2010). Work selected for the following anthologies: Haïga - Peindre en poésie [Haiga-anthology, art by Ion Codrescu] (AFH, 2012); Zilvervisje glimt/Silver fry flicker (Viadagio, Gent 2010); Snödroppar/Snowdrops [bilingual haiku, Swedish/English] (Bokverket, Stockholm, 2009); Una fantastica ondata di haiku [Italian] (Capoliveri, 2008); dust of summers: The Red Moon Anthology of English-language Haiku 2007 (Red Moon Press, 2008); 10th Mainichi Daily Haiku Contest Anthology [French section] (Japan, 2007); 10th International Kusamakura Haiku Competition Anthology; and some earlier, all-Swedish anthologies.

Books Published: the ball keeps rolling / bollen rullar vidare / de bal rolt verder [46 poems in Swedish/English/ Dutch; Dutch translations by Max Verhart] (’t schrijverke, ’s-Hertogenbosch, 2011); Skriv och skriv vidare [Swedish book on Creative Writing] (Textstället, Nacka, 2007, 2008). Also several volumes of translation (into Swedish) of poetry and nonfiction, for small as well as large publishers.

spring shower
the umbrellas
in full bloom

late summer - 
the sound of the stream
running dry

floating clouds -
 
fragments of a conversation
across the lake

sunset—
the Ferris wheel
turns once more

fish jumping
all night
shooting stars

candlelight — 
the room shrinks and grows 
with every breath

Credits: "spring shower" - Tinywords (June 6, 2006); "floating clouds" - The Heron’s Nest V:12 (2003); "fish jumping" - Acorn 13 (2004); "late summer" - The Heron's Nest V:2 (2003, an editors' choice); "sunset" - Modern Haiku 41.3 (2010); "candlelight" - The Heron’s Nest XII:3 (2010).