New to Haiku: Meet Our New President, Robin Smith!

Welcome back to New to Haiku, Robin! Congratulations on your recent election as THF President!

Thanks, Julie. I’m honored to be taking on this role.

For those who don’t know Robin yet, they are a Co-founder and Co-editor of whiptail: the journal of the single-line poem, Coordinator & Panelist at the Trailblazer Contest, and Associate Editor at Yavanika Press. Along with Kat Lehmann, they have provided wonderful discussions of one-line haiku for New to Haiku readers. You can read their New to Haiku: Advice for Beginners interview here.

Robin, what do you see as the future of the haiku form? Which English-language poets do you currently see as expanding the definition of haiku?

I feel the key to the future of anything can be found in the past, as everything is cyclical. There is an ebb and flow that keeps things fresh. As individual poets publish expansive forms of haiku, some others in the community follow as these new concepts spawn fresh ideas for poet readers. Or they may go the other way entirely. Then, poets may wax more traditional on the scale so as not to get pigeonholed as “experimental.” And then they may move into yet another new direction. Even topics seem to follow a cyclical pattern.

I’m not one for definitions and labels, and I don’t think much about specific forms when it comes to haiku. I imagine that may sound surprising, given I edit a journal for a specific format. But, I hope the future in “form” is simply people listening to the poem and letting the poem dictate form, versus trying to force ideas into a predetermined structure. Poems always communicate better with readers when the shape, space, and orientation best serve the image or message being conveyed.

You’ve been a volunteer with THF since 2021 and most recently worked as coordinator of the Touchstone Award for Individual Poems. Why did you begin volunteering with The Haiku Foundation?

Well, the cliche saying “be the change….” I wanted to contribute to the larger community and help THF improve.  From the outside of the Foundation, I wasn’t sure what improvements might look like, not being familiar with all of the inner workings. I always enjoyed interacting with Bruce Feingold, Chair of the Touchstone Committee, and felt he would be good to work with as I got my feet wet, so I requested to work in that area.

You are only the second president since The Haiku Foundation was founded in 2009. What can we expect from your leadership?

I don’t know how different things will be in the short term. My focus coming in is to keep what we have going while I gain my footing. Over time, I’ll be assisting in bringing a variety of changes to fruition. Some changes will be obvious, such as new features and initiatives, but many others will be organizational/operational. Readers and site participants may not notice the latter, but these changes are needed to increase stability and consistency for THF’s future.

I want us to continue providing quality offerings and resources while adapting to and anticipating the needs of the next generation(s) of poets and readers. I hope to expand our reach by THF offering more to the haiku community. I’d also like to see us provide greater transparency about the inner workings of the organization. It takes many volunteers to keep this ship afloat!

What are your goals for the Foundation? How do you see your role in the Foundation?

My first goal is to revamp our Code of Conduct and how we enforce it. With social media becoming more chaotic and hostile, we want to be proactive about that type of behavior spilling over onto the site. THF should be a safe space for all, and to make that so, rules must be uniformly enforced.

Another goal of mine involves recruiting more volunteers to spread the workload more effectively. My hope is that we will be able to recruit additional volunteers to increase efficiency and allow us to move forward with plans that have been delayed due to a lack of staffing. I’d like to find ways of securing more funding as well so we don’t have to worry about the financial future of the Foundation.

There will be a number of gradual changes over the coming years, not necessarily because of me directly, but because as folks get older their interests, desires, abilities, and priorities shift. As some of our foundational and long-term folks who are older decide they want to step back, we will need to be ready to have new folks step in. It will be a sort of slow generational turnover.

As for my role specifically, the President enacts the will of the board and handles day-to-day organizational management; this involves direct and indirect management of staff volunteers and oversight of all THF activities. I’m mostly here to ensure things keep moving forward in our mission as a Foundation.

If our readers want to join us in volunteering at The Haiku Foundation, how would they get started?

They can contact me via our Volunteer form, and I will reach out to discuss their interests and what projects might be a good fit for them.

Do you have a message for our beginning haiku poets?

Read more than you write. Read a variety of haiku written by poets of different backgrounds and experiences. Read poems written not only in your language but also translations. Read as much modern Japanese haiku as the classics. Read non-haiku poetry to get a feel for good rhythm and euphony, which you can apply to your haiku. There is a lot to learn from other poets, and reading broadly can help you break out of boxes you may have put yourself in (perhaps without even realizing it).

Be adventurous — try new things. Write authentically; the best poems are ones only you can write.

If another poet’s poem inspires you, take care not to borrow, but to reinterpret and bring something unique to the new poem. It’s a good idea to get a second opinion before you send it out to make sure your poem isn’t too close to the poem that inspired you. Or even better, contact the author of the original poem and pass it by them. This can help avoid potential discord between poets.

You don’t need to publish everything you write. All poets write poems that aren’t up to par compared to their best work. Those may not be poems that you want to be remembered by. If they are, then that’s fine — send them out. If they aren’t, keep them for yourself, share them with friends and family, or hold onto them until the perfect edit comes to you. Even if you are at the beginning, you are building your legacy. Everyone has different goals and approaches; these are things to consider.

Lastly, have fun! It can be easy to get caught up in competitiveness, but don’t lose sight of why you write haiku in the first place, or the richness of everything our multi-cultural community has to offer.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Welcome to The Haiku Foundation! I hope you enjoy your time here. Thanks for supporting the Foundation and helping make us the place to be for English-Language Haiku!