Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Follow to get new release updates and improved recommendations
About Michael Dylan Welch
Customers Also Bought Items By
Are you an author?
Help us improve our Author Pages by updating your bibliography and submitting a new or current image and biography.
Author Updates
-
-
Blog postTo end the year on what I hope is a high note I’m pleased to announce a varied selection of additions to Graceguts. Most significant are two introductions and an afterword, on the Introductions page. From Seabeck Reunion, the tenth anniversary Seabeck Haiku Getaway anthology, comes my “Joining the Reunion” introduction and “Ten Years of Seabeck Haiku Getaways” afterword, the latter an extensive historical description of each of the first ten retreats. And from Dance into the World, the twentieth
-
Blog postThree new additions to Graceguts. The first is “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by W. B. Yeats, newly added to the Poems by Others page (our family home in Watford, England, was called Innisfree). The second is “Living Among Lions,” my introduction to Lysa Collins’ A Breath of Africa haiku collection, just added to the Introductions page. The third is that I’ve added years of publication to the Press Here Catalog page, available through Press Here, along with a few othe
-
Blog postNew to the Commentary page are two new observations on my haiku. First, Dhugal Linday comments on my “end of the year” poem in his Haiku Classic column on the Mainichi website in Japan. Second, Nicholas Klacsanzky comments on my “scattered petals” poem in his Haiku Commentary column. I’ve also added my most recent trifold, “Knight Moves,” to the Trifolds and Trifold Downloads pages. And for a little extra, on the Digressions page, look for a second video on the Thomas on Violin page, in which my
-
Blog postA new bevy of additions for you. On the Essays page, look for “In the Eye of the Beholder: Haiku Interpretation,” just published in Blithe Spirit. New to the Collaborations page is “Lilt of the Skylark,” a kasen renku I contributed to during the August 2019 Haiku North America conference. On the Sortable Book List page, which lists many of my books, I’ve added data for a new Publisher column. And on the Memorial Haiku page, I’ve added a new poem from the late Carol Purington, and have also added
-
Blog postNew on the Rengay page are “Tango” from the 2017 Seabeck Haiku Getaway anthology (Seabeck Reunion) and “Forgotten” from 2018 anthology (Sound of a Leaf). On the Rengay Essays page, also look for “Rengay,” a short overview of the form by Garry Gay, also from the 2018 anthology. On the Memorial Haiku page I’ve added a new poem for Winona Baker. And on the Books page, I’ve listed two new anthologies I’ve edited: Seabeck Reunion and the 2020 Tanka Society of America members’ anthology, Dance into th
-
Blog postTwo new additions to the Haibun page are “My Favourite Movie” and “Wake-Up Call” (the latter with tanka), both recently published in Contemporary Haibun Online. Meanwhile, on the Books page, I’ve added cover images for my books Lighting a Candle, Seeing Stars, and Dandelion Wind. And don’t blink, or you’ll miss it: I’ve added Aykyak and Niksen to Nothing.
-
Blog postThere’s a new left-nav item in town. It’s a sparkly new Videos page, featuring various YouTube videos in which I’m reading poems, leading workshops, or emceeing readings. Check it out! And also explore a new addition to the Reviews page, “Takuboku and Bokusui,” recently published in Ribbons. And, from the same publication, my Tanka Society of America “President’s Message,” available through the Reports page. I’ve also added a new message of support at the end of the Your Thoughts page.
-
Blog postRecent additions to Graceguts include an essay, a sequence, a rengay, and some miscellaneous revisions. On the Essays page, look for “Ringing the Bell: Learning Haiku from Mary Ruefle,” the fourteenth in my unfolding series of “Learning From” essays, this one equating haiku to the sound of a bell. Inspired by this essay, I also collected various bell-themed haiku together in “Clear as a Bell,” added to the Haiku and Senryu page. And on the Rengay page, please find “Rooftops,” a Scandinavian-them
-
Blog postIn this week of political change, I offer some not-so-political changes for Graceguts. On my “How to Respond to a Haiku” poem, available through the Poems and Poems About Haiku pages, I’ve added photos of the Ars Poetica at BARN catalog from a recent gallery exhibit at which this poem was featured with a fiber art interpretation, and have also added artist statements that were shared at the exhibit opening. On the Rengay page, look for “Come One, Come All,” written with Margaret Rutley and Sidne
-
Blog postNewly added to my Books listings is Vitreous Humor, my third new ebook of “hydrogen jukebox” poems, just published in PDF form by Bones. You can also read the introduction, “Who Knows?”
