Old Form, New Form: The Elegant and Elastic Reprisal of the Haibun

Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694), who popularized the haiku in 17th century Japan, also created a prosimetric form known as the haibun. In contemporary American poetry, the haibun is enjoying an exciting upsurge in popularity and innovation, as reflected in the work of poets like Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Tamiko Beyer, Brenda Hillman, and Maureen Seaton. This workshop will introduce writers to the haibun and several examples of its variants, including stacked, inverted, and “burning” (created by torrin a. greathouse) versions. After reading and considering multiple haibun, participants will have a chance to write and share. 

This workshop is suitable for all levels of writers.

Join Julie Marie Wade in this upcoming workshop!

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Born and raised in Seattle, Julie Marie Wade completed a Master of Arts in English at Western Washington University, a Master of Fine Arts in Poetry at the University of Pittsburgh, and a PhD in Interdisciplinary Humanities with a creative nonfiction dissertation at the University of Louisville. Her most recent collections include The Mary Years (Texas Review Press, 2024), selected by Michael Martone for the 2023 Clay Reynolds Novella Prize, Fisk, By Analogy (CutBank Prose Chapbook Series, 2025), The Latest: 20 Ghazals for 2020 (Harbor Editions, 2025), co-authored with Denise Duhamel, and the memoir Other People’s Mothers (University Press of Florida, 2025). A finalist for the National Poetry Series and a winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir, Wade is Professor of English & Creative Writing at Florida International University in Miami. Her newest poetry collection, Quick Change Artist (Anhinga Press, 2025), was selected by Octavio Quintanilla for the 2023 Anhinga Prize in Poetry and received the silver medal for poetry at the 2026 Florida Book Awards.

MEETING INFORMATION

This program will be presented at our upcoming PST meeting, to be held August 8, 2026, from 2:00-4:00 pm Eastern / 1:00-3:00 pm Central via Zoom. Members will be provided a link a few days prior. If you are interested in learning more about PST, check out our website. If you’d like to attend our meeting as a guest, contact us at poetrytennessee@gmail.com.