Books

Earthworks: 2023 Haiku North America Conference Anthology

Editor with Julie Schwerin. Photography by John E. Hancock. Sammamish, Washington: Press Here, June 2023. Haiku and senryu by 129 attendees of the seventeenth biennial haiku conference, held in Cincinnati, Ohio. Read the introduction, selected poems, and contributor list. See the Press Here book page. Available on Amazon.

Ocular Oracle

Ebook collection of “hydrogen jukebox” poems published by No Bones, December 2021 (book four of a trilogy). Read the introduction, “My Word,” where you can also view the free PDF.

hydrogen jukebox

you have my word

a whole bouquet

Dance into the World

Editor. Twentieth anniversary anthology of the Tanka Society of America, December 2020. Features tanka by 175 members, divided into seven themed sections. Read the introduction, “Our Tanka Dance.” See Dave Read’s Haiku Canada review. Available on Amazon.

for the janitor

having to lower

the flag again

to half mast

thoughts and prayers       +

Seabeck Reunion

Editor. Tenth anniversary anthology of the Seabeck Haiku Getaway, November 2020. Foreword by John Stevenson. Extensive essay detailing the history of the first ten retreats, which I’ve directed since 2008. Read the introduction, “Joining the Reunion,” and the afterword, “Ten Years of Seabeck Haiku Getaways.” See Kristen Lindquist’s Frogpond review. See Maxianne Berger’s Haiku Canada review. See Maeve O’Sullivan’s Blithe Spirit review. Available on Amazon.

• The book’s “detailed history of the Getaway’s development . . . is especially rewarding as it gives a sense of the scope of the retreat—and all the poets attending and presentations that have occurred. More importantly, the history reveals the weekend’s diverse cast of characters and the overall welcoming spirit.” —Paul Miller, Modern Haiku

• “Celebrating not only the 2017 Seabeck Haiku Retreat but also retreats from the first ten years, this book is packed with exceptional haiku from poets living in the U.S. and Canada. I especially enjoyed the winning kukai poems at the end of the book. The poems are formatted in a way that is easy to read and enjoy, partly because the book itself has larger dimensions and font size. I also appreciate the dedication page to the late haiku poet Johnny Baranski, with Johnny’s haiku: ‘passing clouds / the silence of those / no longer with us.’” —review on Amazon

Vitreous Humor

Ebook collection of “hydrogen jukebox” poems published by Bones, October 2020 (book three of four). Read the introduction, “Who Knows,” where you can also view the free PDF. The PDF is also available on the Bones website. See Maxianne Berger’s Haiku Canada review.

hydrogen jukebox

for all the words

in China

Retina Splash

Ebook collection of “hydrogen jukebox” poems published by Bones, July 2020 (book two of four). Read the introduction, “Wherever You Will,” where you can also view the free PDF. The PDF is also available on the Bones website. See Maxianne Berger’s Haiku Canada review.

hydrogen jukebox

the end of the world

again

Eyeball Kick

Ebook collection of “hydrogen jukebox” poems published by Bones, June 2020 (book one of four).  Read the introduction, “Wherever They Will,” where you can also view the free PDF. The PDF is also available on the Bones website. See Maxianne Berger’s Haiku Canada review.

hydrogen jukebox

it’s the end of the word

as we know it

Star Wheel

Microchapbook collection of haiku inspired by the names of crochet patterns, published by Origami Poems Project, 2020, where you can download the free PDF.

long-weekend getaway—

the star-wheel embroidery

still unfinished

Sitting in the Sun: 2019 Haiku North America Conference Anthology

Editor with Crystal Simone Smith. Artwork by Kate MacQueen. Sammamish, Washington: Press Here, August 2019. Haiku and senryu by 94 attendees of the sixteenth biennial haiku conference, held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Read the introduction, selected poems, and contributor list. See the Press Here book page. Available on Amazon.

