2014 Appearances

  • 8 January 2014: Reading for Here, There, and Everywhere, the poetry anthology I edited for the Redmond Association of Spokenword. Duvall Poetry, Duvall Visitor Center, 15619 Main Street, Duvall, Washington. 7:00 p.m. Free.

  • 29 January 2014: Poets Wanted, Dead or Alive: Celebrating Famous Poets. Open reading and discussion of poetry by Rumi plus open-mic reading. Redmond Regional Library, 15990 NE 85th Street in Redmond, 6:30 p.m., free.

  • 31 January 2014: MC for the Redmond Association of Spokenword, featuring young adult fiction writer David Patneaude, Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center, 16600 NE 80th Street, Redmond, Washington, 7:00 p.m. (includes an open-mic reading).

  • February 2014: Coordinating the fourth annual National Haiku Writing Month (NaHaiWriMo) and providing daily writing prompts at the NaHaiWriMo page on Facebook, with more than 1,750 participants. Please join us in writing at least one haiku a day in the month of February! See my Meet the Prompter mini-interview.

  • 3 February 2014: Reading for Here, There, and Everywhere, the poetry anthology I edited for the Redmond Association of Spokenword. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park, Washington. 7:00 p.m. Free.

  • 8 February 2014: “Haiku Targets” workshop, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., Bainbridge Island Metro Parks & Recreation Department, Strawberry Hill Center, 7666 NE High School Road, Bainbridge Island, Washington, $65. Register on the website by clicking Online Registration, creating an account, and then searching for and registering for the haiku class. If you need assistance, phone 206-842-2306, extension 118.

  • 19 February 2014: Ekphrastic haiku workshop, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at artEAST, 95 Front Street North, Issaquah, Washington. $48; register at artEAST. [Workshop cancelled]

  • 21 February 2014: Teaching haiku to my son’s grade four class at Mead Elementary School in Sammamish, Washington, 9:00 a.m.

  • 26 February to 1 March 2014: Attending AWP Conference and Bookfair, Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, Washington.

  • 7 March 2014: Haiku workshops and table display at annual Japan Night for John Stanford International School, 4057 5th Avenue NE, Seattle, Washington. 6:00 p.m.

  • 8 March 2014: Reading haiku with Haiku Northwest members at a conference on “The Arts as Buddhist Practice,” Seattle University, Casey Building, 825 10th Avenue, Seattle. 10:15 a.m., free. See schedule. + +

  • 16 March 2014: “Becoming a Haiku Poet” workshop at Seattle Chōeizan Enkyōji Nichiren Buddhist Temple, 501 South Jackson Street (at 5th Avenue in the International District), Suite 202, in Seattle. 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

  • 19 March 2014: Poetry reading at the invitation of Jared Leising for Cascadia Community College Board of Trustees, 4:00 p.m., room 260, CC1/2 building, Bothell, Washington. +

  • 29 March 2014: Private haiku workshop on Bainbridge Island (a follow-up to my 8 February 2014 workshop through the Bainbridge Island Metro Parks & Recreation Department class). $50. 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

  • 5 April 2014: Live appearance on Vancouver Co-Op Radio, CFRO 100.5 FM, doing an interview about the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival’s annual Haiku Invitational. I read the five 2013 top winning poems, and then an additional seven poems. The entire hour, hosted by Shannon Waters, began with Linda Poole, VCBF founder and director. To listen, visit “Make a Better World” and search for “Saturday Apr 5 8:00 2014.” My part starts at the 19:30-minute mark (after a bit of technical difficulty), and goes to 30:10.

  • 5–6 April 2014: Two “Learn About Haiku” workshops planned for the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival’s Sakura Days Japan Fair, VanDusen Botanical Garden, Vancouver, British Columbia ($10.00 garden/event admission charged). Also leading two haiku walks at the garden during the festival.

  • 10 April 2014: Featured interview with me about senryu poetry in the April 2014 English-language issue of Ёrshik (one meaning is “Toilet Brush”), a Russian journal of senryu and kyoka (this interview appeared in Russian in a previous issue). View the PDF file.

