Haiku is a type of short form poetry that originated in Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases composed of 17 phonetic units in a 5, 7, 5 pattern; that include a kireji, or "cutting word"; and a kigo, or seasonal reference. Similar poems that do not adhere to these rules are generally classified as senryū.
Senryū (川柳) is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 morae. Senryū tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature, and senryū are often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are more serious.
George Swede, is a Latvian Canadian psychologist, poet and children's writer who lives in Toronto, Ontario. He is a major figure in English-language haiku, known for his wry, poignant observations
Haibun is a prosimetric literary form originating in Japan, combining prose and haiku. The range of haibun is broad and frequently includes autobiography, diary, essay, prose poem, short story and travel journal.
Kobayashi Issa was a Japanese poet and lay Buddhist priest of the Jōdo Shinshū. He is known for his haiku poems and journals. He is better known as simply Issa (一茶), a pen name meaning Cup-of-tea. He is regarded as one of the four haiku masters in Japan, along with Bashō, Buson and Shiki — "the Great Four."
Reginald Horace Blyth was an English writer and devotee of Japanese culture. He is most famous for his writings on Zen and on haiku poetry.
Yosa Buson or Yosa no Buson was a Japanese poet and painter of the Edo period. He lived from 1716 – January 17, 1784. Along with Matsuo Bashō and Kobayashi Issa, Buson is considered among the greatest poets of the Edo Period. He is also known for completing haiga as a style of art, working with haibun prose, and experimenting with a mixed Chinese-Japanese style of poetry.
Kevin Bailey is a British poet and founder of HQ Poetry Magazine. He has had four books published and co-edited an anthology of poetry for the Acorn Book Company in 2000. He was born and grew up at Wallingford, in the County of Berkshire, England, where he attended the local grammar school. He was later educated at the University of York and University College, Bath.
Cor Van den Heuvel is an American haiku poet, editor and archivist.
Anatoly Kudryavitsky is a Russian-Irish novelist, poet, editor and literary translator.
Lenard Duane Moore in Jacksonville, North Carolina. He is a writer of more than 20 forms of poetry, drama, essays, and literary criticism, and has been writing and publishing haiku for more than 20 years.
A haiku in English is an English-language poem written in a form or style inspired by Japanese haiku. Like their Japanese counterpart, haiku in English are typically short poems and often reference the seasons, but the degree to which haiku in English implement specific elements of Japanese haiku, such as the arranging of 17 phonetic units in a 5–7–5 pattern, varies greatly.
James Michael Kacian is an American haiku poet, editor, translator, publisher, organizer, filmmaker, public speaker, and theorist. He has authored more than 20 volumes of English-language haiku, and edited scores more, including serving as editor in chief for Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years. In addition, he is founder and owner of Red Moon Press (1993), a co-founder of the World Haiku Association (2000), and founder and president of The Haiku Foundation (2009).
Alan Pizzarelli is an American poet, songwriter, and musician. He was born of an Italian-American family in Newark, New Jersey, and raised in the first ward’s Little Italy. He is a major figure in English-language haiku and Senryū.
The International Academic Forum (IAFOR) is an NGO research organization based in Japan.
John Richard Parsons is an English writer and artist, noted for his prize-winning haiku poetry. He taught etching and lithography at Central Saint Martins school of art from 1962 to 1968. His art and sculpture are both figurative and abstract, and draw on many sources of inspiration, particularly prehistoric, Indian and tribal traditions. His work is noted for his attention to colour, material and technique.
Robbie Coburn is a contemporary Australian poet. Judith Beveridge wrote that Coburn’s work “is so raw yet so luminous and piercing to the point where the poetry is utterly transformative”.
Janak Sapkota is a Nepalese haiku poet who works mainly in the English language. He is based in Finland.
Inahata Teiko was a Japanese haiku poet, essayist and literary critic.
Dee Evetts is an English haiku poet and writer.
