Haiku Poets of Northern California

About Haiku Poets of Northern California

HPNC was formed in 1989 to further the writing, study, and appreciation of haiku and related genres of poetry written in English, which now include senryu, renku, rengay, tanka, and haibun. We hold meetings, sponsor readings, and publish haiku books with our own imprint, Two Autumns Press. Though most of our members live in the San Francisco and Northern California area, membership is open to anyone with an interest in haiku.

HPNC's members include both new and established writers, many of whom have had their work published in journals and anthologies throughout the world. We also welcome beginners.

HPNC publishes a quarterly newsletter, as well as Mariposa, a twice-yearly journal of haiku and related poetry, and also publishes occasional anthologies of haiku and senryu by members. We also hold annual contests for haiku, senryu, tanka, and rengay. You can see some of the recent Haiku Competition winners at the bottom of this page.

Meetings and Events:

HPNC holds four quarterly meeting each year, usually at Fort Mason in San Francisco ( http://www.fortmason.org/ click directions to find our meeting location). We usually hold our meetings on the third Sunday of every third month, starting in January. These meetings usually consist of a featured reader, a featured presentation or workshop related to haiku, rounds of open readings of haiku and tanka, news and announcements, socialization and refreshments, and book tables for the sale and purchase of HPNC and other books (bring your own publications if you have some to sell).

Everyone is welcome at no charge. You are invited to read your poems if you wish, and to participate in discussions and workshop activities, or to just listen. Whether you're new to haiku or a seasoned writer, you'll find something to benefit you at HPNC's quarterly meetings. HPNC also holds an annual holiday party in early December and sponsors a haiku reading featuring four of its members in the annual Two Autumns reading series at Fort Mason. For this year, HPNC's main events are as follows (all in San Francisco unless indicated otherwise)

Events from 2007

January 7th, 2007: The annual planning meeting at Fort Mason, Room C220 , 1 to 5 PM. All members are invited to attend and share ideas for the upcoming year.

January 21st, 2007: The first meeting for the year, at Fort Mason, Room, C235, from 1 to 5 PM. Paul O. Williams will be our featured reader.

April 1st, 2007: HPNC's third annual moon viewing party will take place in Golden Gate Park. For details contact Susan Antolin: antolin@astound.net

April, 22nd, 2007: The second meeting for the year , at Fort Mason, Room 235, from 1 to 5 PM. Cherrie Hunter Day will be our featured reader. Paul Watsky will speak on his recent translation work on Santoka.

July 22nd, 2007: The third meeting for the yeare, at Fort Mason, Room 235, from 1 to 5 PM, Presenations by David Grayson, Faye Aoyagi and featured reading by Roger Abe

Upcoming Calendar for 2007

September 30th, 2007: HPNC's Annual Two Autumns Event, Fort Mason, Room TBA, from 1 to 5 PM. This year the readers will be: Jerry Ball, Laura Bell, Mark Hollingsworth and Alison Woolpert. The host for the event will be Rich Krivcher and the chairperson will be Ebba Story. This will be the 18th year that this celebration has taken place. Don't miss this always pleasurable celebration of Haiku.

October 28th, 2007: The fourth meeting of the year, at Fort Mason, Room TBA, from 1 to 5 PM.

The 2007 San Francisco International Competition:

The guidelines for the 2005 competition have been posted: HPNC's 2007 Competition! If you'd like to see the kind of Haiku we enjoy you can look at the winning entries for the last few years, just click here

Submissions for Mariposa:

The submission deadline for the Spring/Summer issue of Mariposa is March 1st and for the Fall/Winter it is September 1st. We are looking for Haiku, senryu, tanka, haibun and short linked verse. We also encourage submission of brief articles (50 -400 words) focused on one aspect of haiku practice. Please submit unpublished work. Contest winning poems which have not been published in a book are also welcome. Also, line and gray-shade artwork suitable for reproduction within our 6" high by 4.5" wide perimeters is encouraged. Send submissions to Ebba Story, 478 Guerrero St. San Francisco, 94110 ( ebbastory@juno.com ) Postal submissions should include an SASE or email address for acceptance decisions.

Books For Sale, HPNC fundraiser:

HPNC has books for sale to help fund our activities: See the book list at HPNC Book Offers You may contact Ebba Story, ebbastory@juno.com, to arrange your purchases. Please make checks payable to HPNC, and enclose cash or stamps for postage. We have various books by Two Autumn's Press still available. We may have back issues of Mariposa, member's anthologies and the annual Two Autumn's chapbooks.

