Okay … forget everything else you’ve heard about where and when the Haiku North America conference will be held this summer. Just wipe it from your mind. This is the final, official, ultimate announcement about the conference. Only pay attention to this one. Got it?
Here goes: the official press release from the conference organizers:
Save the date! Haiku North America 2011 will be held August 3 to 7, 2011, in Seattle, Washington.
Members of the Haiku Northwest group have generously offered to host the 2011 conference and they have many exciting plans already in the works, including a harbor cruise. The conference itself will be held at the Seattle Center, at the foot of the Space Needle, providing easy access to haiku writing and walking opportunities such as Pike Place Market (via the monorail), the Olympic Sculpture Park, the Experience Music Project rock-and-roll museum and Science Fiction Museum, and countless other attractions—including fleet week and the Seafair festival, with the Blue Angels performing overhead.
The conference theme will be “Fifty Years of Haiku,” celebrating the past, present, and future of haiku in North America. The deadline for proposals has been extended to February 28, 2011 (http://www.haikunorthamerica.com/pages/2011.html), but sooner is better. Proposals do not have to fit the theme. If you’ve already submitted a proposal, please confirm with Michael Dylan Welch at WelchM@aol.com that you can come to Seattle on the new dates. Speakers already include Cor van den Heuvel, Richard Gilbert, David Lanoue, Carlos Colón, Fay Aoyagi, Jim Kacian, Emiko Miyashita, George Swede, and many others.
Detailed information on registration, lodging, and the conference schedule will be available in March. For further information as it becomes available, please visit http://www.haikunorthamerica.com. And check out the new HNA blog at http://haikunorthamerica.wordpress.com/.
See you in Seattle!
Garry Gay, Paul Miller, Michael Dylan Welch
Haiku North America
Red Dragonfly 
Sounds lovely. I think I have to go. Thanks for posting this.
I’m still pondering whether I’ll make it, but if I do it will be great to see you there!
Melissa,
Thanks for the update. Rochester was do-able. Unfortunately, Seattle’s too far this time, especially in August. Maybe one of these days I’ll make it. But I sure do look forward to the next best thing —
“Haiku Circle” in Northfield, Massachusetts on Saturday, June 4, 2011.
It’s an all-day outdoor event that I’ve been going to for several years. I encourage new and seasoned haiku poets to attend this gathering. Friendly, fun and always educational.
–Peter
Oh … so tempting to combine this with a visit “home” (northwest CT where I grew up and my mom still lives)! Can I do it? Make it to both coasts in one summer? Stay tuned …