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
Masaoka Shiki, pen-name of Masaoka Noboru, was a Japanese poet, author, and literary critic in Meiji period Japan. Shiki is regarded as a major figure in the development of modern haiku poetry, credited with writing nearly 20,000 stanzas during his short life. He also wrote on reform of tanka poetry.
Paul O. Williams was an American science fiction writer and haiku poet. Williams won multiple awards including the John W. Campbell Award and the Museum of Haiku Literature Award; and was professor emeritus of English at Principia College in Elsah, Illinois and president of the Haiku Society of America.
Bruce Ross is a Canadian American poet, author, philosopher, humanities educator and past president of the Haiku Society of America. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario.
Sonia Sanchez is an American poet, writer, and professor. She was a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement and has written over a dozen books of poetry, as well as short stories, critical essays, plays, and children's books. In the 1960s, Sanchez released poems in periodicals targeted towards African-American audiences, and published her debut collection, Homecoming, in 1969. In 1993, she received Pew Fellowship in the Arts, and in 2001 was awarded the Robert Frost Medal for her contributions to the canon of American poetry. She has been influential to other African-American poets, including Krista Franklin. Sanchez is a member of The Wintergreen Women Writers Collective.
The Haiku Society of America is a non-profit organization composed of haiku poets, editors, critics, publishers and enthusiasts that promotes the composition and appreciation of haiku in English. Founded in 1968, it is the largest society dedicated to haiku and related forms of poetry outside Japan, and holds meetings, lectures, workshops, readings, and contests, throughout the United States. The society's journal, Frogpond, first published in 1978, appears three times a year. As of 2022, the HSA has over 1,000 members.
On are the phonetic units in Japanese poetry. In the Japanese language, the word means "sound". It includes the phonetic units counted in haiku, tanka, and other such poetic forms. Known as "morae" to English-speaking linguists, the modern Japanese term for the linguistic concept is either haku or mōra.
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.
William J. Higginson was an American poet, translator and author most notable for his work with haiku and renku, born in New York City. He was one of the charter members of the Haiku Society of America, and was present at its formation meeting in 1968.
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).
Paul Terence Conneally is a poet, artist and musician based in Loughborough, UK.
Wally Swist is an American poet and writer. He is best known for his poems about nature and spirituality.
Inokichi Kubo was a Japanese pioneer of otorhinolaryngology and professor at Fukuoka Medical School.
Kyoshi Takahama was a Japanese poet active during the Shōwa period of Japan. His real name was Takahama Kiyoshi (高浜清); Kyoshi was a pen name given to him by his mentor, Masaoka Shiki.
The composition and translation of tanka in English begins at the end of the nineteenth century in England and the United States. Translations into English of classic Japanese tanka date back at least to the 1865 translation of the classic Ogura Hyakunin Isshu ; an early publication of originally English tanka dates to 1899. In the United States, the publication of tanka in Japanese and in English translation acquired extra impetus after World War II and was followed by a rise of the genre's popularity among native speakers of English.
The Japanese haiku has been adopted in various languages other than Japanese.
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.
