Haiku Society of America

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Haiku Society of America 2022
National Virtual Conference

the conference was Saturday, June 4 & Sunday, June 5, 2022

Most of the presentations at the 2022 HSA Virtual National Conference are now available on YouTube. Here are the links to each:

HSA Virtual Conference 2022

Please see all of the Haiku Society of America videos on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoWrz8ICDzS30J335UHj1Fg

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Here are two sample video presentations:

David G. Lanoue - Poetry in English: How Renku Changed Everything

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpskEKkgXr0

Early in the twentieth century Ezra Pound discovered hokku: the specially constructed starting verse of renga that was already in Japan (thanks to Shiki) morphing into the one-verse art of haiku. Pound’s encounter with hokku revolutionized English-language poetry. Before he met hokku, verse in England and in English-speaking countries was more linear, more chronological, more discursive, more abstract, more verbose, and more locked inside prison of strict meter. After Pound’s encounter with Japanese hokku, English-language poetry became (on the whole) less linear, less time-bound, more evocative, more imagistic, more concise, and much freer in its meter. This presentation will show how the aesthetic assumptions and Buddhist philosophy embodied in renga made modern Anglo-American poetry possible

Agnes Eva Savich - Mining Your Past: Haiku from Childhood, Homeland, and Previous Writings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21I2THRPczo

Childhood, cultural roots, early writings can all feed our modern haiku practice, when we delve into our own archives: old photographs, family history, and journals. Through the lens of my own childhood in Poland, cultural family traditions, and some early writings, I will show how one's own history and unique cultural memories act as source material for your current writing. Examples from other writers will support these concepts, as well as writing exercises in which you consider your own archives in these three areas for inspiration.

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Haiku Society of America
Mentorship Program Anthology

The Haiku Society of America is pleased to announce the publication of The Unexpected Weight: The Haiku Society of America Mentorship Program Anthology 2021, edited by Jay Friedenberg. Design and layout by Ignatius Fay.

Each poem in this anthology was chosen by the instructors (mentors) of the groups based on a selection submitted to them from the individual students (mentees). Each participating student member has three poems published in this anthology. These poems may be either published or unpublished. If they are published, the reference information for the publication or contest is provided.

See a sample of haiku by writers from the Mentorship Program Anthology.

From the introduction:

It has been a pleasure to organize and see this vibrant community of haiku poets develop. My thanks go out to the mentors for your dedication to the craft and for expending the necessary time and energy. Congratulations to the mentees also for your interest and participation, and to the HSA Executive Committee for approving and providing financial support to this venture. The increase in talent over the last year and a half has been like watching a garden blossom and grow. May this garden thrive and bear fruit for many years to come!

Jay Friedenberg President, Haiku Society of America

Requests for information about the program or to join may be sent to: jay.friedenberg@gmail.com