  • 12 April 2014: “Haiku in the Woods” presentation and guided haiku walk, 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Beaver Lake Lodge at Beaver Lake Park, Sammamish, Washington. Sponsored by the Sammamish Arts Commission and Sammamish Walks. Free for adults and families. For more information, visit the City of Sammamish website; to register, please email Allison Gubata.

  • 12 April 2014: “Haiku Myths and Realities” presentation and workshop at the Bellevue Regional Library, 1111 110th Avenue NE in Bellevue, Washington. 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., free.

  • 13 April 2014: “Haiku Targets” presentation for Seattle’s African American Writer's Alliance in the Weiland Family Meeting Room at the Columbia Branch of the Seattle Public Library, 4721 Rainier Avenue S. in Seattle, Washington, in conjunction with the library system’s second annual Haiku Hullabaloo (see 2013 information here; 2014 haiku contest winner list is now missing). Free, from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m.

  • 14 April 2014: “Haiku Myths and Realities” presentation and workshop at the Lake Hills Library, 15590 Lake Hills Boulevard in Bellevue, Washington. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., free.

  • 15 April 2014: Reading poetry as poet laureate for the Redmond City Council meeting, in conjunction the mayor’s proclamation of April as National Poetry Month. Redmond City Hall, 15670 NE 85th Street in Redmond, 7:30 p.m.

  • 16 April 2014: My haiku, “meteor shower . . . / a gentle wave / wets our sandals,” is the Per Diem featured poem today on the Haiku Foundation website. See the April 2014 archive.

  • 17 April 2014: I and other Haiku Northwest members are featured poets for the inaugural reading and book launch of the organization’s 25th anniversary anthology, No Longer Strangers, in my SoulFood Poetry Night reading series, to mark National Haiku Poetry Day. 7:00 p.m., free, at SoulFood CoffeeHouse, 15748 Redmond Way, Redmond, Washington.

  • 25 April 2014: “Introduction to Haiku” class, Anderson Park, Redmond, Washington, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. [Workshop cancelled]

  • 30 April 2014: Poets Wanted, Dead or Alive: Celebrating Famous Poets. Open reading and discussion of poetry by Emily Dickinson plus open-mic reading. Redmond Regional Library, 15990 NE 85th Street in Redmond, 6:30 p.m., free.

  • 3 May 2014: My haiku, “after the brushstroke, / his head stays tilted / to a sun-dappled sumi-e,” is the Per Diem featured poem today on the Haiku Foundation website. See the May 2014 archive.

  • 14 May 2014: Summer Poetry Walk, 6:30 p.m., free, led by me as Redmond poet laureate. Meet at Farrel-McWhirter Farm Park in Redmond.

  • 15–18 May 2014: Attending the Skagit River Poetry Festival, La Conner, Washington (but not a featured poet this year).

  • 18 May 2014: My haiku, “for her this spring / the greengoing woods / still greening,” is the Per Diem featured poem today on the Haiku Foundation website. See the May 2014 archive.

  • 24 May 2014: Haiku workshop for Seattle Japanese Garden docents and volunteers, 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

  • 4 June 2014: My poem, “visiting mother— / again she finds / my first grey hair,” is the Per Diem featured poem today on the Haiku Foundation website. See the June 2014 archive.

  • 7 June 2014: Judging the Issaquah-Sammamish Writing Competition poetry contest for the Sammamish Youth Writing Club, with results announced at 7:00 p.m. at the Sammamish EX3 Teen and Recreation Center, 825 228th Ave NE, Sammamish, Washington. Free.

  • 11 June 2014: Summer Poetry Walk, 6:30 p.m., free, led by me as Redmond poet laureate. Meet at “Signals,” the decommissioned train signals art installation by John Fleming, located near 161st Ave NE and Bear Creek Parkway in Redmond for a walk along the Redmond Connector Trail.

  • 23 June 2014: Newspaper story about the 19 July 2014 Poets in the Park festival appears in the Redmond Reporter.

