A Writer’s View of Haibun

Featured writers: Roberta Beary and Lew Watts

Haibun—the ancient Japanese form combining haiku and prose—has, over the past decades, been adopted and adapted by writers worldwide. Yet, despite its dynamic growth, much about the form remains misunderstood. In Haibun: A Writer’s Guide, three experienced editors and writers explore what goes into a good haibun and how its components (title, prose, haiku) connect to spark new insights and epiphanies. Two of those writers—Roberta Beary and Lew Watts—lead this discussion.

Book signing times (all signings take place in the First Floor Lobby of the library)
🖊️Roberta Beary: 2:30 – 2:50
🖊️Lew Watts: 2:30 – 2:50

FULL SCHEDULE

About the writers:

ROBERTA BEARY (they/she) identifies as gender fluid, and writes to connect with the silenced, to let them know they are not alone. After 60 rejections, their prose poem “After You Self Medicate with Roethke’s The Waking Read by Text to Speech App” won the Bridport Prize. Their work appears in The New York Times (Modern Love/Tiny Love Stories), Rattle, and 100 Word Story. The longtime haibun editor at Modern Haiku, she travels the world as Roving Ambassador for The Haiku Foundation.

LEW WATTS is the co-author, with Roberta Beary and Rich Youmans, of Haibun: A Writer’s Guide, the first definitive guide on the rapidly-growing haibun form. He is the haibun co-editor of Frogpond, the journal of the Haiku Society of America, and author of two haibun collections, Tick-Tock and Eira, the latter of which won a 2024 Touchstone Award and the HSA Award for Best Book of Haibun. Originally from Wales, he lives in Chicago.

Books by these writers:
VIEW FESTIVAL READING LIST [will link to blog post]

Haibun: A Writer’s Guide
by Roberta Beary, Lew Watts & Rich Youmans

Haibun: A Writer’s Guide, the first definitive book on haibun, one the most rapidly growing poetic forms in the English-speaking world. The authors also trace the history of English-language haibun, demonstrate the ways in which a haibun can resonate with readers, and illustrate how writers are pushing the boundaries of the form without losing its essence. With dozens of examples, resources, and writing prompts, Haibun: A Writer’s Guide will lead you to a new understanding and appreciation of this ever-evolving form.

Crazy Bitches
by Roberta Beary

Full-length collection by Roberta Beary, Touchstone Award-winning poet and long-time haibun editor at Modern Haiku, which includes 80 haibun selected from poems written over a 20-year period, 2004 through 2024. Four paintings by contemporary American artist Kevin Beary also appear in this collection, including Widow with Shawl on the cover.

Eira
by Lew Watts

“Eira is, quite simply, a brilliant collection. Eschewing a chronological narrative structure, it shifts from one haibun to the next using haiku to provide transition and surprising emotional turns. Through it all, Lew Watts’ wry sense of humor shines, and the way in which he shares even his most haunting experiences is nothing short of stunning.” —Tanya McDonald, Editor, Kingfisher