Below you can download a PDF copy of a collection of my haibun. Almost all have been previously published over the last 25 years, in Haibun Today, Prune Juice Journal, Failed Haiku, A Hundred Gourds, and many other journals that no longer exist on the web. My thanks to all the editors who were kind enough to highlight my work.

My friend and frequent writing partner Kelly Moyer selected the work in this collection from a much larger swath of my work and her keen eye picked all my favorites. I hope you enjoy it.

On a personal note, several of you have reached out about my health and my wife’s recovery from her stroke. I am doing OK, but from here on out I sadly will not be attending any haiku meetings or workshops in the future. My last attempt resulted in a ‘crash and burn’ with two of my health issues flaring up which resulted in a rough ride home and a long recuperation. Time to rest these 77-year-old bones closer to home. If any of you find your way passing Presque Isle, Michigan you are more than welcome to stop by. We love visitors.

My wife, Abbey-jo suffered a massive stroke after eye surgery in October of last year. She is in month 8 of what is estimated to be an 18 to 24-month recovery. She is home with me, as you would expect, and I am her full-time caregiver. A job I applied for when we were married over 50 years ago. Living on several acres of old oak forest with our cat Dae-Min provides a great environment to heal. Thank you all for your concern, thoughts, and prayers. They mean a lot to both of us.

Here is your PDF copy of ‘running from yesterday’, a collection of haibun:

I would like to thank all of the contributors for sending into this great kyoka issue of Failed Haiku. There is something for everyone in this issue. Hemapriya will be back next month to edit with an updated set of submission requirements so come back soon for those details. Until then, enjoy reading these 5 line gems!

-Bryan

Please READ the contest rules thoroughly!!! CONTEST RULES HERE

Gene was a friend and one hell of a poet. I don’t want him to be forgotten by the haiku community. Steve Hodge, the editor at the time of Prune Juice Journal wanted to come up with a way to remember him, and we created this contest as a joint effort by PJ and FH.

Gene was a curmudgeon, and his faults were often a part of his poetry. But, he was a lover of nature, a friend to animals, and a person who loved, albeit sometimes imperfectly, many in the haiku community. Please take a moment to read the PDF below that he put together as he was dying and asked me to make sure it got widely distributed. He passed soon after and I make sure it is available to anyone who wants it annually and on the site.

Gene loved Ferris Gilli and The Heron’s Nest, and much of his work was published there over the years. Gene also was addicted to Rengay, and was a huge fan of Garry Gay and Michael Dylan Welsh. If you search the web you will find more of his work.

Although it is NOT a requirement of this contest, work that riffs or uses some of Gene’s techniques is certainly welcome. Below is a copy of BIDING TIME the collection he put together:

Please send me your best work, and feel free to experiment. All avenues of Senryu are open in this contest. ONE NOTE: All the winners AND all of the Honorable Mentions will be read and placed in a video on our YouTube site. The quality of work submitted in the past tells me that we will have at least two dozen or more HMs to recognize.

Mike Rehling – The Old Failed Editor of Failed Haiku!

Please read the guidelines carefully, and ONLY submit during the period indicated, and check out examples of past winners so you have a good grounding of the genre and what we might be looking for.

Mike Rehling, Judge for the 2023 Contest

I would like to thank out guest editor Allyson Whipple for doing a fantastic job on our ekphrastic themed senryu issue. This issue is small but mighty! A true delight to read. Head on over to the submission page soon to see what we have in store for you next month here at Failed Haiku. Until then, enjoy reading this gem.

-Bryan

I would like to thank my co-editor Hemapriya Chellappan for all her hard work in editing this issue. We truly appreciate all of our submitters and readers. Without you, we would be nothing. Check back to the submission page soon to see what our next issue will be about and who our guest editor will be!

-Bryan

I would like to send out a giant thank you to all of the submitters. It was a pleasure to read everyone’s work. There was truly an amazing amount of work submitted. I know that you will enjoy reading it. The wonderful Hemapriya will return next month for another open submissions issue.

-Bryan

A giant thank you to Michael Henry Lee for guest editing this massive issue on the theme of Time. Thank you to everyone who submitted and for making Failed Haiku great. Bryan will return as editor for the next issue which will have open submissions (no theme).

Happy New Year to everyone! A big thank you to Arvinder Kaur and Hifsa Ashraf for editing this first issue of the new year. Thank you to everyone that submitted and for making Failed Haiku great. We are nothing without you! Tune in soon for special submission instructions for our next issue. Until then, have a wonderful time reading this latest issue.

Failed Haiku is delighted to have Arvinder Kaur and Hifsa Ashraf as the guest editors for our January 1st issue with a special theme! Head on over to the submissions page to read more and for the special submission instructions. We are delighted to have the expertise of these two wonderful poets.

-Bryan