  • 7 July 2014: My poem, “after-dinner mints / passed around the table / . . . slow-falling snow,” is the Per Diem featured poem today on the Haiku Foundation website. See the July 2014 archive.

  • 9 July 2014: Summer Poetry Walk, 6:30 p.m., free, led by me as Redmond poet laureate. Meet at the Redmond Watershed Preserve.

  • 19 July 2014: Poets in the Park festival, book fair, and poetry picnic at the Anderson Park in Redmond, Washington. Free, full-day poetry festival with readings, workshops, a poetry labyrinth, poems on sticks, and more.

  • 30 July 2014: Poets Wanted, Dead or Alive: Celebrating Famous Poets. Open reading and discussion of poetry by Pablo Neruda plus open-mic reading. Redmond Regional Library, 15990 NE 85th Street in Redmond, 6:30 p.m., free.

  • 31 July 2014: Featured poem on Chen-ou Liu’s “NeverEnding Story” blog, with a twenty-year-old haiku, “ink-stained hands / my pen leaks / a haiku,” also translated into traditional and simplified Chinese.

  • 8 August 2014: My name is a clue in a poetry-focused crossword puzzled by Len Elliott called “An Ennead of Poets Laureate.” Open the August 8, 2014 issue of the Auburn Reporter newspaper and click to read page 16. Woohoo!

  • 10 August 2014: Reading in a gathering of poets laureate from Washington State at the Auburn Days Festival, at the Auburn Avenue Theater, 10 Auburn Avenue, in Auburn, Washington. Read about the two full days of Literature events, including poetry. My featured reading is at 1:00 p.m., and I’ll be part of a panel discussion at 2:30 p.m. on the duties of poets laureate.

  • 13 August 2014: Summer Poetry Walk, 6:30 p.m., free, led by me as Redmond poet laureate. Meet in the lobby at the Redmond City Hall for a walk along the Sammamish River Trail.

  • 15 August 2014: Poetry reading for the opening of the “Portraits of a River” art installation by Gaul Culley, Redmond Regional Library, 15990 NE 85th Street in Redmond, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., free.

  • 16 August 2014: Presentation on haiku for Mensa of Western Washington, 6:30 to 9:30 pm, Shoreline Fire Station, 17525 Aurora Avenue North, Shoreline, Washington. Free and open to the public.

  • 28 August 2014: My poem, “small-town diner— / the young widow / opens her mail,” is the Per Diem featured poem today on the Haiku Foundation website. See the August 2014 archive.

  • September 2014: Featured in “Eastside Literary Scene Making Its Mark” article by Deanna Duff in the September/October issue of 425 Magazine. I’m quoted in my role as Redmond poet laureate and curator of the RASP reading series (SoulFood isn’t mentioned).

  • 6 September 2014: Haiku reading, presentation, and free haiku contest at the Seattle Japanese Garden Moonviewing Festival, 7:00 p.m. ($15 admission to the event). Read the contest results on the Seattle Japanese Garden Community Blog.

  • 6, 7 September 2014: Staffing a haiku table at Aki Matsuri (Japanese fall festival), Bellevue College, Bellevue, Washington.

  • 13 September 2014: Haiku and weathergram workshop at the Redmond Regional Library, 15990 NE 85th Street in Redmond, as part of Gaul Culley’s “Portraits of a River” project, sponsored by 4Culture. 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. (free).

  • 21 September 2014: Book launch in Sydney, Australia, for the book Conversations in Tanka by Amelia Fielden, Jan Foster, and Friends (Port Adelaide, Australia: Ginninderra Press, 2014), which includes my tanka, tan-renga, and rengay in collaboration with Amelia Fielden. Wish I could have been there!

  • 24 September 2014: Weathergram and haiku poetry facilitator for the first of three “Moonshine Tours” in Redmond, Washington, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (free, sponsored by 4Culture). More details at 4Culture, Experience Redmond, Think Redmond, and the City of Redmond. See the Redmond Reporter newspaper story, Seattle Magazine story, and the Redmond Historical Society announcement. This series of events continues on October 1 and 8, 2014.

