Alan Summers

Biography

Alan is the co-founder of Call of the Page (formerly known as With Words), a UK-based provider of quality literature, education and literacy projects, often based around the Japanese genres. Along with Karen Hoy, we've been running online courses for many years: https://www.callofthepage.org/courses/ Alan is a Japanese poetry expert and tutor & workshop leader of Call of the page; a former Embassy of Japan ’Japan-UK 150′ haiku & renga poet-in-residence, and published on the BBC Poetry Season website. He is also a double Japan Times award winning writer, filmed by NHK Television (Japan) for “Europe meets Japan - Alan's Haiku Journey”; a Pushcart Prize nominated poet for haiku and haibun, and Best Small Fictions nominated for haibun. He is President of the United Haiku & Tanka Society, a previous General Secretary of the British Haiku Society (1998 until 2000) and Editor Emeritus for the multi-award-winning Red Moon Anthologies (USA) for best haikai literature from 2000 until 2005. Alan is also the creator of The 1000 Verse Project in Bath, and the Hull Global Renga which was commissioned by Hull Libraries through The James Reckitt Library Trust (a non-tax payers trust fund). He has an M.A. in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University, and is a widely published and translated haiku poet, and experienced workshop leader. Alan has run various workshops (day and residential) all over Britain including for The Poetry School as a Visiting Tutor (UK) and Poetry Barn (USA). COMMENTS "Very many thanks again for all your constant and splendid help, support and patience. I am well aware of the fact that I wouldn't be having such an amazing journey with my haiku if wasn't for you." Workshop student October 28th 2011 "As you probably know by now, I use every corner of my life as a way of reflection of my psychological personal development - haiku in itself is great for this, but working with you has just elevated the experience a 100 fold. I can not put into words how much this has meant to me, so as I tried to say on the phone the haiku is almost secondary, but of course both mean a lot to me. Your support over the last couple of years or so have just been such an amazing gift to me - bless you." -Student, September 2011 Alan is able to work with people who have no experience of poetry to encourage them to try it. He watches and listens with patience and respect and offers guidance that is flexible enough to empower the workshop participants but firm enough to support them. (2010) Rachel Sutton-Spence School of Applied Community and Health Studies Centre for Personal and Professional Development "Thanks for a stimulating, informative, and productive workshop...please let me know of any Asian poetry happenings" Dorothea, poet "You have a remarkable talent for touching and enriching people’s lives. " Royal Festival Hall, With Words Spirit of Issa/Pestival Sept. 2009 Mark R “You are a great teacher, and I know what I'm saying. Thank you for everything you gave us.” Sue, 2009 Residential Course “…still on a high…you helped me move past a real boulder I had been lugging around…I am very grateful and enjoying my writing much more.” Julie, 2009 Residential Course "astonishingly moving haiku" YOMIURI SHIMBUN January 2005 "widely known haiku poet...as dry as vintage champagne" YOMIURI SHIMBUN (Japan) September 2002 "...humanises the city." Takashi Nonin, Mainichi Daily News, JAPAN "...you are one of the poets I have been most interested in. I love your haiku style." Keiko, Yokohama, JAPAN Seven Haiku Collections: Forbidden Syllables (Bones Library 2020) Glint (Proletria 2020) Comfort of Crows (Alan Summers & Hifsa Ashraf) Velvet Dusk Publishing (2019) Does Fish-God Know (YTBN Press 2012) The In-Between Season (With Words Pamphlet Series 2012) Sundog Haiku Journal: an Australian Year (Sunfast Press 1997) Moonlighting British Haiku Society Intimations Pamphlet Series (1996) See: https://area17.blogspot.com

Samples

house clearance room by room by room my mother disappears Alan Summers Winner, Touchstone Award 2016 (The Haiku Foundation) Shortlisted: Museum of Haiku Literature, Tokyo, Japan First Publication Credit: Blithe Spirit 26.1 (March 2016) Anthology Credits: The Signature Haiku Anthology ed. Robert Epstein (Middle Island Press 2020) 2018 Haiku Canada Members' Anthology / L’anthologie 2018 des membres de Haïku Canada ed. Marco Fraticelli and Philomene Kocher old song: The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku 2017 Red Moon Press the rill's trick a greenfinch moves its green around Alan Summers 3rd Place, 2018 Henderson Haiku Contest (Haiku Society of America) eye of the song a blackbird touching the void [one line haiku] Alan Summers Winning haiku, The British Haiku Society Awards 2018/19 (Haiku Section) judge: Scott Mason each window its own night train [one line haiku] Alan Summers Honourable mention, The British Haiku Society Awards 2018/19 (Haiku Section) judge: Scott Mason heat lightning the rain on the grass reflects each strike Alan Summers 1st Prize, 2014 Liverpool Virtual Book Fair Twitter Haiku Contest (part of the city's International Festival of Business) the moon is broken Battersea Power Station from a train window Alan Summers 1st Prize, World Monuments Fund Competition 2012 New York, USA

All poems are copyright of the originating author. Permission must be obtained before using or performing others' poems.

Blog entries by Alan Summers

The Haiku Walk: Nature As Inspiration (06/04/2011)

Purely Haiku - a unique U.K. based residential course (06/04/2011)

Renga: splicing spontaneity into your writing (27/03/2010)

The ‘Summer Haiku Almanac' workshop & walk (03/03/2010)

Unique Writing Residency (03/03/2010)

haiga with romaji and Japanese translation (14/04/2009)

Christmas haiku (14/04/2009)

haiku plus French translation (14/04/2009)

haiku with romaji translation (14/04/2009)

voicemail and limes (13/04/2009)

Blog link: https://www.writeoutloud.net/blogs/alansummers