Join the JASWDC Haiku Group!

led by haiku poet and author, Abigail Friedman

Experience the beauty of haiku and hone your haiku-writing skills at the Japan-America Society of Washington DC Haiku Group!

This haiku group, or kukai, provides a platform for writers of haiku to come together and develop their craft in a fun, friendly atmosphere. Following a format similar to that of Japanese haiku groups, participants will bring to the session three haiku poems in English that they have written beforehand.  The group then shares each haiku anonymously around the room without critique. Following this, each participant will select their favorites among all they have read on that day. As for the rest, come to the group to find out!

Led by esteemed haiku poet and author Abigail Friedman, the group meets once every two months. More details on how a kukai functions will be explained at the group itself.

LOCATION CHANGE: The group will meet at the JASWDC Office,
located at 1819 St. NW, Washington, DC 20036

REGISTER HERE!

Date: Saturday, May 30th, 2026

Time: 2:30 – 4:30 pm (ET)

Location: JASWDC Office,
1819 St. NW, Washington, DC 20036

REQUIREMENTS:

Haiku Theme (optional): Transitions: in the natural world, in your personal life, big changes, small changes, things visible and unseen

Number of Haiku (required): Please prepare & bring three (3) English-language haiku you have composed.

SCHEDULE:

2:30 pm -3:30 pm: Anonymous sharing of haiku

3:30 pm – 3:45 pm: break

3:45 pm – 4:30 pm: Presentation from guest lecturer Isaac Linder on “Haiku in the Art of Cy Twombly and Beyond”

Guest Lecturer:

Isaac Linder is a writer from Washington, DC, currently based in Denver, Colorado. They are a graduate of Boulder, Colorado’s Naropa University, home to the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, and were inspired to share their reflections on haiku in the work of the late abstract painter Cy Twombly after an initial encounter with the JASWDC kukai in January of this year.

**It is important that participants arrive on time, as the meeting will begin promptly and involves participation from the entire group**