Selected Essays and Interviews from Woodnotes

Perhaps the most influential essay that appeared in Woodnotes was “Forms in English Haiku” by Keiko Imaoka, in 1996. But it was not alone. The following is a summary of most essays and interviews that appeared in the journal, with links to all 34 pieces listed. Not every issue included essays, and this list omits “Haiku Stops” and “Favorite Haiku” commentaries, and “Beginner’s Mind” reminiscences, which were all usually brief. The distinction between reports and essays was also sometimes ambiguous, and nearly all event reports, especially short ones, are omitted here. In presenting this content, I have occasionally corrected a typo or grammar problem. Among other contributors in this list, Paul O. Williams had four essays, Michael Dylan Welch had three essays and four reports, Patricia Neubauer had three “Go to the Pine” essays, Lequita Vance had three contributions (one essay and two interviews), and both Christopher Herold and vincent tripi had two pieces each. In hindsight, I wish we had been able to commission essays from Patricia Donegan, Tom Lynch, Ebba Story, and others, as well as more interviews. Even so, the content we were able to publish was central to the growing significance and influence of Woodnotes on English-language haiku appreciation and understanding in the 1990s.

#2, Summer 1989

• “The Use of Articles in Haiku” by Paul O. Williams

• “A Guide to Haiku” by Anita Virgil

#3, Autumn 1989

• “The ‘Zeugmatic Effect’” by Charles B. Dickson

#4, Winter 1990

• “The Bones of the Dead” by Tom Tico

• “Haiku as Meditation” by Carolyn Talmadge

• “Another Article on Articles” by Jane Reichhold

#6, Summer 1990

• “Snow from a Bamboo Leaf: The Art of Haiku” interview with Hiag Akmakjian by Lequita Vance

• “Engineered Serendipity: Epistolary Haiku” by Paul O. Williams

#7, Autumn 1990

• “Zen and the Art of Direct Seeing: Cultivating the Haiku Moment” by Michael Dylan Welch

• “Tones of Haiku: Yugen” by Tom Arima

#8, Winter 1991

• “An Interview with Jane Hirshfield, Co-Translator of The Ink Dark Moon” by Lequita Vance

#9, Spring/Summer 1991

• “Tones of Haiku: Sabi” by Tom Arima

• “A Tribute to Rhythm” by Christopher Herold

#10, Autumn 1991

• “Haiku North America Conference Report” by Michael Dylan Welch (published anonymously)

#12, Spring 1992

• “Some Notes on Haiku Moments and Prepositions” by Cor van den Heuvel

#13, Summer 1992

• “Go to the Pine: The Haiku Moment” by Patricia Neubauer

• “Tracking the Rampant Renku” by Lequita Vance

#14, Autumn 1992

• “Go to the Pine: The Experience of the Haiku Moment” by Patricia Neubauer

• “Japanese Renku Group Visits San Francisco” by Ebba Story and Michael Dylan Welch

#15, Winter 1992

• “The Importance of Rhythm in Haiku” by Elizabeth St Jacques

#16, Spring 1993

• “Go to the Pine: The Making of a Haiku” by Patricia Neubauer

#17, Summer 1993

• “Leaping the Chasm: An Interview with Virginia Brady Young” by vincent tripi [see Raking Sand, from which this interview was excerpted]

#18, Autumn 1993

• “A Perspective on Haiku North America 1993” by Michael Dylan Welch

#19, Winter 1993

• “Engagement and Detachment in Haiku and Senryu” by Paul O. Williams

• “The Woodnotes Survey Summarized” by Michael Dylan Welch

#20, Spring 1994

• “Rengay: An Introduction” by Michael Dylan Welch

#22, Autumn 1994

• “No-Self and the Paradox of Style” by vincent tripi

#23, Winter 1994

• “The Inside of a Haiku” by Christopher Herold

#24, Spring 1995

• “The Triple Tanka String: An Introduction” by Kenneth Tanemura (with an example, “Intimations,” by Pat Shelley, David Rice, and Kenneth Tanemura)

#25, Summer 1995

• “The ‘Ordinary’ Haiku Poet” by Michael Dylan Welch

#28, Spring 1996

• “Haiku in North America” by Yvonne Hardenbrook

• “A Pre-Electronic View of the World” by Paul O. Williams

#29, Summer 1996

• “Forms in English Haiku” by Keiko Imaoka

#30, Autumn 1996

• “That Art Thou: An Interview with James W. Hackett” by John Budan