Jumble Box: Haiku and Senryu from National Haiku Writing Month

Editor. Artwork by Ron C. Moss. Presents 324 poems by 100 NaHaiWriMo contributors. Sammamish, Washington: Press Here, September 2017. Read the introduction and afterword, and see the list of contributors and haiga selections. See the Press Here book page. Available on Amazon.       +

jumble box

all my unfinished

haiku

Greg Longenecker

Earthsigns: 2017 Haiku North America Conference Anthology

Editor with Scott Wiggerman. Artwork by Lidia Rozmus. Sammamish, Washington: Press Here, September 2017. Haiku and senryu by 183 attendees of the fifteenth biennial haiku conference, held in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Read the introduction, selected poems, and the contributor list. See the Press Here book page. Available on Amazon.

A Collection of Rare Songs by Itchu

Cotranslation with Emiko Miyashita of Edo-era Itchubushi songs for shamisen and voice. Book and compact disc, plus iPad performance notes for concert augmentation. Tokyo, Japan: Miyako Itchu Institute of Music and Culture, 2016.       +       +       +

Seven Suns / Seven Moons

With Tanya McDonald. Seattle, Washington: NeoPoiesis Press, September 2016. Read the book’s afterword. Read a League of Canadian Poets review. See a September 2017 video of a reading from the book at the Haiku North America conference. Order from NeoPoiesis Press or on Amazon.       +       +       +

• “Michael Dylan Welch is known for his fresh takes on haiku and readers will be delighted by this new collection, a serendipitous collaboration with Tanya McDonald. For readers of this book, the sun and moon will never be the same—they will become mantras for encountering each day’s noteworthy events.” —George Swede, cofounder of Haiku Canada and former editor of Frogpond

• “The excellence of these poems, together with their engaging arrangement, produces a dazzling reading experience.” —James Bertolino, author of Ravenous Bliss: New & Selected Love Poems 

• “The poems in Seven Suns / Seven Moons range back and forth through daily and surrealistic images, arousing our poetic imagination and showing dynamic new possibilities in haiku.” —Toshio Kimura, Head of International Affairs, Modern Haiku Association, Japan, and comparative literature professor at Nihon University, Tokyo

• “Welch and McDonald succeed in pushing the envelope well beyond what is usually intended by the word sun or moon, into the dream-like and surreal.” —kjmunro, League of Canadian Poets

The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational Winners 2015

Judge, with Allan Burns and Katherine J. Munro. Lantzville, British Columbia: Leaf Press, 2016. See commentary on the winning poems on the VCBF website.

Off the Beaten Track: A Year in Haiku

One of twelve contributors. London: Boatwhistle Books, 2016. Order from Boatwhistle Books or on Amazon. Read all my poems, see my interview about this book, and see this review and this review.

• “A wonderful trip through diverse voices, themes, moods, and states of reality. . . . an unusual, provocative and highly enjoyable book.” —Ruth Mittelholtz, Haiku Canada Review, October 2016.

• “Off the Beaten Track is a concise collection not only of poems but of ordinary moments and memories (cold coffee, cigarette smoke, moonlight), attentively distilled.” —Rachel Hadas, Times Literary Supplement, London, 4 January 2017.

Fire in the Treetops: Celebrating Twenty-Five Years of Haiku North America

Editor. Artwork by Christopher Patchel. Sammamish, Washington: Press Here, 2015. Contains 1,053 haiku and senryu from twenty-five years of HNA conference anthologies, with my extensive introduction, plus short essays by thirteen contributors highlighting poems selected from each prior anthology. See the Press Here book page. Read the introduction, contents, list of contributors, and sample 2015 poems. Available on Amazon. See review by Vicki McCullough.

• “What a joy to read the development of English-language haiku over the past 25 years from the Haiku North America conferences. . . . Especially enlightening were the short essays on selected works—this is something we need more of in the haikai world.” —Cyndi Lloyd, on Amazon

• “This is a book to own for any haiku fan. It was a delight to see the progression of English-language haiku in North America over 25 years.” —Joseph Wechselberger, on Amazon

• “The variety and the quality of haiku in this collection makes it a valuable teaching tool for poets looking for a fuller understanding of the breadth and width of haiku in English today. . . . If you have any interest in haiku, then this book is a must-read for you. A lot of books on haiku are not the ‘real deal,’ but this one is, and is essential to own for any poet or lover of the form.” —Michael Rehling, on Amazon

Becoming a Haiku Poet

Sammamish, Washington: Press Here, 2015. Foreword by Aubrie Cox. A brief primer on the art of haiku. See the Press Here book page. Available on Amazon. See review by Paul Griffiths. See review by kjmunro.

