2019 Appearances
19 January 2019: Free “Writing Poems About Poetry” workshop at BookTree, 609 Market Street, Kirkland, Washington, at 4:30 p.m., followed by a reading with Robinson Bolkum at 6:15 p.m. (including open-mic reading). See Facebook event page.
25 January 2019: MC for the Redmond Association of Spokenword, featuring Redmond poet laureate Melanie Noel, Redmond Heights Senior Living Center, 7950 Willows Road NE, Redmond, Washington. 6:30 p.m. socializing, 7:00 p.m. reading, plus open-mic reading, free.
February 2019: Coordinating the ninth annual National Haiku Writing Month (NaHaiWriMo) and providing daily writing prompts on the NaHaiWriMo page on Facebook, with about 3,000 participants. Please join us in writing at least one haiku a day in the month of February—the shortest month for the shortest genre of poetry! + + +
1 February 2019: Interview with me about National Haiku Writing Month on “Word,” Tom Maxedon’s literary arts radio show and podcast on KJZZ radio (NPR affiliate), 91.5 FM in Tempe, Arizona. Have a listen on Soundcloud.
3 February 2019: “Haiku on Steroids” poetry workshop at Open Books, 2414 N 45th Street in Seattle. 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. $35 per person. Register here.
4 February 2019: Interview with me by Trish Hopkinson on her Selfish Poet blog, about National Haiku Writing Month (NaHaiWriMo).
5 February 2019: Featured in photographer Dean Davis’s “Pictures of Poets” multimedia exhibition (photos, poems, and audio recordings). Other poets include Ellen Bass, Kevin Craft, Tony Curtis, Sam Green, Christopher Howell, Holly Hughes, Claudia Castro Luna, Tod Marshall, Robert Pinsky, Clem Starck, and many others. Numerous gallery shows are in the works. Includes audio recordings of my poems “How to Respond to a Haiku” and “Active Shooter.” See the Spokesman-Review newspaper story.
16 February 2019: Ekphrastic poetry writing workshop in response to the current “Nature in Fiber” installation at VALA Arts, 11915 124th Ave NE, in Kirkland, Washington, as VALA poet in residence. 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Free. See Facebook event.
23 March 2019: “Haiku on Steroids” poetry workshop at Browsers Bookshop, 107 Capitol Way N, in Olympia, Washington. 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. $30 per person. To register, email elisebrowsers@gmail.com (preferred) or phone the store. Also see the Facebook event.
27–30 March 2019: Attending the Associated Writing Programs (AWP) conference at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon.
31 March 2019: Special haiku gathering in Portland, Oregon at the Japanese Garden.
5 April 2019: Opening reception for the “Double Vision” ekphrastic poetry and photography exhibit at Gallery One, 408 N Pearl Street, Ellensburg, Washington, with photographs provided by the Blue Sky Center for Photographic Arts in Portland, Oregon. Featuring my poem, “Durian,” written in response to a photograph by Susan Bein. Free. 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
5 April 2019: Featured poet at Old Skool’s Back Room, 308 N Main Street in Ellensburg, Washington. Free. 8:00 to 10:00 p.m.
6 April 2019: Collaborative poetry reading with Tanya McDonald at the Inland Poetry Prowl. Free, 3:00 to 3:45 p.m., reading with Kate Lebo, at Gard Vintners, 311 N. Pearl in Ellensburg, Washington. See complete schedule.
11 April 2019: Five of my “Sammamish Haiku” presented online as part of the “Washington Poetic Routes” project coordinated by Washington state poet laureate, Claudia Castro Luna. To find my poems (complete with an audio recording), paired with a painting by Linda Okazaki, click the red dot on the site just a little east of where Seattle is.
13–14 April 2019: Leading haiku walks and workshops, giving readings, installing “Haiku on Sticks,” haiku chalk art, my Haikuseum, and more, at the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival’s “Sakura Days Japan Fair,” VanDusen Botanical Garden, Vancouver, British Columbia (garden/event admission is $12.00 online, $14.00 at the gate).