hydrogen jukebox
for all the words
in China -
Blog postI’ve had the privilege of presenting my “Going Nowhere” essay as a PowerPoint show to many haiku group meetings and conferences around the world this year (via Zoom, that is). At the recent Japan Writers Conference, a stimulating discussion emerged regarding the notion of escapism and the haiku poet’s possible responsibility towards social activism in haiku. New to “Going Nowhere: Learning Haiku from Pico Iyer,” available through the Essays page, is a substantial new postscript that se
-
Blog postA few miscellaneous additions to Graceguts recently. On the Poems About Haiku page, look for an untitled poem by Tom Raworth, and an untitled poem by Thomas A. Clark, plus “Rules for Poetry” by Rick Lupert. On the Memorial Haiku page, I’ve added a poem for vincent tripi, who died in August of 2020 (I had originally written the poem for him in 1999, but it seems fitting now too). There’s a new “haiga” on the Haiga with Other Artists page, with a poem of mine from a quilt made by Linda Coe. On the
-
Blog postNew to the Haibun page is “A Lull in Shiki’s Winter,” the twelfth of my “Historical Haibun.” On the Haibun page, I’ve also shuffled around some of the haibun and created three new categories to house them: “Personal Stories Haibun,” “Creative Haibun,” and “Sort-of Haibun.” Also look for a new commentary by Dave Bacharach and Thelma Mariano on a tanka of mine at “Down the Distant Mountain,” available through the Essays page. In addition, I’ve added a new poem to the “NeverEnding Story” page (“cra
-
Blog postFour of my poems were recently translated into Portuguese and published in Afagando a Face de Lorca [Stroking Lorca’s Face], an anthology edited and translated by Francisco José Craveiro de Carvalho, published in 2020. These are the four poems, where you can also read the translations: “A bird,” “Iraqi Boys,” “at a station,” and “Message in a Bottle.” And new to the Haibun page is “Kite,” originally written in 2003 but just published in 2020 in Scott Mason’s Gratitude in the Time of COVID
-
Blog postLook for a few smaller adjustments and additions to Graceguts this week. I’ve added a new postscript to “The Seed of Wonder: An Antidote to Haiku Inflation” on the Essays page, added the 2018 Japan Fair video (in which I make a short cameo) to “Haiku Invitational” on the Digressions page, and added a 2020 event photo to my poem “How to Respond to a Haiku” on the Haiku and Senryu page. On “Camp Glenwood Comments and Poems” look for the new section of “More Poems,” resulting from a haiku
-
Blog postNew to the Essays page is “The Anthologist and Bogus Haiku” (plus a new postscript), which recently appeared in Wales Haiku Journal—my response to the haiku content in Nicholson Baker’s poetic novel. The same journal also published a haiku sequence of mine, which you can now read as “More Northwest Plants and Flowers” on the Haiku and Senryu page. What’s more, they also published my “12 neon buddhas” photo-haiga—look for the link on the Haiga page. And new on the Haibun page is “Mercy Street”&nb
-
Blog postI’ve had my essay “The Weather-Beaten Jizō: Shikoku Pilgrimage Haiku by Shūji Niwano” on Graceguts for almost four years now, but never blogged about it. That was because I wanted to add a selection of photos and a map to the essay before announcing it. I’ve now made those additions and I’m pleased to point your browsers to this extensive new addition on my Essays page. These poems, originally translated in 2009, constitute the jisei or death haiku of Shūji Niwano, written while completing the S
-
Blog postThe world didn’t have enough poems about Japanese haiku master Chiyo-ni, so I wrote one, and recently had it published in the British Haiku Society journal Blithe Spirit. Check out “Flow,” just added to the Poems About Haiku page. Two more additions to the same page are “Bashō” and “February 3” by Campbell McGrath. And check out “Birthdays Shared,” written with Alan S. Bridges, newly added to the Rengay page.