• “A concise, authoritative, informative, and encouraging guide for anyone interested in writing or just learning about haiku.” —Poets House, New York City

A Warm Welcome

Editor with Angela Terry. Artwork by Annette Makino. Bellevue, Washington: Haiku Northwest / Vandina Press, 2015. Anthology of poems from the 2013 Seabeck Haiku Getaway. Read the introduction. Available on Amazon.

True Colour

Redmond, Washington: City of Redmond, 2014. Book design and photography by Dan D Shafer. Collection of thirteen solo rengay, each one on the theme of a different colour. This art book opens up like a painter’s swatch, based on a design I proposed. Read about the book. Read the introduction and afterword. To purchase, please contact WelchM@aol.com.

• “Michael Dylan Welch weaves the colors of life into a wide-ranging tapestry of surprising juxtapositions. It its celebration of the rengay form, True Colour offers a multihued palette of well-written and well-crafted poems.” —Garry Gay, inventor of the rengay poetry form

• “Michael Dylan Welch’s colorful suite of rengay represents the full spectrum of human experience parceled into intimate moments. His concise verses transform images of surprise, humor, sorrow, appreciation, loss, and joy into poignant epiphanies.” —Lana Hechtman Ayers, editor and publisher, MoonPath Press

Haiku Greeting Cards

Redmond, Washington: Historic Core Redmond / Minuteman Press, 2014. Set of six “weathergram” greeting cards with my haiku and artwork by Jacqueline Calladine. See greeting card gallery. See also “Moonshine Series” and “Twelve Weathergrams.”

scattered petals . . .

the thud of my books

in the book drop

No Longer Strangers: Haiku Northwest 25th Anniversary Anthology

Layout, design, art direction, copyediting, production, and research. Bellevue, Washington: Haiku Northwest / Vandina Press, 2014. Anthology of haiku, senryu, and haibun featuring 78 contributors from Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and British Columbia. Available on Amazon. Second place winner of a 2015 Merit Book Award (for books published in 2014), from the Haiku Society of America.

• “This is a very fine anthology, a worthy monument to Haiku Northwest and its founder, the late Francine Porad. Because of the strength of the work of the members as well as the good editorial choices and sensible, clear layout, this is about as good as a group haiku anthology can be. In addition to the work of active members, No Longer Strangers contains a section of haiku by past members—a nice touch. We especially enjoyed the beautifully researched and written historical essay by Connie Hutchison.” —from the judges’ commentary by Charles Trumbull and Neal Whitman in awarding No Longer Strangers the second place award in the 2015 Merit Book Awards (for books published in 2014) from the Haiku Society of America

Here, There, and Everywhere:

Redmond Association of Spokenword Poetry Anthology

Editor. Redmond, Washington: RASP, 2013. Featuring 120 poems by 70 poets, including a who’s who of Seattle-area poets. Read the introduction. Available on Amazon.       +

Close to the Wind: 2013 Haiku North America Conference Anthology

Editor with William Hart. Artwork by Naia. Sammamish, Washington: Press Here, 2013. Nearly 100 haiku and senryu from this twelfth biennial haiku conference. Read the introduction and selected poems. See the Press Here book page. Available on Amazon.

Furoshiki

Cotranslation with Emiko Miyashita of poems and prose about elegant Japanese gift-wrapping cloths known as furoshiki. Tokyo: PIE Books, 2011. Available on Amazon (Japanese cover shown here).

• “This is a gorgeous, very authentic book.” —review on Amazon

• “Wonderful photos, simple and poetic text. Is a pleasure to get lost in its pages.” —review on Amazon

Bound by the Beauty

Design and production of 2011 Seabeck Haiku Getaway holograph anthology. Bellevue, Washington: Haiku Northwest, 2011.       +

From Leaf to Leaf

Editor with Tanya McDonald. Hand-sewn haiku anthology with original suminigashi cover art celebrating the 2010 Seabeck Haiku Getaway. Bellevue, Washington: Haiku Northwest, 2011.

