Haiku North America
Haiku North America is a nonprofit corporation of which I’m one of four directors, along with Garry Gay (California), Paul Miller (Florida), and Deborah P Kolodji (California). When Garry was president of the Haiku Society of America in 1990, he thought it would be a good idea to have a conference to bring together members of 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 small, insular, or not publicly organized). From the beginning, HNA has been a stimulating long weekend of readings, presentations, papers, and more, all focusing on haiku poetry—a gathering of the tribes. The variety of scholarly and nonacademic papers and presentations has 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 in-person poetic and academic sharing and inspiration.
At first, HNA was going to be a one-shot deal, but about a year after the 1991 conference, I insisted with 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 cadence. 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—and on Zoom for 2021 during the coronavirus pandemic. 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 see each anthology’s book page, introduction, and sample poems, and in some cases contributor lists and links to Amazon for purchases. At the end are additional links to the HNA website, its FAQ page, the HNA blog, and a video that promoted the 2015 conference in Schenectady, New York. See you at the next Haiku North America conference!
“Every two years, at some interesting location in the United States or Canada, the organizers of Haiku North America put together exciting and innovative programs involving leading poets, scholars, editors, and teachers, as well as practitioners of arts that have a kinship with haiku. The result is that HNA is the most eagerly awaited conference on the haiku calendar.” —George Swede
“Of the small handful of regular occasions that nurture the English-language haiku community, Haiku North America is certainly preeminent: intellectually diverse, socially expansive, emotionally gratifying, it provides more than any other single experience the sense that haiku is a literary force to be reckoned with and capable of work that matters in the rest of the world.” —Jim Kacian
“Haiku North America offers haiku poets worldwide the opportunity to renew their spirit of community. The Haiku North America conference is a remarkable setting for innovative workshops and spellbinding readings. This unique collaboration, known to its devotees as HNA, is the place to experience not only the art but also the heart of haiku.” —Roberta Beary
See the Haiku North America page on Haikupedia, with links to detailed descriptions of selected past conferences.
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; see book page, introduction, and 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; see book page, introduction, and 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; see book page, introduction, and sample poems
July 24–27, 1997
Portland State University, Portland, Oregon
Directors: Ce Rosenow, Margaret Chula, and Cherie Hunter Day
Theme: Innovation
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; see book page, introduction, and sample poems
July 8–11, 1999
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois (near Chicago)
Directors: Charles Trumbull, Sara Brant, Joseph Kirschner, and Lidia Rozmus
Theme: Looking East, Looking West
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; see book page, introduction, and sample poems
June 28–July 1, 2001
Boston Conservatory, Boston, Massachusetts
Directors: Raffael de Gruttola, Judson Evans, and Karen Klein
Theme: Haiku and Beyond
Paperclips, Michael Dylan Welch, Carol Purington, and Larry Kimmel, editors. Karen Klein, ink brush drawings. Press Here, Foster City, California, 2001, 40 pages, 97 poets (one poem each) plus five poems from a children’s haiku contest, ISBN 1-878798-24-3; see book page, introduction, and 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; see book page, introduction, and 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; see book page, introduction, and sample poems
August 15–19, 2007
Hawthorne Inn and Conference Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Directors: Dave Russo, Lenard D. Moore, and Bob Moyer
Theme: 100 Bridges
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; see book page, introduction, and 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
Theme: Crosscurrents
Into Our Words, Michael Dylan Welch and Grant D. Savage, editors. Peter Vernon Quenter, artwork. Press Here, Sammamish, Washington, 2009, 40 pages, 90 poets (one poem each), ISBN 978-1-878798-30-5; see book page, introduction, and 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
Theme: Fifty Years of Haiku
Higginson Lecture: Richard Gilbert (inaugural Higginson Lecture, named in honour of William J. Higginson)
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; see book page, introduction, and sample poems; see 2011 group photo above
August 14–18, 2013
Queen Mary, Long Beach, California—photos to come
Directors: Debbie P Kolodji and Naia
Theme: Intervals
Higginson Lecture: Charles Trumbull
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; see book page, introduction, and 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
Theme: Autumn Term
Higginson Lecture: Randy Brooks
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; see book page, introduction, and sample poems; order from Amazon
September 13–17, 2017
Hotel Santa Fe, Hacienda & Spa, Santa Fe, New Mexico—photos to come
Directors: Charles Trumbull, Sondra J. Byrnes, Cynthia Henderson, Scott Wiggerman, and Miriam Sagan
Theme: Earthtones
Higginson Lecture: Teruko Kumei
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; see book page, introduction, sample poems, and contributor list; order from Amazon
August 7–11, 2019
Hawthorne Inn and Conference Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina—photos to come
Directors: Bob Moyer, Dave Russo, Lenard D. Moore, Crystal Simone Smith
Theme: Haiku in the World: Dissolving Walls, Building Community
Higginson Lecture: Jay Friedenberg
Sitting in the Sun, Michael Dylan Welch and Crystal Simone Smith, editors. Kate MacQueen, artwork. Press Here, Sammamish, Washington, 2019, 64 pages, 94 poets (one poem each), ISBN 978-1-878798-40-4; see book page, introduction, sample poems, and contributor list; order from Amazon
October 14–17, 2021
On Zoom, hosted by Victoria, British Columbia—photos to come
Directors: Terry Ann Carter and Lynne Jambor
Theme: Ma / Space / L’espace
Higginson Lecture: Janine Beichman
Salmon Drum, Michael Dylan Welch, editor
June 28–July 2, 2023
Netherland Plaza Hotel and Mercantile Library, Cincinnati, Ohio—see photos 1, photos 2, photos 3, photos 4, photos 5, photos 6, photos 7, photos 8 (Tanka Sunday), photos 9
Program Committee: Jennifer Hambrick, Nicky Gutierrez, and Elliot Nicely
Local Arrangements Committee: Patti Niehoff and Buck Niehoff
Theme: City and Soil
Higginson Lecture: Tim Green
Earthworks, Michael Dylan Welch and Julie Schwerin, editors. John E. Hancock, photographs. Press Here, Sammamish, Washington, 2023, 64 pages, 129 poets (one poem each), ISBN 978-1-878798-43-5; see book page, introduction, sample poems, and contributor list; order from Amazon
September 24–28, 2025
Holiday Inn, San Francisco
Directors: Susan Antolin, Fay Aoyagi, Garry Gay, David Grayson, Patricia Machmiller, and Michael Dylan Welch
Theme: Discover
Higginson Lecture: [to be announced]
See 2024 promotional video (also below)
Additional Links
Hope you can join us for the next Haiku North America celebration!
Selected Haiku North America T-shirts (not all) from 1991 to 2009.