We thought news of the Haiku North America Conference for 2025 would be of interest to our subscribers and our poets. Editor Jennifer Sutherland has recently returned from the 2025 conference and has sent us this report to include. Thank you, Jennifer Sutherland, for the report, and Michael Dylan Welch and Jennifer Sutherland for the photos.
For those keen to deep dive into all things haiku, Haiku North America (HNA) conferences are a treat. The conferences are held biannually celebrating haiku related studies, topics and community.
Haiku North America Conferences first originated in California with the first conference being held at Las Positas College, Livermore, California (not so far from San Francisco) in 1991.
The first directors were Garry Gay, Michael Dylan Welch, Jerry Ball, David Wright and Paul O Williams. Fortunately, Michael Dylan Welch and Garry Gay are still at the helm of HNA and contribute greatly to the success of every conference.
I was fortunate to attend this year’s conference in the heart of San Francisco held at the Holiday Inn Hotel.
The theme was “Discover” and the wide array of thought-provoking presentations, readings and discussion provided much to think about.
Poets from all over the states, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand gathered to enjoy talks, workshops, calligraphy sessions, writing exercises, late night rengay and renku sessions and reconnecting with old friends and new.
Evening renku/rengay session
Add on excursion events included a tour of the San Francisco Mission district murals. The area is famous for this art which first originated 1970 highlighting social and political matters including immigration, war and celebrating women’s achievements. The artwork was beautiful and the colours amazing.
The conference then commenced formally in the afternoon and early evening with a reception and a combined musical poetry session titled “Poems from the Last wild Place” performed by Renee Owen, Chuck Brickley and Stephanie Baker with musicians Mel Ellison ( keyboards) , Brian Foster ( shakuhachi) Agnes Eva Savich ( flute, jaw harp and ocarina) .
This was followed by the Welcome Speech by Michael Dylan Welch.
Winners of the HNA haiku contest were announced with winning entries published within fortune cookies which were handed out to attendees.
Regional Readings followed covering international attendees, first timers, East coast, Midwest and West coast regions of USA.
Over the course of the next four days, there was an array of presentations, readings, a book fair and a silent auction.
I wish I could have attended every presentation however several presentations were held consecutively and there were difficult choices to be made.
Personal highlights included:
Imagine That: Embracing the explorative in Haiku presented by Jennifer Hambrick.
Still Life with Oysters and Lemon: The Intimacy of Attention presented by Michaell Dylan Welch
Keynote Address: Thirteen Ways of looking at Haiku presented by Robert Hass
Mr Haiku – A lifetime of discovery (remembering Cor van den Heuvel) presented by Scott Mason
Anthropocene Haiku: In search of + presented by Jim Kacian
Scent, Emotion and Memory: A haiku writing Exercise presented by Billie Dee
The Modern Haiku Press haiku 21 anthology and Red Moon New Resonance readings.
Scott Mason presenting
Past Australian Haiku Society president, Cynthia Rowe, was remembered in the Memorial reading which celebrated the lives of haiku poets who have passed away since the prior HNA conference. This was very moving and a lovely tribute to all those who are no longer with us.
Cynthia Rowe remembered
A subject that I discussed with Jim Kacian, Founder of the Haiku Foundation was preservation of poets work and the assignment of copyright. Sadly, when poets pass away, there may be no family members or anyone who can be contacted to provide permission for publication. Without permission, publishers cannot reproduce the work.
The Haiku Foundation has an article on this on their website in relation to this matter and an assignment of copyright form is available for those who wish to assign their copyright to the Haiku Foundation.
I have provided the links below.
Policies & Code of Conduct – The Haiku Foundation
A three-course banquet dinner was held on Saturday night were poets talked, danced and socialised. The location of the next conference was revealed being Philadelphia.
On Sunday after final presentations, acknowledgments and farewells to poets, those of us still in town went on the last excursion which was a bay cruise taking in views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.
Poets enjoying cruise.
The conference went by amazingly fast and although sad to say goodbye to old friends and new, I returned home with an assortment of new haiku books and happy memories.
A full program of the conference is available to view here:
Photos.-Rengay/renku session – Michael Dylan Welch. All other photos – Jennifer Sutherland.
Echidna Tracks 
Wonderful report Jen 💞
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