Standing Still: 2011 Haiku North America Conference Anthology

Editor with Ruth Yarrow. Artwork by Dejah Léger. Sammamish, Washington: Press Here, 2011. Read the book’s introduction and selected poems. See the Press Here book page.

Tidepools: Haiku On Gabriola

Editor. Gabriola, British Columbia: Pacific-Rim Publishers, 2011. Commemorating ten years of haiku retreats on Gabriola Island, with haiku, senryu, haibun, rengay, renku, and more, by 42 contributors. Read my introduction. See also the contents and list of contributors. Available from Pacific-Rim Publishers (scroll down).

• “Tidepools: Haiku On Gabriola, edited by Michael Dylan Welch, is perfectly shaped, perfectly positioned to reflect a wordless light, the unfathomable mysteries of the visible. The book weaves together powerful memories and poems from ten years of the annual haiku weekends on Gabriola Island, British Columbia. Tidepools is a great joy to read-it almost feels like being there. By turns playful, ironic, and elegiac, the book’s haiku show simple elegance, impressive depth. Related literary forms of haibun, rengay, and kasen renku give wider impressions of the poetic gatherings on the island. Tidepools also pays homage to Naomi Beth Wakan, a most hospitable host, and fine haiku and lyric poet in her own right. Beautiful thinking! Beautiful writing!” —Terry Ann Carter

• “Solitude is often the poet’s muse, but this charming and wonderfully candid collection of short reminiscences and poetry celebrates the pleasures and inspiration of the communal haiku workshop that has been hosted for ten years by poet and writer Naomi Beth Wakan with her husband Eli. Forty-two poets, old and new in both poetry and their experience of Gabriola Island, give a beautiful portrait of the inspiration of fellow poets, Naomi’s garden, and Drumbeg Park.” —Pamela Asquith

Between the Chimes

By Charles Trumbull. Michael Dylan Welch, editor. Pointe Claire, Quebec: King’s Road Press, 2011.

• “Wise, gentle, funny, and humble: that’s some tall order in one poetry collection and #23 in the Hexagram Series from King’s Road Press, Charles Trumbull’s Between the Chimes, fits the bill. Though a brief chapbook, at 14 pages with 32 poems, it displays all the qualities mentioned and is, indeed, very fine as a result.”  —Don Wentworth

Bonsai

Cotranslation with Emiko Miyashita of twelve Bashō poems that introduce each seasonal section of bonsai photographs. Tokyo: PIE Books, 2011. Available on Amazon. See the twelve translations at “A Year of Bashō.”

春もややけしきととのふ月と梅

haru mo yaya keshiki totonou tsuki to ume

gradually spring—

the land just so

with moon and plum

Fifty-Seven Damn Good Haiku by a Bunch of Our Friends

Editor, with Alan Summers; anthology featuring twelve poets. Sammamish, Washington: Press Here, 2010. Read the book’s short introduction. See the Press Here book page. Available from Press Here.

• “Nobody writes poems about parsnips.” —Anna Pavord, The Independent

Lighting a Candle

Editor; anthology featuring Roberta Beary, Deborah P Kolodji, Victor Ortiz, and Ebba Story for the 21st annual Two Autumns reading series sponsored by the Haiku Poets of Northern California, held on 22 August 2010 in San Francisco. San Francisco: Two Autumns Press, 2010. Read the book’s introduction. See also the “In Concert” trifold, featuring rengay by each of the book’s contributors, which I commissioned for this reading.

