Southern California Haiku Study Group

the haiku southern california study group promotes and inspires appreciation for haiku and other related poetry forms. we honor and acknowledge the japanese heritage of haiku through studying translations of haiku masters and their historical relevance and importance while also bringing this beautiful poetic form to a modern and diverse society of southern california. as an english language haiku community, we study the core features of haiku, kigo, a word that references a season, and kireji, a phrase or word that separates from the previous line or lines to provide juxtaposition and multiple interpretations. as an organization we embrace the essence of kigo with drawing inspiration from seasonal changes and cultural events that occur in southern california such as spring’s california poppy blooms, west hollywood’s pride parade, or the los angeles book fair; summer’s hot beaches, hollywood bowl concerts, or disneyland’s 4th of july fireworks; autumn’s santa ana winds, monarch butterfl