On October 1 Seattle Japanese Garden welcomes Michael Dylan Welch of Haiku Society of America to lead an autumn themed haiku workshop as we celebrate the change of seasons.

Guests can attend one of two 85-minute sessions at 2:00pm and 3:30pm, respectively. These sessions will include classroom time to review the basic structure and poetic voice of haiku, a walk through the Garden and an opportunity to share the pieces you’ve composed with fellow participants. This is an excellent opportunity to learn haiku from an experienced and accomplished poet.

Michael Dylan Welch likes to be surprised by empathy and gratitude in haiku. He has been active with haiku for more than 40 years, and joined the Haiku Society of America in 1987. He founded his press, Press Here, in 1989, edited Woodnotes from 1989 to 1997, and Tundra from 1998 to 2001. He currently coedits First Frost and serves as haiku editor for Pulse: Voices from the Heart of Medicine. Michael cofounded the Haiku North America conference in 1991 and the American Haiku Archives in 1996, and founded the Seabeck Haiku Getaway in 2008 and National Haiku Writing Month (www.nahaiwrimo.com) in 2010. Michael has won first place in the Henderson, Brady, Drevniok, and Tokutomi haiku contests, among others, and his poems, essays, and reviews have appeared in hundreds of publications, translated into more than twenty languages. He served two terms as Redmond poet laureate, curates SoulFood Poetry Night, and is president of the Redmond Association of Spokenword. Michael has published 76 books, mostly haiku. His website, also devoted mostly to haiku, is www.graceguts.com.

Entry to the Garden is free 12:00pm - 5:00pm for Free First Thursday.

Made possible in part by support from 4Culture.