Noh

Cotranslation with Emiko Miyashita and David Cobb of Noh play summaries and associated poems. Tokyo: PIE Books, 2010. Available on Amazon (Japanese cover shown here). Read more about this book, including a selected Noh play summary, “Motomezuka,” and an associated poem.       +       +

• “This is a most intriguing work. The physical part is, simply put, superb. Great paper, font, photos, look and feel, all done in Japan. The bilingual texts are something rather particular—you get a haiku [actually, longer poems] and the short version of a Noh story, the two of them being somewhat related. The small batches of photos following the texts appear to illustrate each story with actual show scenes. . . . Noh is an attractive draw into the world of Noh. It makes for an exquisite invite into the subject.” —review on Amazon

Seeing Stars

Editor. Hand-sewn anthology from the 2009 Seabeck Haiku Getaway. Bellevue, Washington: Haiku Northwest, 2009. Winner of the 2010 Merit Book Award for best anthology (for books published in 2009), from the Haiku Society of America.       +

• “This category was a tough call—there were many worthy entries. Any Red Moon Anthology is the elephant in the room, and White Lies, the 2009 edition, is superb. But Seeing Stars by the Haiku Northwest group, produced from a retreat in Seabeck, Washington in October 2009, had enough break-throughs to be an upset winner. Publishing haiku incubated during a weekend retreat carries inherent dangers; Seeing Stars, however, which reflects the group’s “galactiku” theme, took chances and produced fresh surprises.” —from Mike Dillon’s judge’s commentary in awarding Seeing Stars the best anthology award in the 2010 Merit Book Awards (for books published in 2009) from the Haiku Society of America

My Neighbor

Paul Miller, editor. Anthology featuring Garry Gay, David Grayson, Carolyn Hall, and Michael Dylan Welch for the 20th annual Two Autumns reading series sponsored by the Haiku Poets of Northern California, held on 13 September 2009 in San Francisco. San Francisco: Two Autumns Press, 2009. See the introduction and all my poems.

Nothing Left to Say

By Roberta Beary. Michael Dylan Welch, editor. Pointe Claire, Quebec: King’s Road Press, 2009. See review by Don Wentworth.

Into Our Words: 2009 Haiku North America Conference Anthology

Editor with Grant D. Savage. Artwork by Peter Vernon Quenter. Sammamish, Washington: Press Here, 2009. Read the book’s introduction and selected poems. See the Press Here book page.

For a Moment

Pointe Claire, Quebec: King’s Road Press, 2009. See selected poems. See PDF version on the Haiku Foundation website.

• “Welch is one of the stalwarts of American haiku. His works are almost always sharp, concrete renditions of original moments, and this collection is a fine example of his skillful work.” —The Haiku Foundation

100 Poets: Passions of the Imperial Court

Cotranslation with Emiko Miyashita of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. Tokyo, Japan: PIE Books, 2008. Read more about this book, including all 100 translations and associated karuta (card game) images. See also selected translations. Available on Amazon. Also available, with photographs, poems, card game, and each poem read aloud in Japanese by male and female voices, as an iPad and iPhone application on iTunes. See the Japan Times review by David Burleigh (see also here). One of our translations from this book was printed on the back of 150,000,000 U.S. postage stamps in 2012.       +       +

• “Beautiful design and robust translation. . . . I was searching for a translation of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu . . . that would contain not only the English and original Japanese text but also ideally the romaji or a more literal translation. . . . I love that this edition of the Hyakunin Isshu gives so many paths to interpreting each poem, as well as some nice photographic accompaniments all laid out beautifully and minimally without trying too hard to stylize in both the translation nor the layout. It’s really the perfect book.” —review on Amazon

Dandelion Wind: 2007 Haiku North America Conference Anthology

Editor. Artwork by Kate MacQueen. Sammamish, Washington: Press Here, 2008. Read the book’s introduction and selected poems. See the Press Here book page.

Shiki Haikusphere: Tenth Anniversary Anthology

One of ten poets featured, with Japanese translations, selected as top contributors to the Shiki online haiku discussion list hosted by Matsuyama University. Matsuyama, Japan: The Shiki Team, 2007. See the poems. See a PDF of a report about the Shiki discussion list from Haiku North America 2005.

Haiku Journey

Haiku editor for computer game. Midlothian, Texas: NStorm / Hot Lava Games (now MumboJumbo), 2006. See game overview, with additional links and reviews, a list of contributors, and my poems. See demo video or visit the Haiku Journey game forum.