-
Blog postLots of new poems just added. On the Poems page, look for “Unbecoming,” which I recently published in Solitary Plover. On the Poems About Haiku page you’ll find three pieces by Lorine Niedecker: “Alliance” and “Bashō,” of which the second seems to be a revision of the first, and an untitled poem about Bashō. And on the Poems by Others page, look for two new favourites: “Ox Cart Man” by Donald Hall and “Let Evening Come” by Jane Kenyon. In addition, I’ve added “Captain Haiku’s Secret Hideout” as
-
Blog postNew to the Poems About Haiku page are three poems by the late David Budbill about haiku. They are “Haiku and Tanka for Shrike,” “Making a Poem by Quoting Issa,” and an untitled poem (“Pare everything down to almost nothing”). And see also “What Issa Heard,” which I’d posted some time ago. In addition, look for thirteen more Budbill poems about haiku in “After the Haiku of Yosa Buson,” selections from his book of the same name. Budbill abounds!
-
Blog postChanges are afoot with Google Sites, necessitating a hefty migration and redesign. In anticipation of that, I’m starting to move some of my other sites, and will soon have to move Graceguts (no small undertaking). In one case, for my old poetry journal, Tundra: The Journal of the Short Poem, I’ve decided to move all its content from a standalone website here to Graceguts. Check out the new top-level page for Tundra, plus numerous subpages. In addition, I’ve added “Drinking Wine” by Tao Yuanming
-
Blog postOn the Haibun page, I’ve just added “35 Courtlands Drive, Watford,” recently published in Contemporary Haibun Online. After my essay “Going Nowhere: Learning Haiku from Pico Iyer,” on the Essays page, look for nine new poems at the end, under the heading of “A Few More Nowhere Poems.” And on the Digressions page, check out “Street-Guided Meditation,” a short film by Noam Oren from 2016 that features one of my haiku.
-
Blog postAlthough I’ll be losing income from some of the following cancelled events (also listed on my Appearances page), I feel fortunate that this is not my livelihood, so I know the current situation of arts cancellations is much worse for others. And it’s even worse for arts organizations (not to mention other businesses) that are losing significant revenues at this time. The following cancellations, for me, are in addition to monthly meetings of SoulFood Poetry Night and the Redmond Association of S
-
Blog postIt’s not often I add a new essay to the Essays page, especially a previously unpublished one. But I’ve just added one such new addition, “Lorraine Ellis Harr’s ISN’Ts of Haiku.” I’ve appended her memorable and provocative haiku checklist with my own commentary. I agree in some cases, take issue in other cases, and generally raise questions and try to broaden the issues she raises. Since Harr first published her checklist in the mid 1970s, much has changed in English-language haiku, yet much
-
Blog postIn 1999 and 2001 I published issues of Tundra: The Journal of the Short Poem. I’ve just added the introductions for issue #1 and issue #2 to the Essays page. I look forward to the day when I might be able to resurrect Tundra, as it immediately found a strong audience and was well supported by submissions and subscriptions—and it continues to receive inquiries, submissions, and even subscription payments ten years later. It was also a pleasure to publish some of the leading poets from the Un
-
Blog postI just came across a flyer of text I wrote in 1995 to promote the formation of the American Haiku Archives at the California State Library in Sacramento. I’ve just added this essay, “Striking Gold: The American Haiku Archive,” to the Essays page. This document, shared with many key members and officers of the Haiku Society of America, helped to persuade the society to make the California State Library its official archives. The American Haiku Archives held its inauguration event on 12 July
Books By Michael Dylan Welch
More Information
Anything else? Provide feedback about this page
