Haiku Society of America

Haiku Society of America Region

This region includes Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah.

The Southwest region has relatively few haiku poets over its large area, but a few of its poets can claim to have significant influence on haiku poetry.

Santa Fe, New Mexico was for many years the home of Elizabeth Searle Lamb, charter member and former president of the Haiku Society of America, and longtime edit of the society’s flagship journal, Frogpond. Santa Fe was also home to William J. Higginson, another HSA charter member and former president, and his wife, Penny Harter, also a former president. Together, these poets have had a huge impact on English-language haiku, especially Higginson with his landmark books: The Haiku Handbook (originally published in 1985, and now available in a 25th anniversary edition), The Haiku Seasons, and Haiku World (both 1996). New Mexico is also home to haiku pioneer John Brandi, and has also recently become the home of Charles Trumbull’s journal Modern Haiku, the oldest and most prestigious journal for haiku and haiku studies outside Japan.

In Texas, the Fort Worth Haiku Society was founded by Cliff Roberts. The group held events for many years, including hosting a national quarterly meeting of the Haiku Society of America. In 2012 they took part in National Haiku Poetry Day. They also hosted a HSA  Quartely meeting last year. They also host a quarterly FWHS Haiku contest, sponsored a Poetry Society of Texas haiku contest.

The Austin Haiku Group was founded in 2019 by Agnes Eva Savich and continues bimonthly meetings in the Austin area.

If you would like more information about haiku activity in the region, please contact the Southwest regional coordinator.

Regional Links

Elizabeth Searle Lamb
http://americanhaikuarchives.org/curators/
ElizabethSearleLamb.html

William J. Higginson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J_Higginson

Cliff T. Roberts
Texoma Haiku Society

Southwest Region Haiku Anthology

An anthology of haiku by Southwest Region members, A Charm of Finches (The RoadRunner Press, 2022), edited by Agnes Eva Savich, features beautiful regional artwork by ten of the poets in addition to haiku by 36 poets from Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. It can be purchased on Amazon, or direct from the editor, Agnes Savich.

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