various haiku organizations (not just
HSA members), and so the event was born. I was one of the founders of the
conference, first held in 1991, in California, and also proposed the event’s
name. My idea with the name was to make sure HNA was not just a U.S. event, but also
encompassed Canada (and Mexico, although the haiku community there seems to be very
small or insular). From the beginning, HNA has been a stimulating long weekend of readings, presentations, papers, and more, all focusing on haiku poetry. The variety of scholarly and nonacademic papers and presentations have had an extraordinary influence on English-language haiku for more than 25 years by appearing in the leading haiku journals. In addition, HNA is especially strong as a social event, where haiku poets from across the continent, and beyond, can gather regularly for poetic and academic inspiration.
At first, HNA was going to be a one-shot deal, but about a year after the
1991 conference, I suggested to Garry that we should do it again, and if I had not done so, HNA would not have become the regular event it is. Consequently, we held the
next conference in 1993, also in California, thus establishing the
every-two-years frequency. Thereafter, the conference has moved around the continent to a
different city each time, first trekking to Canada in 1995, and held aboard a cruise ship (albeit docked) in 2013. The following is a
list of the dates and locations for each HNA conference, their chief organizers,
and the title and publication information for each conference anthology (all of which I edited or coedited,
and also published with my press, Press Here). From this list, you can also click links to read the introduction and sample poems from each anthology. At the end are additional links to the HNA website, its FAQ page, the HNA blog, and a video that promotes the 2015 conference in Schenectady, New York. See you at the next Haiku North America conference!
Conferences
August 23–25, 1991
Las Positas College, Livermore, California (near San Francisco)
Directors: Garry Gay, Michael Dylan Welch, Jerry
Ball, David Wright, Christopher Herold, and Paul O. Williams
Harvest, Michael Dylan Welch, editor.
Press Here, Foster City, California, 1991, 20 pages, 52 poets (one poem each),
ISBN 1-878798-05-7; introduction; sample poems
July 15–18, 1993
Las Positas College, Livermore, California
Directors: Garry Gay, Michael Dylan Welch,
Jerry Ball, David Wright, Ebba Story, and Marianne Monaco
The Shortest Distance, Ebba Story and
Michael Dylan Welch, editors. Cover photograph by Garry Gay. Press Here, Foster
City, California, 1993, 20 pages, 51 poets (one poem each), ISBN 1-878798-11-1;
introduction; sample poems
July 13–15, 1995
Ryerson Polytechnic, Toronto, Ontario
Directors: Keith Southard, Marshall Hryciuk,
and George Swede
Northern Lights, Michael Dylan Welch,
editor, Press Here, Foster City, California, 1995, 24 pages, 50 poems by 29
poets, ISBN 1-878798-13-8; introduction; sample poems
July 24–27, 1997
Portland State University, Portland, Oregon
Directors: Ce Rosenow, Margaret Chula, and Cherie
Hunter Day
Shades of Green, Michael Dylan Welch,
editor. Cherie Hunter Day, illustration. Press Here, Foster City, California,
1997, 24 pages, 63 poets (one poem each), ISBN 1-878798-18-9; introduction;
sample poems
July 8–11, 1999
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois (near Chicago)
Directors: Charles Trumbull, Sara Brant, Joseph
Kirschner, and Lidia Rozmus
Too Busy for Spring, Michael Dylan
Welch and Lee Gurga, editors. Lidia Rozmus, cover illustration. Press Here,
Foster City, California, 1999, 36 pages, 91 poets (one poem each), ISBN
1-878798-19-7; introduction; sample poems
June 28–July 1, 2001
Boston Conservatory, Boston, Massachusetts
Directors: Raffael de Gruttola, Judson
Evans, and Karen Klein
Paperclips, Michael Dylan Welch,
Carol Purington, and Larry Kimmel, editors. Karen Klein, ink brush drawings.
