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Presence is an independent, UK-based print journal, founded in 1996 and principally edited until 2014 by Martin Lucas and since then by Ian Storr, to provide a forum for high-quality English-language haiku, tanka, haibun and other short poetry, and for essays, book reviews and other articles relating to these forms. Although it is based in the UK, Presence has an international outlook, as reflected in both its worldwide subscribers and its welcoming ethos of diversity and equality of opportunity. It is published three times a year, in March, July and November.

We welcome submissions from experienced and new haiku writers alike. Before submitting for the first time, please have a look round the website, or ideally take out a subscription, to get an idea of the sort of work we are looking for.

#81, the last issue to be edited by Ian Storr, is being posted to subscribers this week.

From #82, Presence will be edited by a collective drawn from the Edinburgh Haiku Circle. The three main co-editors – James Roderick Burns, Ken Cockburn and Becky Dwyer – will invite others from the Circle issue by issue. The three introduce themselves to the Presence readership below, followed by an outline of the Haiku Circle’s background, aims and activities.

James Roderick Burns

I have written five short-form poetry collections, most recently Crows at Dusk (haiku, Red Moon Press, 2023). My first book, The Salesman’s Shoes (tanka), was published by Modern English Tanka Press in 2007, and my second, Greetings from Luna Park (MET Press, 2008) – sequences of love and loss in-turn-of-the-century Coney Island – attempted to revive the dormant sedoka form.

Between 2000 and 2013 I co-edited the journal Other Poetry in Newcastle upon Tyne, and currently serve as a reader in poetry for Ploughshares.

Early in 2000 I began writing haiku with a focus on nature themes in urban settings. I also write flash fiction exploring the Japanese tradition, such as the short pieces ‘Wabi Sabi’ (episodes in the life of Kaichi Watanabe, student/foreman on the initial stages of the Forth Bridge) and ‘Life of Issa’, an overview of Master Issa’s eventful life told in 500 words.

Ken Cockburn

Formerly the Fieldworker & Assistant Director at the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh, I have worked freelance since 2004 as a poet in education, community and care settings. I trained, and worked, in theatre, and much of my work is collaborative, with other poets and with visual artists. I’ve published four collections of poems, most recently Floating the Woods (Luath, 2018), and many pamphlets. I also run Edinburgh Poetry Tours, guided walks with readings of poems in the city’s Old Town.

My haiku apprenticeship was served on Alec Finlay’s renga platform in the early Noughties, including two memorable 24-hour events in Glasgow and Gateshead. Also with Alec, I undertook The Road North, a journey around Scotland guided by Basho’s oku–no–hosomichi which became a blog, a book and an exhibition.

Becky Dwyer

Henderson came first for me, then Kerouac and then Blyth, all from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, the pages dog-eared over some 20 years.

I began taking the craft seriously upon joining the Edinburgh Haiku Circle in late 2016. The Edinburgh Haiku Circle has been instrumental – providing new kigo, introducing Japanese haiku poets both modern and classical, and helping me to develop my own voice.

My day job is accountant. There is something haiku-like about good accountancy. A moment connected to events and seasons, told in abbreviated fashion, a distillation of micro-events that can only be fully understood when considered both as a whole and in-and-of-themselves. The Zen of zero. Pay attention to details. Haiku can be found everywhere.

You can read my haiku on the Edinburgh Haiku Circle website, in Blithe Spirit, and on Bluesky. I have cats.

Edinburgh Haiku Circle

Edinburgh Haiku Circle was established in January 2016 by Catherine Urquhart, a Scot who lived for many years in Japan, with the aim of bringing together people and words while drawing inspiration from Japanese haiku. The circle’s monthly sessions feature discussions of selected Japanese haiku and the appreciation and workshopping of haiku composed by participants. The atmosphere is casual and no previous knowledge of the Japanese language is required. The Circle also arranges occasional ‘ginko‘ or haiku walks in and around Edinburgh. Its website features haiku composed by members arranged according to season, and an extensive season word archive. https://edinburghhaikucircle.wordpress.com/ Rod, Ken and Becky write, “we will outline our editorial positions in future issues of the magazine, and for now we will simply say that as longstanding admirers of and occasional contributors to Presence we are very much looking forward to taking on the general editorship from Ian, and ensuring the magazine continues to provide a space for the publication and discussion of haiku and related forms in the UK and beyond.”


Updated: 9 April 2025