16 April 2019: Interviewed about haiku by Bill Kenower for a live Author Magazine podcast. Listen to this 39-minute Blog Talk Radio recording at Author2Author. Also on iTunes. +
17 April 2019: Interviewed by Melissa Hart for a report in The Writer magazine about the 2019 Haiku North America conference. See “Haiku North America: Crazy about the haiku? Have we got a conference for you.”
17 April 2019: Celebrating International Haiku Poetry Day by teaching haiku for all grades at Westgate Elementary School, 9601 220th Street SW in Edmonds, Washington.
19 April 2019: Poetry reading with Tanya McDonald at Open Books, 2414 N 45th Street in Seattle. 7:00 p.m., free. Reading haiku, rengay, haibun, and other poetry, including poems from Seven Suns / Seven Moons. +
20 April 2019: Earth Day activities at VALA Arts, 11915 124th Ave NE, in Kirkland, Washington, including an installation of Haiku on Sticks (all afternoon) and a “Haiku for the Earth” poetry reading (4:00 p.m.) and writing invitation, as VALA poet in residence. Free.
21 April 2019: “Haiku or Haikyū?” workshop at the 2019 Sakura-Con anime festival at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. (Panels 5 room 401). Kageyama and Hinata from the Haikyū anime series (played in cosplay by my daughter and her friend) need to pass their haiku exam so they can attend Karasuno’s volleyball training camp. This workshop teaches them—and the audience—about haiku poetry. Free with Sakura-Con admission. See the complete Sakura-Con schedule.
26 April 2019: MC for the Redmond Association of Spokenword, featuring poet Raúl Sánchez, Centro Cultural Mexicano, 7945 Gilman Street in Redmond, Washington (new location). 6:30 p.m. socializing, 7:00 p.m. reading, plus open-mic reading, free.
27 April 2019: Leading “Come to Your Senses” haiku and Zen retreat with Kate McCandless at Blue Mountain Zendo, 2952 Berg Avenue in Mission, British Columbia. 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. See registration details. Private event. +
28 April 2019: “The Nature of Haiku” free public workshop on Level 9 (with new rooftop garden) at the Vancouver Public Library, 350 West Georgia Street in Vancouver, British Columbia, 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m. Read more about the workshop and how to register. + +
28 April 2019: “Finding the Sky,” a reading of Japanese forms and other poetry, plus a talk on the art of exploring space, implication, and the unsaid in haiku. Mountain Rain Zen Community, 2016 Wall Street in Vancouver, British Columbia, 7:00 p.m. Free.
28 April 2019: Judging the international category of the ukiaHaiku Festival (submission deadline, 23 March 2019). Results announced at 2:00 p.m. today at the Ukiah Civic Center, 300 Seminary Avenue in Ukiah, California, free (I won’t be present, but my commentary will be shared).
2 May 2019: Featured poet at the Hibulb Cultural Center, 6410 23rd Ave NE, Tulalip, Washington. Free (the entire museum is free on the first Thursday of each month). 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., in the Longhouse Room. See the Hibulb event calendar (scroll to May 2). See the PDF poster.
5 May 2019: Staffing a “Haiku de Mayo” table and writing instant haiku for the Redmond Association of Spokenword for the Cinco de Mayo festival at the downtown park in Redmond, Washington. 11:00 am to 7:00 pm. Free.
7 May 2019: Judging the first Morioka International Haiku Contest in Morioka, Japan with Terry Ann Carter and Toru Kiuchi. May 7 is the submission deadline, and the award ceremony will be held in Morioka on August 4. See the results and commentary, with Japanese translations.
11 May 2019: Participating in the Cascadia Poetry Festival, Croatian Cultural Center, 801 5th Street, Anacortes, Washington. All-day event. See video of me reading “Canticle.”
