The Haiku Society of America is a non-profit organization composed of

haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a '' kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a '' kigo'', or ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or gover ...

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

s and

enthusiast In modern usage, enthusiasm refers to intense enjoyment, interest, or approval expressed by a person. The term is related to playfulness, inventiveness, optimism and high energy. The word was originally used to refer to a person possessed by G ...

s that promotes the composition and appreciation of haiku in English. Founded in 1968, it is the largest society dedicated to haiku and related forms of poetry outside Japan, and holds meetings, lectures, workshops, readings, and contests, throughout the United States. The society's journal, ''Frogpond'', first published in 1978, appears three times a year. As of 2022, the HSA has over 1,000 members.

Activities

The HSA web site includes information on how to get involved with its regional chapters, as well as information on contests, society meetings, and publications including ''Frogpond''. The society also publishes a monthly email newsletter with news on regional, national, and international haiku events. The Haiku Society of America is well known for its annual contests for haiku, senryū, haibun, renku, and renga, as well as the Merit Book Awards for the best haiku books published each year.

History

The Haiku Society of America was founded in 1968 by

Harold G. Henderson Harold Gould Henderson (1889–1974) was an American academic, art historian and Japanologist. He was a Columbia University professor for twenty years. From 1948 through 1952, he was the President of the Japan Society in New York, Henderson, H ...

and Leroy Kanterman in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and was the first formal organization dedicated to haiku outside of Japan. Twenty-one charter members attended its first meeting. Bringing together poets study, discuss, and write haiku, the organization's stated goals were to: * promote the creation and appreciation of haiku and related forms (

haibun is a prosimetric literary form originating in Japan, combining prose and haiku. The range of ''haibun'' is broad and frequently includes autobiography, diary, essay, prose poem, short story and travel journal. History The term "''haibun''" was ...

, haiga, renku,

senryū is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 (or , often translated as syllables, but see the article on for distinctions). tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature, and a ...

, sequences, and

tanka is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. Etymology Originally, in the time of the '' Man'yōshū'' (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to distinguish "short ...

) among its members and the public * foster association, friendship, communication and mutual support among haiku poets in the United States and around the world Early members included Nicholas A. Virgilio, Elizabeth Searle Lamb, L.A. Davidson, Virginia Brady Young, Alan Pizzarelli, and Anita Virgil. American poet Cor van den Heuvel first attended a meeting in 1971. Annual readings and lectures featured translators such as

Cid Corman Cid (Sidney) Corman (June 29, 1924 – March 12, 2004) was an American poet, translator and editor, most notably of ''Origin'', who was a key figure in the history of American poetry in the second half of the 20th century. Life Corman was bor ...

Donald Keene Donald Lawrence Keene (June 18, 1922 – February 24, 2019) was an American-born Japanese scholar, historian, teacher, writer and translator of Japanese literature. Keene was University Professor emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japane ...

, and Hiroaki Sato, as well as speakers from Japan including scholar Kenkichi Yamamoto, and haiku poet Sumio Mori. For a period, the official magazine of the society was called ''Haiku West'', and was edited by Leroy Kanterman. In the early 1970s, the Haiku Society of America formed a committee to agree on a definition of haiku, which they submitted to the publishers of several English dictionaries, and became the first widely accepted definition, which has continued to be revised over the years. In 1975, HSA held sessions focusing on

renga ''Renga'' (, ''linked verse'') is a genre of Japanese collaborative poetry in which alternating stanzas, or ''ku (''句), of 5-7-5 and 7-7 mora (sound units, not to be confused with syllables) per line are linked in succession by multiple poets. ...

, and published the 36-verse kasen format in its newsletter. By 1989, the society had a few hundred members located throughout North America, Europe, and Japan, and was publishing a quarterly magazine, with no paid staff. In 1994, the society produced ''A Haiku Path'', an important work documenting the history of Western haiku. ''Frogpond'' was one of the two most prominent haiku journals, along with ''Modern Haiku'', and many poets were published in both. In 1996 and 1997, the Haiku Society of America and the Haiku International Association held reciprocal conferences in Chicago and Tokyo. By 1997, HSA membership had grown to 700, having more than doubled in the space of 12 years. In 2014, it published ''Take-Out Window'', an anthology of 291 poems written by members.

Past presidents

From 1979 to 1981, Hiroaki Sato, a translator of Japanese poetry into English, served as president of the Haiku Society of America. Other past presidents have included poet, historian, and editor Elizabeth Searle Lamb; poet Cor van den Heuvel; poet Lee Gurga, a translator of contemporary Japanese poets and editor of ''Modern Haiku''; and John Stevenson, who was also an editor of ''Frogpond''.

References

External links

* *
Frogpond Journal
' {{Authority control Poetry organizations Haiku American writers' organizations

Activities

History

Past presidents

See also

References

Further reading

External links