  • 25 September 2014: Featured reader for monthly Haiku Northwest meeting, Redmond Regional Library, 15990 NE 85th St in Redmond, Washington (meeting room 1). 7:00 p.m., free.

  • 27 September 2014: “Haiku Targets” workshop, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., Bainbridge Island Metro Parks & Recreation Department, Strawberry Hill Center, 7666 NE High School Road, Bainbridge Island, Washington, $65. Register on the website by clicking Online Registration, creating an account, and then searching for and registering for the haiku class. If you need assistance, phone 206-842-2306, extension 118. [Workshop cancelled]

  • 1 October 2014: Weathergram and haiku poetry facilitator for the second of three “Moonshine Tours” in Redmond, Washington, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (free, sponsored by 4Culture).

  • 4 October 2014: “More Haiku” advanced workshop, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., Bainbridge Island Metro Parks & Recreation Department, Strawberry Hill Center, 7666 NE High School Road, Bainbridge Island, Washington, $65. Register on the website by clicking Online Registration, creating an account, and then searching for and registering for the haiku class. If you need assistance, phone 206-842-2306, extension 118. [Workshop cancelled]

  • 8 October 2014: Weathergram and haiku poetry facilitator for the third of three “Moonshine Tours” in Redmond, Washington, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. (free, sponsored by 4Culture).

  • 14 October 2014: Issaquah Press publishes my illustrious six-word salmon memoir, “I’m enjoying a salmon chanted evening,” in honour of Issaquah’s Salmon Days Festival.

  • 16–19 October 2014: Directing Haiku Northwest’s seventh annual Seabeck Haiku Getaway at the Seabeck Conference Center in Seabeck, Washington, featuring guest speaker Alan Pizzarelli. Also presenting are John Stevenson, Aubrie Cox, Donna Beaver, and Jessica Tremblay, among others. See the action-packed 2014 Seabeck retreat schedule.

  • 2 November 2014: Presentation on “Publishing Poetry with CreateSpace” at Northwest Bookfest, Northwest University, 5520 108th Avenue, Kirkland, Washington. 9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. See class descriptions, complete schedule, and presenter bios. Registration is $129 for both November 1 and 2, or just $79 for one day, lunches included. [entire conference cancelled]

  • 6 November 2014: My cherry-blossom poem selected as the penultimate verse in the “Pilgrim’s Stride” renku composed online at the Haiku Foundation website forum. Thanks to John Stevenson for selecting this verse: “cherries in bloom / on the kitchen wallpaper / and outside too.”

  • 10 November 2014: Launch reading for Seattle’s 2014 Poetry on the Buses program, and its Writing Home anthology, at the Moore Theatre, 1932 2nd Avenue in Seattle. I’m one of 125 poets whose poems will be featured on RapidRide buses and stations, and one of 365 poets who will be featured on the website and in the anthology. 7:30 p.m., free.

  • 16 November 2014: Staffing a haiku table and teaching a haiku workshop at “Bunka No Hi” (Japanese Culture Day) at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington, 1414 S. Weller Street in Seattle. 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Free.

  • 21 November 2014: MC for the Redmond Association of Spokenword, featuring children’s book author Deb Lund, Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center, 16600 NE 80th Street, Redmond, Washington, 7:00 p.m. (includes an open-mic reading).

  • 6 December 2014: Book launch and reception for my new poetry book, True Colour, a collection of solo rengay exploring different colours as themes, with graphic design by Dan D Shafer. Redmond City Hall Council Chambers, at 15670 NE 85th Street in Redmond, Washington, 4:00 p.m., free. Books and refreshments will be available. Part of the city’s annual Redmond Lights festival.

  • 11 December 2014: Signing copies of True Colour at Redmond City Hall Lobby, 15670 NE 85th Street in Redmond, Washington. 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

  • 30 December 2014: Facebook updates by Bashō (okay, by me) posted today to Jessica Tremblay’s Old Pond Comics blog.


Click to see current appearances.