Haiku Happiness Hour
Forget what your fourth-grade teacher told you: Haiku are not just about counting syllables. In fact, haiku are the original "party poetry," emerging from a literary game played by merchants and farmers in 17th-century Japan.
Join me for an introduction to a uniquely creative, social way to write and share haiku. You'll leave with a new appreciation for haiku, a way to write that fosters awareness and presence, a tiny poem or two in your pocket, and maybe even some new friends.
Bring a spirit of curiosity and fun, and optionally a notebook and/or favorite pen.
I will supply: Scratch paper, writing utensils, history, vibes, and a supportive space. I'll also provide tea and some simple snacks.
Note: This is a nonalcoholic and vegetarian happy hour. If you have dietary restrictions, let me know and I'll do my best to accommodate them.
About your facilitator: Dylan Tweney has won accolades for his writing workshops and writing circles. He started the collaborative website tinywords.com in 2000. More than 25 years and 4,400+ poems later, with almost 1,000 contributors and more than 3,000 subscribers, it is one of the world's largest journals of haiku and tiny poetry. His own poems have appeared in The Heron's Nest, Frogpond, Contemporary Haibun Online, American Tanka, and tinywords, as well as The San Francisco Haiku Anthology(2025) and Multiverse: An International Anthology of Science Fiction Poetry (2018). A longtime magazine editor and journalist, Dylan was previously on staff at WIRED, VentureBeat, Business 2.0, and many other publications. He is also a Certified Listener Poet and a longtime mindfulness practitioner. For more on Dylan and his newsletter, "Rough Drafts," visit: dylan.tweney.com.