• “What do Boggle and haiku poetry have in common? Thanks to Hot Lava Games, I can now write that they meet in Haiku Journey, a puzzle game inspired by the shortest and most popular type of poetry in the world. The real stars of the game are the haiku themselves. Each level begins with a short essay on the form written by well-known haiku poet and editor Michael Dylan Welch, a former vice president of the Haiku Society of America. The database contains over five hundred haiku and features many of the top poets writing in English from around the world, most of whom will be familiar to anyone who is familiar with the haiku scene.” —Edward Zuk

Tracing the Fern: 2005 Haiku North America Conference Anthology

Editor with Billie Wilson. Sammamish, Washington: Press Here, 2005. Read the book’s introduction and selected poems. See the Press Here book page.

Gingerly

Haiku and other short poems, edited by LeRoy Gorman. Napanee, Ontario: pawEpress (pawEprint #64), 2003.

Brocade of Leaves: 2003 Haiku North America Conference Anthology

Editor with Yu Chang. Sammamish, Washington: Press Here, 2003. Read the book’s introduction and selected poems. See the Press Here book page.

Castles in the Sand

Editor, 2002 Tanka Society of America members’ anthology. Sammamish, Washington: Press Here, 2003. Read the book’s introduction. See the Press Here book page.

• “The alchemy of tanka is that this poetry changes us, making us more aware of the mundane and miraculous. Indeed, the practice of writing tanka increases our consciousness of emotions and perceptions, prompting us to build castles of words where others may see only sand. The poets represented in this book—the premier anthology by members of the Tanka Society of America—invite you to explore their poems, which, ultimately, is an exploration of yourself.” [back cover text]

The Nick of Time: Essays on Haiku Aesthetics

By Paul O. Williams. Michael Dylan Welch, coeditor with Lee Gurga. Foster City, California: Press Here, 2001. Read the book’s introduction. See the Press Here book page. Winner of a Merit Book Award from the Haiku Society of America.

• “Anyone writing haiku, thinking about writing haiku, or thinking about haiku, will be enriched by having this indispensable, lyrical manual in their collection.” —Leza Lowitz, Japan Times

Paperclips: 2001 Haiku North America Conference Anthology

Editor with Larry Kimmel and Carol Purington. Artwork by Karen Klein. Foster City, California: Press Here, 2001. Read the book’s introduction and selected poems. See the Press Here book page.

On Snails, Sage and AIDS:

An Anthology Commemorating the 2001 Haiku North America Conference

Editor with Claire Gallagher of a small handout collection of haiku and senryu by California poets for the 2001 Haiku North America conference regional reading in Boston, Massachusetts, published by the Haiku Poets of Northern California.

The Haijin’s Tweed Coat

Haiku sequence. Second, expanded edition (first edition published in 1990). Foster City: Press Here, 2000. Read the poems. See the Press Here book page. See a digital version of the book on the Haiku Foundation website.

               temple bell

     the haijin’s tweed coat

sprinkled with pine needles

• “Almost an overnight haiku classic, Michael Dylan Welch’s sequence depicting a haijin in which the titles of haiku magazines are named is clever without any hint of contrivance. This sequence should serve as a kind of mini trivial pursuit for haiku poets to see if they can find all the haiku magazines that are included. Welch has gifted us with a sense of fun here, and it is no small task to accomplish this while creating a haiku sequence that possesses a resonance.” —Wally Swist, Modern Haiku

• “The Haijin’s Tweed Coat is very fine . . . with its unique combination of high-quality haiku and clever references to names of haiku magazines.” —Robert Spiess

• “Michael captures the enthusiasm and the clarity of a true haijin, who is always noticing the small things in nature. This sequence, for me, rings as clear as the sound of a frog jumping into a pond on a crisp day. It’s the best nature sequence I’ve read in years.” —Alexis Rotella

Berries and Cream: Contemporary Haiga in North America

Interview with Jeanne Emrich on haiga, conducted by Michael Dylan Welch. Foster City, California: Press Here, 2000. See the Press Here book page.