How to Join HPNC

Membership dues are just $15.00 per year, and entitle you to four quarterly newsletters plus two issues of Mariposa. All events are free to both members and nonmembers, but we do pass the hat to help defray rental costs at each meeting (such contributions are welcome but entirely optional). To join HPNC, you may use our membership application form . and send it to the membership secretary The renewal date is January 1st.

Then again, you could come to our next meeting or event with a check or money order payable in U.S. funds to "HPNC" (but you're welcome to attend without joining if you wish). Please note that HPNC is a volunteer, not-for-profit organization. Your contributions are encouraged. Join us today!

HPNC Officers for 2005

President: Garry Gay, photogarry@aol.com

Vice President: David Grayson, david_grayson@yahoo.com

Treasurer: Paul Miller, pauldmiller@fctvplus.net
............... ... 31 Seal Island Road Bristol, RI 02809

Membership Secretary: Carolyn Hall, Carolynhal@aol.com

Recording Secretary: Paul Williams , powms35@sbcglobal.net

Newsletter Editor: Susan Antolin, antolin@astound.net

Mariposa Editor: Ebba Story, ebbastory@juno.com

Web page : Dan Brady, creative1@creativeideasforyou.com

family reunion

--again explaining

what a haiku is

--Garry Gay

Comments Welcome!

Thanks for visiting the HPNC Web site. We'll be adding to the site periodically, so please visit again. If you have any comments or suggestions, contact Dan Brady Thanks! When writing Dan please put HPNC in the subject line of the email.

Visitors since 2004

Additional Resources

Mortgage Lender

A recent photo of HPNC folks...a friendly bunch if ever there was one!

Haiku Poets of Northern California

Haiku competition winners from 2000

1st Place: Carolyn Hall, San Francisco, CA

wildfire

the thermometer climbs

all night

2nd Place: Timothy Russell, Toronto, OH

morning rain -

an egg for my father

spreads in the skillet

3rd Place: Paul M., San Francisco, CA

pear slice falling

to the kitchen floor

pale moonlight

Haiku competition winners from 2002:

1st Place: John Stevenson, Ithaca, NY

new snow

the arc

the door makes

2nd Place: Ernest Berry , Picton, New Zealand

overnight rain

a reflection by the runway

levitates

3rd Place: Anne LB Davidson, Saco, ME

tree-filled swamp

the silent air

its own shade of green

Haiku competition winners from 2004:

1st Place: Beverly A. Tift, New Haven, CT

old steeple

a turban of pigeons

unwinds the hour

2nd Place: D. Claire Gallagher, Sunnyvale, California

sunflowers

the tube of cadmium yellow

squeezed flat

3rd Place: Ernest Berry , Picton, New Zealand

..... spring rain

the chameleon busy

..... being green

Haiku competition winners from 2006:

1st Place: Earl Keener, Bethany, West Virginia

mackerel sky

the final wave

before you board

2nd Place: Claire Gallagher, Sunnyvale, California

Hiroshima Day

cigarette-pack cellphphane

uncrumpling

3rd Place: Margaret Chula, Portland, Oregon

end of summer

my garden

one wheelbarrow

Haiku competition winners from 2001:

1st Place, D. Claire Gallagher, Sunnyvale, CA

redwood shade

a banana slug eating -

my worries

2nd Place: Ernest J. Berry, Picton, New Zealand

desert heat

the lizard disappears

into a snake

3rd Place: Karina Young, Salinas, CA

Twin towers

and yet the morning glory

blooms

Haiku competition winners from 2003:

1st Place: Laurie W. Stoelting, Mill Valley, CA

a phoebe's erratic flight

this canoe trip

won't settle anything

2nd Place: Christopher Herold, Port Townsend, WA

autumn sunset

the wake of a tugboat

sloshes ashore

3rd Place: W.F. Owen, Antelope, CA

Indian summer

rust on our hands

from the swing

Haiku competition winners from 2005:

1st Place: Carolyn Hall, San Francisco, California

autumn dusk -

a word that will do

for the one I can't find

2nd Place: Ernest J. Berry, Picton New Zealand

contractions -

the darkness

between stars

3rd Place, Carolyn Hall, San Francisco, California

a rack of antlers

nailed to the gatepost

lingering heat