Haiku Northwest is an organization of haiku poets from the Puget Sound region of Washington State dedicated to celebrating and sharing the art of haiku poetry. The group was founded in 1988 by Francine Porad (1929-2006) to create community among haiku poets in the Pacific Northwest and serve as a network for information about local, national, and international haiku publication activity.
Haiku Northwest is the first and largest group to operate within the Haiku Society of America (HSA)'s Washington Region. Haiku Northwest became affiliated with the HSA in 1993, though it functions as an independent group. In 2000, Haiku Northwest won the first place Merit Book Award from the HSA for its anthology “To Find the Words." Haiku Northwest anthologies “Seeing Stars” (2009) and “No Longer Strangers” (2014) won the Merit Book Award and second place Merit Book Award, respectively. In 2024, Haiku Northwest published “Glimmering Hour," their 35th anniversary group anthology.
Haiku Northwest meets monthly, usually on the Eastside of Seattle. The group has no membership dues, and welcomes beginners and visitors to all events. In their meetings, haiku, as well as related poetry forms such as senryu, haibun, haiga, tanka, renku, and rengei are discussed and shared. Since 2008, Haiku Northwest has hosted its annual Seabeck Haiku Getaway in Seabeck, Washington. The group has also hosted national quarterly meetings of the HSA, and members of Haiku Northwest have organized Haiku North America conferences.
Following the initial leadership of Francine Porad from 1988-1992, Haiku Northwest was led from 1993-2013 by an elected regional coordinator (serving a 1-3 year term) who also functioned as regional coordinator for the HSA's entire Northwest Region (1993-2006) or Washington Region (2007-2013). In 2014, Haiku Northwest voted to elect a group of officers for leadership, and the role of HSA regional coordinator became separate from Haiku Northwest.
Sources: “Haiku Northwest,” Haiku Northwest. Accessed January 14, 2025.
“Washington Region,” Haiku Society of America. Accessed January 14, 2025.
“Welcome to the Gallery of Art and Poetry by Francine Porad,” Francine Porad. Accessed January 14, 2025.
Scrapbook by Mary Fran Meer documenting Haiku Northwest events from May 1993-August 1996; eleven numbered scrapbook posters collaged with photos and other ephemera, created by Connie Hutchinson and Marilyn Sandall in 2008. Ten posters were used as table toppers under glass at the Hugo House in Seattle when Haiku Northwest hosted a quarterly national meeting of the Haiku Society of America; the eleventh poster was added later. With the exception of the first poster, they feature an elected regional coordinator and the activities they organized during their tenure spanning the years 1993-2012.
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Donated by Constance Hutchinson, September 2024
Compiled by Mary Fran Meer, first regional coordinator. Documents Haiku Northwest events from May 1993-August 1996. Loose pages in the front include: 1. Photo of Mary Fran Meer displayed at Seabeck Getaway memorial (2019); Memorial service program (August 25, 2019); photo of Mary Fran Meer at her business, Heirloom Haus, on old Bellevue’s Main Street
Includes original Haiku North America Conference flyer and schedule/registration form (July 24-27, 1997)