• “We dob’t know yet what future directions Western haiga will take, because it is still such a young art in this corner of the world. But with books such as Berries and Cream to help point the way, the future looks bright.” —Stephen Addiss, from the book’s introduction

Countdown

Editor, 2000 Haiku Poets of Northern California members’ haiku anthology on the theme of the millennium and the New Year. San Francisco: Two Autumns Press, 2000. Read the book’s introduction.

fireworks at midnight—

a piece of Y2K confetti

lands on the sundial

Michael Dylan Welch

Too Busy for Spring: 1999 Haiku North America Conference Anthology

Editor with Lee Gurga. Foster City, California: Press Here, 1999. Read the book’s introduction and selected poems. See the Press Here book page.

Through the Spirea: The Herb Barrett Award 1998

Judge, editor. Hamilton, Ontario: Hamilton Haiku Press, 1999. Available on Amazon. See a PDF version on the Haiku Foundation website. For the awards celebrated in this book I gave first prize to the following poem by Timothy Russell:

          cold morning—

     the sparrow's twitch

ripples through the spirea

I awarded second and third prizes to A. C. Missias and Ferris Gilli, and honourable mentions to Izak Bouwer and Sandra Fuhringer. At the end of he book, information about me written by the publisher said “Mr. Welch brings to haiku an awareness of the transcendent or spiritual world that lies behind, and informs, our surface reality. His own poetry has been widely published and collected, and he is generally considered a leading authority on English-language haiku.”

Wedge of Light

Editor with Cor van den Heuvel and Tom Lynch of haibun anthology. Foster City, California: Press Here, 1999. Winner of an 2000 Merit Book Award (for books published in 1999) from the Haiku Society of America for best haibun collection (Special Category Honorable Mention). This anthology resulted from the first-ever haibun contest conducted in English, held in the spring and summer of 1996. Read the book’s introduction. See the Press Here book page.

Shades of Green: 1997 Haiku North America Conference Anthology

Editor. Foster City, California: Press Here, 1997. Read the book’s introduction and selected poems. See the Press Here book page. This book was also the featured book of the week in early April of 2018 on the Haiku Foundation website, where you click to view a scan of the entire book.

Northern Lights: 1995 Haiku North America Conference Anthology

Editor. Foster City, California: Press Here, 1995. Read the book’s introduction and selected poems. See the Press Here book page.

Hammerhorn Lake

Collection of rengay written with Garry Gay and John Thompson. The first book of rengay ever published. Foster City, California: Press Here, 1995. Read the book’s short introduction (with links to all rengay included).

A Haiku Path

Coeditor of a book about the history of the first twenty years of the Haiku Society of America. New York: Haiku Society of America, 1994. Read my afterword. Available on Amazon. See also Ce Rosenow’s review.       +       +

Thornewood Poems

Haiku sequence. Foster City, California: Press Here, 1994. Read the book’s introduction and all the poems.

Footsteps in the Fog

Editor, and one of six contributing poets. A collection of tanka; one of earliest anthologies of tanka written in English. Foster City, California: Press Here, 1994. Also released as an audio recording (cassette tape), made of the launch reading at Villa Montalvo, Saratoga, California, 27 February 1994. Read the book’s introduction and see my tanka from the book. See the Press Here book page, and see the review by Tom Lynch from Woodnotes.

The Shortest Distance: 1993 Haiku North America Conference Anthology

Editor with Ebba Story. Foster City, California: Press Here, 1993. Read the book’s introduction and selected poems. See the Press Here book page.

Fig Newtons: Senryu to Go

Editor, and one of seven contributing poets. A collection of senryu. Foster City, California: Press Here, 1993. Read the introduction and all my poems. See the Press Here book page. Winner of a 1994 Merit Book Award honourable mention (for books published in 1993) from the Haiku Society of America. See the Woodnotes review by Kay F. Anderson.

