Where We Started & Where We’re Going
We founded Haikuists ten years ago by complete accident. In an attempt to meet and interview New York City’s self-starters and entrepreneurs, we brought our vintage typewriters and the FREE HAIKU concept to connect with passers-by on a Brooklyn street corner.
We booked our first event right there on the sidewalk. During our first official event, we booked our second. Soon our third was coming up. At that point, we knew we were onto something promising.
What we found was this: writing free poetry for people brings them immense joy. It's incredible how most people are willing to share a brief view into their world, and wait a few minutes for a complete stranger to encapsulate the moment with a powerful three-lined poem. Their reactions are always priceless–– laughter, tears, hugs––and further inspiration is never far behind: folks celebrate their poems by framing them, displaying them on their wall or mirror, or even having their haiku tattooed!
Fast forward ten years later: we’ve expanded to over thirty major cities, and have a roster of more than 150 poets, each equipped with vintage typewriters and ready to write personalized haiku poetry for guests at events. We’ve had the pleasure of writing at hundreds of events a year, and we can tell you with absolute confidence that haiku is for everyone and any occasion.
Thank you for joining us on this journey!
Meet the Haikuists
Below is our ever-growing roster of incredible poets, each with a unique story and a passion for writing. Meet our poets based in Los Angeles, New York, and more than 30 other cities in North America.
Erick Szentmiklosy - Cofounder
Daniel Zaltsman - Cofounder
Leah Clancy - Director of Sales
Chloe Harder - Booking Manager
West
Rebekah - Denver
Tom - Denver
Abraham - Denver
Nava - Denver
KL - Las Vegas
Arella - Las Vegas
Maddie - Las Vegas
Kennedy - Las Vegas
Angel - Las Vegas
Paasha - Los Angeles
Michelle - Los Angeles
Emma - Los Angeles
Simone - Los Angeles
Zachary - Los Angeles
Christopher - Los Angeles
Angie - Los Angeles
Peter - Los Angeles
Lejan - Los Angeles
Tom - Los Angeles
Anaïs - Portland
Alex - Portland
Kyle - Portland
Tamara - Portland
Iain - Reno
Samantha - Sacaramento
Lucia - San Diego
Sahina - San Diego
Noah - San Diego
Patrick - San Francisco
Michael - San Francisco
Kehinde - San Francisco
Marley - San Francisco
Maxine - San Francisco
Tomás - San Francisco
Jordan - San Francisco
Brian - San Francisco
Mackenzie - Seattle
Arizona - Seattle
David - Seattle
Southwest
Alison - Austin
Jason - Austin
Erin - Austin
Christina - Austin
Seth - Dallas
Kaley - Dallas
Eva - Dallas
Imani - Houston
Vanessa - Houston
Tony - Houston
Claire - Houston
Matthew - Phoenix
Zachary - Phoenix
Kyle - Phoenix
Midwest
Kay - Chicago
Brett - Chicago
Lisa - Chicago
Ryan - Chicago
Kaylen - Chicago
Seth - Cleveland
Nicholas "Quazzy" - Detroit
Emma - Detroit
Michael - Detroit
Alexandra - Detroit
Southeast
Kate - Atlanta
Savannah - Atlanta
Brandon (Brock) - Atlanta
K.B. - Atlanta
Lyn - Charlotte
Sarah - Charlotte
Dylan - D.C.
Emi - D.C.
Christoph - D.C.
Francesca - D.C.
Emily - D.C.
Kelly - D.C.
Shinae - D.C.
Jaden - Miami
Sara - Miami
Rebecca - Miami
Rachel - Nashville
Sage - Tampa
Susan - Raleigh
Northeast
DJ Leary - Baltimore
Jalynn - Baltimore
Jack - Boston
Rachel - Boston
Alison - Boston
Aaron - Buffalo
Christina - Buffalo
Carson - NYC
Megan - NYC
Chloe - NYC
Kamila - NYC
Michael - NYC
Parker - NYC
Nick - NYC
Ezra - NYC
Savon - NYC
Connor - NYC
Anabel - NYC
Caroline - NYC
Olivia - NYC
Sara - NYC
Kate - NYC
Max - NYC
Caroline - Philadelphia
Pony P. - Philadelphia
Sophia - Philadelphia
Olga - Philadelphia