Failed Haiku – A Journal of English Senryu
If you have found us you have found friends of poets. This journal believes that ‘the poet rules’, and we honor both talent and creativity. Editors are ‘servants’ of the poets and function as ‘stand-ins’ for our readers. Your work, no matter how out there on the periphery it may be, is treated with respect and care. We will also publish work that has been previously published elsewhere since we want to see the best quality of senryu.
Some editors tend to state their opinions about what a senryu or haiku is disguised as ‘fact’. That is not so here at Failed Haiku. We want to hear from the poets, and the readers, and we will give you a wide berth in terms of ‘rules’. That does not mean anything goes, and we obviously reserve the right to make the final selections ourselves. Creativity and innovative approaches though are very welcome.
Many years ago, at a haiku meeting, someone asked me what my definition of a senryu was, and I said: “It is just a failed haiku is all.” It was a flip answer, not particularly literary, but I have grown to like it for both its brevity and its lack of preciseness, both of which fit the spirit of senryu perfectly.
We have always felt that an editor’s job in evaluating poetry is overrated. The way we see our role is NOT to pick poems that we like, or that fit some personal definition of the form, but ones that readers will appreciate, learn from, quite possibly debate, and most importantly enjoy. The publication is not an endorsement of the poem, just an acknowledgment that it worked at some level. If you read one and don’t like it, move on to the next. Simple as that!!!
The goal is to get interesting and diverse senryu read by the largest number of people in all parts of the world. You don’t need to mention your publication by FH of any poem if it is subsequently published elsewhere, but we would love it if you did. In short, no bullshit, just some good poetry, published in a way that reaches the maximum number of people worldwide. We know how to get the word out, and we want ‘da good shit’ to get to the most people possible.
Kelly Moyer and Michael Rehling
failed haiku - a journal of English Senryu 
I am new to “Failed Haiku” but not new to personal failed haiku. I truly enjoyed reading your “about” section; felt the enthusiasm; and the inviting, encouraging, welcoming vibe; gotta say, your About section touched my heart. So, if I ever get published here or elsewhere, I will most definitely mention FH. Looking fwd to reading and sharing…
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Welcome to Failed Haiku! Look forward to your submission!
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Hi.. I really liked the last Haibun Only issue!!! and the interviews with Rebecca Beary. When are you planning for the next such Issue?
Best wishes, in Serenity,
Bryan D. Cook, Canada
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I also just watched the interview with Rebecca Beary; just watched and now subscribed to the journal. So helpful.
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The next Invitation Only issue is some haibun superstars. We will be having some special issues in the future, but NOW you can submit to the next full issue as we handle submissions in all the full issues.
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I stumbled upon Failed Haiku while looking for a half-remembered poem. This is the image I recall, in words perhaps not in the original: “My morning face in the mirror
where I left it.” I’ve now spent nearly an hour in your archives. Not the last – I have sunscribed. I am not a poet or artist of any kind, so I cannot support your work unless you choose to accept a subscription price. Please though accept my thanks.
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Mike:
If I am remembering incorrectly, my apologies. I think you posted a link to Laura Maffei’s book “Drops from Her Umbrella.” I have contacted her several times in the past few years and have never gotten a reply. Do you have an extra copy of this book that I may buy?
If not, do you know where I can get a copy? I have looked everywhere.
Thanks in advance, and I feel weird posting to you about another poet, but I really want this book.
Kathy Lippard Cobb
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Looking for # 45 ?
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