Zebulon Huset
There has been a lot written about the haiku and Japanese forms in English—some love the elegant poetic forms while others find them ‘simplistic’ or too short. I like Haiku Journal’s description of what they want from a submission: “Simplicity is the key here. Keep it simple and beautiful. Haiku should seem to say more than what is possible in three lines. They should resonate beyond themselves somehow.” The iceberg poem that echoes in your mind long after you’ve read the lines.
Because of their short length, haiku often find their homes in journals dedicated to the haiku form specifically, or to Japanese formal poetry in general. Following are 17 journals that want your haiku and other forms of Japanese poetry in English. Not all of them are open for submissions now, but most are.
Haikuniverse is the partner website of The Poetry Super Highway, publishes one new haiku every day, and reads submissions all year.
Haiku Journal is a print annual with an online component. They want “all forms of haiku which follow the syllabic pattern 5/7/5.” They read no-fee submissions all year and pay writers a token amount.
Modern Haiku is a long-running journal of English-language haiku and Japanese forms that reads submissions all year for their print anthology, and they have sample poems from each issue on their website.
Shamrock is the online haiku journal of the Irish Haiku Society. They’re looking for haiku, senryu, haibun and haiku-related essays, and publish bi-annually with submission deadlines of February 28 and August 31.
Failed Haiku – A Journal of English Senryu is an online monthly journal looking for “senryu, haibun, haiga, rengay, sequences, and any other related form that is senryu based.”
Acorn is a biannual print journal of “contemporary haiku” that reads submissions from January-February and July-August. They’re looking to showcase “the individual poem and the ability of haiku to reveal the extraordinary moments found in everyday life.”
Haiku Commentary is a weekly publication of Japanese poems accompanied by multiple commentaries on that poem which is a unique twist on the haiku journal. They publish haiku, senryu, tanka, haiga, haibun, and shahai and read year-round.
Frogpond is the literary magazine of the Haiku Society of America. Appearing three times a year, they’re looking to publish “the best in contemporary English-language haiku and senryu, linked forms including sequences, renku, rengay, and haibun, essays and articles on these forms, and book reviews”
Heron’s Nest is an online quarterly journal of haiku that welcomes “both modern, freestyle haiku, and haiku that adhere to a syllabic structure of 5-7-5 with the inclusion of a seasonal reference.“
Poetry Pea is a print journal and podcast publishing haiku and senryu with themed deadlines.
Wales Haiku Journal is a quarterly journal of Japanese poetry forms, though currently they are limited to haiku and haiga. They read poems “on any theme or subject, but works that embody the nature tradition of both haiku and Welsh poetry are of particular interest.”
Mayfly is a bi-annual print journal publishing only 15 haiku each issue. They have deadlines of May 15 and November 15.
Bottle Rockets is a bi-annual print journal that is looking for “What we are looking for: haiku, senryu, very short haiku-like poems (no more than 7 lines), tanka, and cheritas. Nothing else. Please don’t ask.” Their next submission window is April 1-June 1, 2021.
Blithe Spirit is the quarterly print journal of the British Haiku Society, looking for “haiku, tanka, haibun, sequences, linked forms, articles, reviews” which reads email submissions year round.
seashores is “an international journal to share the spirit of haiku” that reads haiku and senryu for their biannual print issues with deadlines in January and July.
Sonic Boom publishes a variety of poetry and art with a major section called Paper Lanterns that focuses on Japanese formal poetry including senryu, haiku (all types including poemwords, found, parallel, and concrete haiku), tanka & kyoka, sedoka, cherita and gembun. Their reading period is in October.
Zebulon Huset is a teacher, writer and photographer living in San Diego. He won the Gulf Stream 2020 Summer Poetry Contest and his writing has appeared in Meridian, The Southern Review, Fence, Atlanta Review & Texas Review among others. He produces the writing prompt and publishing blog Notebooking Daily, edits the journals Coastal Shelf and Sparked, and recommends literary journals at TheSubmissionWizard.com.
