A white water lily flower blooming on a dark blue pond, surrounded by floating lily pads.
Line drawing of a lotus flower with detailed petals against a black background.

Haiku Poetry & Art by Johnette Downing

Johnette Downing crafts award-winning haiku and collage art that reflect the harmony—and friction—between human nature and the wild.

Johnette Downing in a coffee shop

I am a poet, musician, author, and illustrator from New Orleans, Louisiana who specializes in writing about cultural bridges, and about the intertwining relationships between human nature and our natural environments.

In 2001, I discovered haiku: the short, one breath poem of Japanese origin. To my delight and surprise, my many years of working with children prepared me for the art of haiku and its Zen-like quality of being in the moment, of observing the nuances of the natural world and our human connection to it. To see the world anew, and with the wonder, awe, and curiosity of a child is the essence of haiku, even while the body of my work in poetry is for adults.

Keep Reading →

Line drawing of three stacked spa stones with a flower placed beside the bottom stone

Poetry

Read a rotating collection of haiku and senryu that explore the intersection of ecology and emotion.

Line drawing of a lightbulb with flowers and leaves inside.

Art & Haiga

View cut-paper collages, “haiku boxes,” and photo-haiga that transform verse into visual experience.

Line drawing of a blooming flower with multiple large petals and a long stem.

Shop

Purchase Johnette’s book Singing Waters, or collect a limited-edition haiku broadside for your home.

  • “These are healing poems, menders of the broken bones we have made of East and West, body and spirit, craft and art, song and prayer.”

    — Darrell Bourque, Louisiana Poet Laureate, 2007–2011

  • “Johnette Downing has captured the true spirit of haiku—nothing gimmicky, everything of substance and resonance.”

    — Cabbie, Amazon Review of Singing Waters

  • “Driven by her musician's ear, it is Downing's sense of hearing that provides the imaginative leap from thought to poetry.”

    — Tom Sacramona, Editor, Frogpond

  • "Johnette Downing prances into the parts of life that hold all the fresh fragrances in the palms of their crimson teeth."

    — Tazuo Yamaguchi, HAIKU The Art of the Short Poem