Bio

Hello! My name is Jacob D. Salzer. I have been writing haiku and related Japanese poetry forms in English since 2006 when I took a haiku class at The Evergreen State College: The Way of Haiku and Haibun taught by Kate Crow. Since that time, I've published haiku, tanka, and haibun in journals such as Frogpond, The Heron's Nest, Chrysanthemum, Atlas Poetica, Ribbons, Drifting-Sands-Haibun.org and Contemporary Haibun Online. I've also published several collections of haiku and tanka, one collection of haibun, and one collection of longer poems, The Last Days of Winter. I am also the co-author of Echoes: A Collection of Linked-Verse Poetry and Returning: Tanka Sequences.

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From 2023 to 2024, I served as the Managing Editor of Frogpond: The Journal of the Haiku Society of America. I also served as the Managing Editor of three Haiku Nook anthologies: Yanty’s Butterfly (dedicated to haiku poet Yanty Tjiam), Half A Rainbow (dedicated to haiku poet Rachel Sutcliffe) and Desert Rain (dedicated to haiku poet Martha Magenta and the 600+ million people who don't have access to clean water). I'm also an active member of The Portland Haiku Group, and edited the Portland Haiku Group anthology, New Bridges, dedicated to haiku poet Johnny Baranski. 

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I enjoy spending time with friends and family and have several interests, including: painting, drawing, photography, music, poetry, meditation, exercise, nutrition, neurobiology, medical coding, reading, editing, professional networking, and social activism. As a musician, I enjoy playing piano, guitar, and tabla drums from India. I frequently utilize Americans of Conscience to advocate for a better U.S. and world: https://americansofconscience.com/

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I am inspired by the Great Seal of the United States, E Pluribus Unum, a Latin phrase that translates to: Out of Many, One. I value respect and diversity, and am dedicated to creating new bridges and community in a world that far too often appears violent and fragmented.

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I am the founding editor of the Haiku Poet Interviews blog.

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I also serve as a co-commentator for the Haiku Commentary blog with Nicholas Klacsanzky and Hifsa Ashraf.

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My most recent solo collection is A Lost Prophet: Haiku & Tanka (Brooks Books, 2024), which I'm grateful was a recipient of the 2024 High/Coo Chapbook Award. I am also the author of Metal & Rain: Selected Tanka (Lulu, 2023), Unplugged— Haiku & Tanka (Lulu Press, 2022) and Mare Liberum a cumulation of haiku and tanka inspired by water and the sea. 

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Email: jacobsalzerhaiku@gmail.com