The British Haiku Society (BHS) was formed in 1990 and aims to promote

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 to teach and publish

Haiku in English A haiku in English is an English-language poem written in the Japanese poetry style known as haiku, which correlates the two languages. The degree to which haiku in English resemble classic Japanese haiku varies, but many of these poems draw on sh ...

Activities

The BHS holds an Annual Haiku Award. From the 1990s until 2004 the Society also offered a Sasakawa Prize. In 1992 the BHS published ''The Haiku Hundred'', an anthology of

haiku in English A haiku in English is an English-language poem written in the Japanese poetry style known as haiku, which correlates the two languages. The degree to which haiku in English resemble classic Japanese haiku varies, but many of these poems draw on sh ...

to bring haiku to the attention of UK readers. In 2009, the then president of the society, Annie Bachini, complained about the quality of haiku being submitted to a haiku string competition where the winning entries, which were flashed on a screen at London King's Cross railway station, were judged by

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

and Jackie Kay. The London Haiku Group meets under the auspices of the BHS and covers London and the South East of England.

Publications

Journal

The journal of the BHS is ''Blithe Spirit'', which was named in honour of

Reginald Horace Blyth Reginald Horace Blyth (3 December 1898–28 October 1964) was an English writer and devotee of Japanese culture. He is most famous for his writings on Zen and on haiku poetry. Early life Blyth was born in Essex, England, the son of a railway c ...

and is currently edited by Iliyana Stoyanova. Haiku appearing in ''Blithe Spirit'' regularly feature in those recognised as being among the top 100 best haiku by European haijan (haiku poets). Contributors to ''Blithe Spirit'' have included the late

Raymond Roseliep Raymond Roseliep (August 11, 1917 – December 6, 1983) was a poet and contemporary master of the English haiku and a Catholic priest. He has been described as "the John Donne of Western haiku." Early life Born on August 11, 1917, in Farl ...

, American haiku poet and publisher

Jim Kacian James Michael Kacian (born July 26, 1953) is an American haiku poet, editor, publisher, and public speaker. He has lived in London, Nashville, Bridgton (Maine) and now resides in Winchester, Virginia. Life and brief chronology Kacian was born i ...

, American haiku poets

Cor van den Heuvel Cor Van den Heuvel (born March 6, 1931) is an American haiku poet, editor and archivist. Biography Van den Heuvel was born in Biddeford, Maine, and grew up in Maine and New Hampshire. He lives on Long Island near his niece and still spends time w ...

an
Michael Dylan Welch
British haiku poet Roger Watson and Ulster poet Maeve O'Sullivan. The BHS also produce a newsletter ''The Brief'' edited by David Bingham. *British Haiku Society ''Blithe Spirit: Journal of the British Haiku Society''

Books

*Kirkup J, Cobb D, Mortimer P (Eds.) (1992) ''The Haiku Hundred'' Iron Press, Manchester *Cobb D (Ed.) (1994) ''The Genius of Haiku: Readings from R H Blyth on Poetry, Life, and Zen'' British Haiku Society, *Cobb D, Lucas M (Edis.) (1998) ''The Iron Book of British Haiku'' Iron Press, Manchester *Lucas M (2007) ''Stepping Stones: A Way Into haiku'' British Haiku Society, *Hugh G (Ed.) (2015) ''A Silver Tapestry: The Best of 25 Years of Critical Writing from the British Haiku Society'' British Haiku Society, *Stoyanova I (Ed.) (2017) ''EKPHRASIS: The British Haiku Society Members' Anthology 2017'' British Haiku Society, *Shimield A (Ed.) (2018) ''wild: the british haiku society anthology 2018'' British Haiku Society, *Bingham D, Stoyanove I (Eds.) (2019) ''where silence becomes song: International Haiku Conference Anthology'' British Haiku Society, *Blundell C, Stoyanova I, Bingham D (Eds.) (2019) ''HARMONY WITHIN DIVERSITY: A collection of papers delivered at the International Haiku Conference in St Albans, UK 31 May - 2 June 2019'' British Haiku Society, *Hall KB (Ed.) (2019) ''Root: The British Haiku Society Members' Anthology 2019'' British Haiku Society, A picture taken of the cover of the Haiku Hundred book

A picture taken of the cover of the Haiku Hundred book

Recognition

The BHS is listed in the ''International Who's Who in Poetry''. The role of the BHS in the development of haiku in the UK has been recognised by the International Academic Forum (IAFOR) who sponsor the annual IAFOR Vladimir Devidé Haiku Award.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://britishhaikusociety.org.uk/ Poetry organizations Haiku Literary magazines published in the United Kingdom 1990 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1990