Press Here, Foster City, California, 2001, 40 pages, 101 poets (one poem each)
plus five poems from a children’s haiku contest, ISBN 1-878798-24-3;
introduction; sample poems
June 26–29, 2003
Dalton School, New York, New York
Directors: Pamela Miller Ness, Stanford M. Forrester, Brenda Gannam, Tom Painting, and John Stevenson
Brocade of Leaves, Michael Dylan
Welch and Yu Chang, editors. Press Here, Sammamish, Washington, 2003, 32 pages,
85 poets (one poem each), ISBN 1-878798-27-8; introduction; sample poems
September 21–25, 2005
Fort Worden Conference Center, Port Townsend, Washington
Directors: Michael Dylan Welch, Christopher
Herold, Carol O’Dell, and Doris Thurston
Tracing the Fern, Michael Dylan Welch
and Billie Wilson, editors. Press Here, Sammamish, Washington, 2005, 40 pages,
67 poets (two poems each), ISBN 1-878798-28-6; introduction; sample poems
August 15–19, 2007
Hawthorne Inn and Conference Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Directors: Dave Russo, Lenard D. Moore, and
Bob Moyer
Dandelion Wind, Michael Dylan Welch
and Lenard D. Moore, editors. Kate MacQueen, illustrations. Press Here,
Sammamish, Washington, 2008, 36 pages, 71 poets (one poem each), ISBN
978-1-878798-29-9; introduction; sample poems
August 5–9, 2009
National Library of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario—see photos 1, photos 2, photos 3
Directors: Terry Ann Carter, Guy Simser, and
Claudia Radmore
Into Our Words, Michael Dylan Welch
and Grant D. Savage, editors. Peter Vernon Quinter, artwork. Press Here,
Sammamish, Washington, 2009, 40 pages, 90 poets (one poem each), ISBN
978-1-878798-30-5; introduction; sample poems
August 3–7, 2011
Seattle Center, Seattle, Washington—see photos 1, photos 2, photos 3, photos 4, photos 5
Directors: Michael Dylan Welch, Tanya
McDonald, and Angela Terry
Standing Still, Michael Dylan Welch
and Ruth Yarrow, editors. Dejah Léger, illustrations. Press Here, Sammamish,
Washington, 2011, 36 pages, 74 poets (one poem each), ISBN 978-1-878798-32-9;
introduction; sample poems; see 2011 group photo above
August 14–18, 2013
Queen Mary, Long Beach, California—photos coming soon
Directors: Debbie P Kolodji and Naia
Close to the Wind, Michael Dylan
Welch and William Hart, editors. Naia, illustrations. Press Here, Sammamish,
Washington, 2013, 52 pages, 97 poets (one poem each), ISBN 978-1-878798-35-0;
introduction; sample poems; order from Amazon
October 14–18, 2015
Union College, Schenectady, New York—see photos 1, photos 2, photos 3, photos 4, photos 5 (see also Tanka Sunday photos)
Directors: Hilary Tann, John Stevenson, Yu
Chang, Tom Clausen, and David Giacalone
Fire in the Treetops: Celebrating Twenty-Five Years of Haiku North America, Michael Dylan Welch and Scott Mason, editors. Christopher Patchel, artwork. Press Here, Sammamish, Washington, 2015, 416 pages, 1,053 poems by more than 500 poets, ISBN 978-1-878798-37-4; introduction; sample poems; order from Amazon
September 13–17, 2017
Hotel Santa Fe, Hacienda & Spa, Santa Fe, New Mexico—photos coming soon
Directors: Charles Trumbull, Sandra J. Byrnes, Cynthia Henderson, Miriam Sagan, and Scott Wiggerman
Earthsigns, Michael Dylan Welch and Scott Wiggerman, editors. Lidia Rozmus, illustrations. Press Here, Sammamish, Washington, 2017, 84 pages, 183 poets (one poem each), ISBN 978-1-878798-38-1; introduction; sample poems; order from Amazon
August 7–11, 2019
Hawthorne Inn and Conference Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Directors: Bob Moyer, Dave Russo, Lenard D. Moore, Crystal Simone Smith
2019 anthology, Michael Dylan Welch
and Crystal Simone Smith, editors
Additional Links
Hope you can join us for the next Haiku North America conference!
