I'm a translator of Japanese haiku, a teacher of English and world literature, a writer of haiku and "haiku novels."

I earned my B.A. at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska (1976), then went on to complete the M.A. & Ph.D. in English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (1977, 1981). My dissertation topic was musical symbolism 14th-century English, French and Spanish poetry. Since 1981, I've been teaching English at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, where I hold the rank of professor.

In 1982 I discovered haiku. I began studying Japanese and visited Japan in 1987 and '88, working on a book of translations of the poet Issa. This appeared in 1991: Issa: Cup-of-Tea Poems (Asian Humanities Press). I returned to Japan in 2001 and 2003.

Over the years, I've published haiku and haiku criticism in Modern Haiku, Frogpond, Bottle Rockets, Ginyu (Tokyo), Jointure (Paris), Poesia (Milan), Literaturen Vestnik (Sofia, Bulgaria) ... and other places.
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Bi is a talented Korean actor, singer and dancer. He uses his stage name, Bi (which means Rain in English), when he performs as a singer and dancer. His real name is Jung Ji Hoon, which he uses when he performs as an actor. His surname is Jung and his given name is Ji Hoon (also spelled as Ji Hun).
Bi Rain
In 2000, with the help of my son Bryan and Bart Everson of Xavier University, I launched my website, The Haiku of Kobayashi Issa, the most comprehensive English-language Issa site on the Web.

I'm an active member of the Haiku Society of America and a former director of the World Haiku Association. In 2002 I co-founded, with Johnette Downing, the New Orleans Haiku Society.

So far, I've published two of a series of haiku novels: Haiku Guy (2000) and Laughing Buddha (2004).

In 2003 I had the privilege of editing The Haiku Society of America's Members' Anthology. My critical book on Issa and Buddhism, Pure Land Haiku: The Art of Priest Issa, came out in 2004.

In August 2005 I evacuated New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina. Throughout our exile, members of the New Orleans Haiku Society kept in touch via the internet, sharing poems—many of which we gathered to make a book, Katrina-ku: Storm Poems (2006). All proceeds of sales go to benefit the arts in New Orleans.



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