17–19 May 2019: Haiku Canada Weekend, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia. Participating in a panel on haiku archives, and presenting “The original @ — celebrating anne mckay’s poetry,” both on 18 May. More details at Haiku Canada.
31 May 2019: MC for the Redmond Association of Spokenword, featuring memoirist Joan D. Stamm (talking about her Japanese pilgrimages), Centro Cultural Mexicano, 7945 Gilman Street in Redmond, Washington. 6:30 p.m. socializing, 7:00 p.m. reading, plus open-mic reading, free.
5 June 2019: Won first prize in the 2019 Bacopa Literary Review haiku contest, for my “Shēngxiào / 生肖” sequence, which will be published in Bacopa Literary Review, along with two other haiku sequences of mine, later this summer.
28 June 2019: MC for the Redmond Association of Spokenword, featuring memoirist Dianne Avey, Centro Cultural Mexicano, 7945 Gilman Street in Redmond, Washington. 6:30 p.m. socializing, 7:00 p.m. reading, plus open-mic reading, free.
18 July 2019: My poem, “spring breeze— / the pull of her hand / as we near the pet store,” is the Per Diem featured poem today on the Haiku Foundation website. See the July 2019 archive (link coming soon).
20 July 2019: Directing the Poets in the Park festival, book fair, and poetry picnic at Anderson Park in Redmond, Washington, sponsored by the Redmond Association of Spokenword. Free, full-day poetry festival with readings, workshops, vendors, installations, and more (chalk poetry, Haiku on Sticks), featuring Native American storyteller Roger Fernandes, and performances from Band of Poets, Black Heron Press, Floating Bridge Press, Rose Alley Press, a new anthology of orca poems, Jack Straw Writers, poets with new books, and Washington State poet laureate Claudia Castro Luna, among many others, plus workshops from Christianne Balk, Tara Hardy, Jeffrey Morgan, and Carolyne Wright—and free ice cream! +
27 July 2019: Presenting “Sōseki, not Buson: Attributing the White Chrysanthemum” at the annual meeting of the Washington State region of the Haiku Society of America, at Whatcom Falls Park and Bloedel-Donovan Park, Bellingham, Washington, late morning and afternoon, plus dinner at Asian 1 at 4285 Meridian Street in Bellingham.
7 August 2019: Interview by Bethany Chafin on WFDD radio (NPR affiliate) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina about the 2019 Haiku North America conference. +
7–11 August 2019: Haiku North America conference, for which I serve as a director, Hawthorne Inn and Conference Center, 420 High Street SW in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. My presentations include “Haiku Lessons from A Book of Tea,” my “Haiku Targets” workshop for beginners, a “Rengay Roundup” reading (with Garry Gay), and a presentation and reading celebrating “Ten Years of National Haiku Writing Month.” I’ll also give the opening welcome speech and a speech at the banquet, announcing the next conference location, plus I’m also leading a reading of Sitting in the Sun, the conference anthology (edited with Crystal Simone Smith) and the memorial reading (with Julie Warther). +
12 August 2019: Directing the Tanka Monday conference (plus readings on Sunday night), sponsored by the Tanka Society of America, Hawthorne Inn and Conference Center, 420 High Street SW in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
21 August 2019: My poem, “busy Italian restaurant— / happy birthday / sung to the wrong table,” is the Per Diem featured poem today on the Haiku Foundation website. See the August 2019 archive.
22 August 2018: Representing the Redmond Association of Spokenword and Haiku Northwest with an Instant Haiku table at So Bazaar, Redmond, Washington’s night market, 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. Free event (my booth will be located in the Redmond Downtown Park). Come by, test your Haiku IQ, and get an instant haiku composed on the nature-focused noun of your choice!
24 August 2019: Guest blogger on J. I. Kleinberg’s “Poetry Department” blog, with “HNA Sizzles,” a high-level summary of the August 2019 Haiku North America conference, complete with group photo.
