Introductions

An introduction to introductions. This page collects various prefaces, forewords, introductions, and afterwords that I've written for dozens of books over many years, including all of the biennial Haiku North America conference anthologies. See also Blurbs.


★ = most recommended (start with these)


Prefaces, Forewords, Introductions, and Afterwords

    An Urge to Sing: Introduction to Perigee Moon (Margaret Chula, 2021)

At the Heart of Sharing: Introduction to A Shared Umbrella (Beverley George and David Terelinck, 2016)

    Belonging: Introduction to Still Blue Water (Marje A. Dyck, 2012)

    Better than Ice Cream: Introduction to With Cherries on Top: 31 Flavors from NaHaiWriMo (2012)

    A Brief Introduction to Tanka: Warp and Weft: Tanka Threads (Debbie Strange, 2015)

    Castles in the Sand Introduction (Tanka Society of America, 2003)

    Courting the Eyeball Kick: A Short History of Suns and Moons

          (afterword to Seven Suns / Seven Moons, 2016)

A Deeper Attention: Foreword to The Haiku Apprentice (Abigail Friedman, 2006)

Desert Heat: A Haiku Revision (afterword to Deep Breath: A Book of Haiku Evolutions, Terry Ann Carter, 2003)

    Entering the Era: Afterword to Nothing But the Wind (John Carley, 2013)

    Eunoia: Beautiful Thinking on Gabriola: Introduction to Tidepools: Haiku On Gabriola (2011)

    Finding Your Paths: Introduction to Ancient Bloodlines (Simon Hanson and Ron C. Moss, 2017)

Fresh Seeing on the International Appalachian Trail: Foreword to Border Crossings (Ian Marshall, 2012)

    Friends in Haiku (foreword to Evergreen Haiku Anthology, 2003)

    Galactiku: Introduction to Seeing Stars (Haiku Northwest, 2009)

    In Front of a Boundless Ocean: Foreword to Pacific (Ce Rosenow, 2009)

    In Praise of Whatnots: Foreword to These Audacious Maples (Paul O. Williams, 2007)

    Introduction to Countdown (Haiku Poets of Northern California, 2000)

    Introduction to Fig Newtons: Senryu to Go (1993)

    Introduction to Footsteps in the Fog (1994)

    Introduction to Hammerhorn Lake (1995)

    Introduction to Here, There, and Everywhere (Redmond Association of Spokenword, 2013)

    An Invitation to Rengay: Introduction to True Colour (2014)

    Introduction to When Butterflies Come (Haiku Society of America, 1993)

    Introduction to Your Hands Discover Me: Alive and Urgent (Claudia Coutu Radmore, 2005/2010)

    Joining the Reunion: Introduction to Seabeck Reunion (Haiku Northwest Press, 2020)

    Living Among Lions: Introduction to A Breath of Africa (Lysa Collins, 2020)

    A Look to the Future of Haiku in English (Haiku Society of America, 1994)

The Middle Way: Paul O. Williams’ Essays on Haiku (Paul O. Williams, 2001)

    My Word: Introduction to Ocular Oracle (2021)

    Next Steps with Haiku (2017)

    New Eyes: Introduction to Faces and Places (2019)

    Opening the Jumble Box (2017)

    Our Tanka Dance: Introduction to Dance into the World (Tanka Society of America, 2020)

    Presence in Absence: Afterword to In the Garden of Absence (Stella Pierides, 2012)

Seeing Into the Heart: Vulnerability in Haiku (Haiku Poets of Northern California, 2010)

    Stopping at Nothing: Introduction to Fifty-Seven Damn Good Haiku (2010)

A Survey of Haibun Definitions: Introduction to Wedge of Light (1999)

Ten Years of Seabeck Haiku Getaways: Afterword to Seabeck Reunion (Haiku Northwest Press, 2020)

    Thornewood Poems: A Prelude (1994)

    Tundra #1: Welcome (1999)

    Tundra #2: Welcome (2001)

    A Warm Welcome Introduction (Haiku Northwest, 2015)

    Welcome: Nature Here Is Half Japanese (Winona Baker, 2010)

    Welcome to Seattle! 2011 Haiku North America Conference Program Introduction (2011)

    Wherever They Will: Introduction to Eyeball Kick (2020)

    Wherever You Will: Introduction to Retina Splash (2020)

    Who Knows: Introduction to Vitreous Humor (2020)


Introductions to Haiku North America Conference Anthologies

    1991: On a First-Name Basis: Introduction to Harvest (Livermore, California)   +

    1993: Introduction to The Shortest Distance (Livermore, California)   +

    1995: Introduction to Northern Lights (Toronto, Ontario)   +

    1997: Introduction to Shades of Green (Portland, Oregon)   +

    1999: Introduction to Too Busy for Spring (Evanston, Illinois)   +

    2001: Introduction to Paperclips (Boston, Massachusetts)   +

    2003: Introduction to Brocade of Leaves (New York, New York)   +

    2005: Introduction to Tracing the Fern (Port Townsend, Washington)   +

    2007: Introduction to Dandelion Wind (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)   +

    2009: Into All Our Words: Introduction to Into Our Words (Ottawa, Ontario)   +

    2011: On Standing Still: Introduction to Standing Still (Seattle, Washington)   +

    2013: Out of the Harbor: Introduction to Close to the Wind (Long Beach, California)   +

★ 2015: The Democracy of Haiku: Introduction to Fire in the Treetops (Schenectady, New York)   +

    2017: Your World for the Moment: Introduction to Earthsigns (Santa Fe, New Mexico)   +

    2019: Come Sit a Spell: Introduction to Sitting in the Sun (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)   +

    2023: Places of the Heart: Introduction to Earthworks (Cincinnati, Ohio)   +