• “The book, a first anthology of senryu in English, as far as I know, deserves a joyous welcome. Its arrival is a signal event. Fig Newtons is a collection with more range and a much higher hit rating than most haiku anthologies these days. We should also bow to the careful editing that groups these poems superficially by subject, while maintaining a clear ear for variety, tone, and pacing. For editor Welch and his cast of California senryu poets, the ticker-tape parade. Meantime, get your own copy of Fig Newtons and ease your mind.” —William J. Higginson

A Vote for Alice

Political parody of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Introduction by Sandor Burstein, president of the Lewis Carroll Society of North America. Foster City: Press Here, 1992. See the Press Here book page. Available (sometimes) on Amazon. See “The Mouse’s Tale” parody poem from this book.       +

The Gulf Within

Editor with Christopher Herold of an anthology of Gulf War haiku by members of the Haiku Poets of Northern California. San Francisco: Two Autumns Press, 1991. Read my poems from the book. See “Gulf War Poetry Reading” by Kimberly Cortner. See also a review from Woodnotes by Jerry Kilbride, who referred to The Gulf Within as a “book of iron.”

Books for the Conscientious Publisher

An annotated bibliography of books relating to desktop publishing, graphic design, typography, editing, and writing, produced in conjunction with a seminar on desktop publishing haiku books that I gave at the first Haiku North America conference. Foster City, California, privately published, 1991.

Harvest: 1991 Haiku North America Conference Anthology

Editor. Foster City, California: Press Here, 1991. This anthology commemorated the first-ever Haiku North America conference, held in California. Read the book’s introduction and selected poems. See the Press Here book page.

• “Sponsored by several of the most vital haiku organizations from the United States and Canada, Haiku North America is probably the most ambitious haiku event ever attempted outside of Japan. Everyone taking part in this coming-of-age celebration for English-language haiku will be helping make literary history.” —Cor van den Heuvel

The Haijin’s Tweed Coat

Haiku sequence. Foster City, California: Press Here, 1990. Winner of a Merit Book Award honourable mention from the Haiku Society of America. See also the second, expanded edition published in 2000. Read the poems (from the second edition). See the Press Here book page.

Tremors

A collection of earthquake haiku written in response to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Foster City, California: Press Here, 1990. Read an overview of the book, with selected poems and links to additional content. See the Press Here book page.

Two Autumns

John Thompson, editor. Anthology featuring Patricia Donegan, Eugenie Waldteufel, Michael Dylan Welch, and Paul O. Williams for the first-ever Two Autumns reading sponsored by the Haiku Poets of Northern California, held on 27 October 1990 in Berkeley, California. San Francisco: Two Autumns Press, 1990. Read selected poems.     +

Egret

Haiku collection. Foster City, California: Press Here, 1989. Read an overview and selected poems, with photos. See also the book’s haibun (which I think was my first ever), “The Cat’s Bell,” and a sequence, “Twilight.”

A Sense of Play:

An Annotated Linguistic Study of Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange

Master’s thesis. Riverside, California: Loma Linda University, 1988.       +

Yosemite

Haiku and other short poems. Riverside, California: n.p., 1988. Read an overview and selected poems.

Noble Savages

Epistolary fiction. Riverside, California: n.p., 1988.

Haiku

Riverside, California: n.p., 1986. Read an overview, with links to selected poems.

Family

Concrete poems. Winnipeg, Manitoba: n.p., 1985.

Chronology

Collected poetic juvenilia, in three volumes (second volume is either missing or was never completed). Winnipeg, Manitoba: n.p., 1985.

Ninety-Seven Poems

Poems collected for a creative writing class in college. n.p.: n.p., 1984. See overview with links to selected poems.

Short Stories

Stories collected from a creative writing class in college. Winnipeg: Manitoba: n.p., 1981.

My poems and essays also appear in numerous anthologies from W. W. Norton, Tuttle, Kodansha, Andrews-McMeel, MQP, Mosaic, Iron Press, Writer’s Digest Books, Brooks Books, Red Moon Press, Borealis Press, Les Éditions David, Black Moss Press, Leaf Press, and numerous other publishers. Poems are also included in dozens of broadsides. I have more than 4,000 individual poems published in hundreds of journals in at least twenty languages (most recently Turkish, Swahili, and Punjabi).