30 August 2019: MC for the Redmond Association of Spokenword, featuring three Jack Straw Writers (Dianne Aprile, Josh Axelrad, and Michael Schmeltzer), Centro Cultural Mexicano, 7945 Gilman Street in Redmond, Washington. 6:30 p.m. socializing, 7:00 p.m. reading, plus open-mic reading, free.
13–14 September 2019: Judging a free haiku contest, and reading the winners, each night at the Seattle Japanese Garden Moon Viewing Festival, 6:00 p.m. ($25 admission). See the garden website. See the garden’s blog post about the event, with photographs and contest results. And see also the Seattle Japanese Garden Community blog post, with more photographs and the results.
21–22 September 2019: Curating literary events for the Sammamish Arts Showcase, Central Washington University campus, 120 228th Ave NE in Sammamish. 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. Free. Haiku on Sticks installation. Saturday: Redmond Association of Spokenword readers feature from 11:00 to 11:45 a.m. Youth open-mic reading from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Ekphrastic haiku writing workshop from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday: Redmond Association of Spokenword readers feature from 11:15 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Solo featured reading from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. Adult open-mic reading from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m. Other readings/workshops by John Burgess and by Washington state poet laureate Claudia Castro Luna on Sunday.
28 September 2019: Staffing a haiku table for Japan Week at Bellevue College, Bellevue, Washington. 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., offering instant haiku in response to Test Your Haiku IQ quizzes. Free admission and free parking.
1 October 2019: Featured poet in the Autumn 2019 Showcase on Marie Marshall’s Zen Space blog, with six of my haiku.
7 October 2019: Featured reading with Jeannine Hall Gailey [she had to cancel] for the Poetry at the Rainbow Cafe series at the Rainbow Cafe, 112 East Main Street, Auburn, Washington. 7:00 p.m. Free. See the Auburn Reporter story of 22 September 2019.
24–27 October 2019: Directing Haiku Northwest’s twelfth annual Seabeck Haiku Getaway at the Seabeck Conference Center in Seabeck, Washington, with featured speaker Adam L. Kern (editor and translator of The Penguin Book of Haiku) and Ion Codrescu, visiting from Romania, as our special guest (our theme for the weekend is “attention”). See the jam-packed schedule. +
25–30 October 2019: Traffic Culture Exhibition 2019 at Ueno Station in Tokyo, Japan, featuring my translations with Emiko Miyashita of train-related haiku contest winners, including commentary by the judge, Kai Hasegawa. Learn more about the online exhibition at the Japan Traffic Culture Association website.
November 2019: Judging the Backbone Press haiku chapbook contest (submissions welcome from 1 September to 20 October).
2 November 2019: “Death Rattle: One Day We Too Will Follow the Light” poem performance with Nicole Renée La Follette and Rose Ramm (similar to my prior piece, “Shake the Shaker”), plus audience participation activity for Day of the Dead celebrations at Centro Cultural Mexicano, 7945 Gilman Street in Redmond, Washington. Performance at 2:30 p.m., as part of an afternoon of activities. Free. See Redmond Reporter story (with photos).
16 November 2019: My poem, “from horizon to horizon the milky way,” is the Per Diem featured poem today on the Haiku Foundation website. See the November 2019 archive (coming later).
22 November 2019: MC for the Redmond Association of Spokenword, at Centro Cultural Mexicano, 7945 Gilman Street in Redmond, Washington. 6:30 p.m. socializing, 7:00 p.m. reading, focusing tonight just on an open-mic reading, free.
17 December 2019: “Death Rattle: One Day We Too Will Follow the Light” poem performance with Nicole Renée La Follette and Rose Ramm (similar to my prior piece, “Shake the Shaker”), as the opening act for Apex’s “It’s a Wonderful Artist’s Life” at SecondStory Repertory Theater, 7325 166th AVE NE, Suite F250, in Redmond, Washington. Performance begins at 7:00 p.m.
Click to see current appearances.
