William J. Higginson (December 17, 1938 – October 11, 2008) was an American

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 wri ...

, translator and author most notable for his work with

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 s ...

and

renku , or , is a Japanese form of popular collaborative linked verse poetry. It is a development of the older Japanese poetic tradition of ''ushin'' renga, or orthodox collaborative linked verse. At renku gatherings participating poets take turns provi ...

, born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He was one of the charter members of the

Haiku Society of America The Haiku Society of America is a non-profit organization composed of haiku poets, editors, critics, publishers and enthusiasts that promotes the composition and appreciation of haiku in English. Founded in 1968, it is the largest society dedicat ...

, and was present at its formation meeting in 1968.

Life

Higginson attended

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

, then joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

, and was sent by them to study

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, where his interest in haiku began.

Career

He served for two years at

Misawa Air Base is an air base of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), List of United States Air Force installations, the United States Air Force, and the United States Navy located in Misawa, Aomori, Misawa, Aomori Prefecture, Aomori, in the northern p ...

in Japan in the early 1960s. Upon return to the US he completed his undergraduate studies, obtaining a BA in English at

Southern Connecticut State College Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is g ...

in 1969.Biographical Notes
on Renku Home He edited ''Haiku Magazine'' from 1971 to 1976, and ran the literary ''From Here Press'', which published titles by several well-known authors, including

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

, Elizabeth Searle Lamb, and

Ruth Stone Ruth Stone (June 8, 1915 – November 19, 2011) was an award-winning American poet. Life and poetry Stone was born in Roanoke, Virginia and lived there until age 6, when her family moved back to her parents' hometown of Indianapolis, Indian ...

Legacy

Higginson's experience in Japan led him to conclude "the 17 sound structure of Japanese haiku did not translate into 17 syllables in English" and in his translations therefrom stressed more upon "the order of images, the grammar between them (or lack thereof) and the psychological effect of the poems". Higginson's aim was to "bring haiku, full bore into the heat of our own time and place" and make it "a contemporary living art" whilst still remembering that "in Japan they talk of composing haiku rather than writing them". The primary purpose of reading and writing haiku, Higginson thought, "was in sharing moments of our lives that have moved us, pieces of experience that we offer or share as gifts".Higginson, William J. Introduction, ''Haiku Handbook.'' McGraw Hill, 1985.

Major works

His three major works, ''The Haiku Handbook'' (1985), ''Haiku World'' (1996), and ''The Haiku Seasons'' (1996), all continue to sell well with internet booksellers, while ''The Haiku Handbook'' is one of the most widely read English-language haiku books.Swede, George
''William J. Higginson, 1938-2008''
in Simply Haiku, Winter 2008

Bibliography

* ''Itadakimasu: Essays on haiku and senryu in English''. J & C Transcripts, 1971 * ''Cycing Paterson: a Haiku / Senryu Sequence''. Seer Ox, 1974 * ''Christmas night in Paterson''. From Here Press, 1975 * ''Don't you build your highway here''. From Here Press, 1975 * ''Thistle Brilliant Morning: Translations from the Japanese'' (translator). From Here Press, 1975 * ''Eastrie''. From Here Press, 1975 * ''Used poems'' (with Penny Harter). Winter Solstice, 1978 * ''Union County literature today'' (with Penny Harter). From Here Press, 1980 * ''Death Is & Approaches to the Edge''. From Here Press, 1981 * ''Paterson Pieces: Poems 1969-1979''. Old Plate Press, 1981 * ''The big waves : Meisetsu, Shiki, Hekigotō, Kyoshi, Hakyō'' (translator). Fanwood, 1989 * ''The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku'' (with Penny Harter). McGraw-Hill, 1985 * ''The Healing''. From Here Press, 1986 * ''Ten years' collected haiku : volume 1''. From Here Press, 1987 * ''Seasoned haiku : a report on haiku selected by the seasons for publication in Frogpond in 1990, with an invitation to participate''. Fanwood, 1990 * ''Wind in the Long Grass: A Collection of Haiku'' (an anthology for children). Simon & Schuster, 1991 * ''Met on the Road: A Transcontinental Haiku Journal''. Press Here, 1993 * ''Haiku Compass: Directions in the Poetical Map of the United States of America''. Haiku International Association, 1994 * ''Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac''. Kodansha, 1996 * ''The Haiku Seasons: Poetry of the Natural World''. Kodansha, 1996 * ''The seasons in haikai''. Irvington Press, 1996 * ''Red Fuji: Selected Haiku of Yatsuka Ishihara'' (translator with Tadashi Kondō). From Here Press, 1997 * ''Over the Wave: Selected Haiku of Ritsuo Okada'' (translator). From Here Press, 2001 * ''Kiyose: Seasonword Guide''. From Here Press, 2005 * ''A Summer Surgery / Waiting'' (with Penny Harter). From Here Press, 2005 * ''Sixty instant messages to Tom Moore'' (with Paul Muldoon and Lee Gurga). Modern Haiku Press, 2005 * ''Butterfly Dreams: The Seasons through Haiku and Photographs'' CD-ROM with photographs by Michael Lustbader, 2006 * ''Surfing on Magma''. From Here Press, 2006 * ''4 Sequences''. From Here Press, 2007

Grants, awards, and other recognitions

* Member, Selection Committee for the ''

Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Awards The Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Awards, named after the founder of modern Japanese haiku, were established on the principles set forth in the Matsuyama Declaration, adopted at the Shimanamikaido '99 Haiku Convention in Matsuyama held in Sept ...

in International Haiku'',

Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Tok ...

Culture Foundation, Japan (2000, 2002, 2004). * Honorary Curator, American Haiku Archive, California State Library, Sacramento, California, USA (2003–2004). *

Merit Book Award for translation (with Tadashi Kondō), for ''Red Fuji: Selected Haiku of Yatsuka Ishihara'' (1998). * Translation Grant,

Witter Bynner Harold Witter Bynner (August 10, 1881 – June 1, 1968), also known by the pen name Emanuel Morgan, was an American poet and translator. He was known for his long residence in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and association with other literary figures the ...

Foundation for Poetry (1994). * Inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame (1989). * Member, Governor's Task Force on Literacy in the Arts, a New Jersey Educational Commission (1987–1989). * Haiku Society of America Merit Book Award for Textbook/Scholarly Work (with Penny Harter), for ''The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku'' (1986). * Writing Fellowship in Poetry,

New Jersey State Council on the Arts The New Jersey State Council on the Arts was founded in 1966 to support artistic activities in the state of New Jersey. It is funded by the New Jersey State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Art ...

(1977). * Haiku Society of America Merit Book Award for critical writing, for ''Itadakimasu: Essays on Haiku and Senryu in English'' (1974, one of the first Merit Book Awards). * Prize for Best Haiku of the Meeting, Haiku Society of America (May 1969): :The clock :: chimes, chimes and stops, ::: but the river . . .

References

Autobiographical notes

External links

Higginson's ''Renku Home'' website

Finding aid to William J. Higginson papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higginson, William J. 1938 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American poets English-language haiku poets Poets from New Jersey Japanese–English translators American Japanologists 21st-century American poets 20th-century American translators 21st-century American translators American male poets 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers