About Johnette Downing
Poet, Musician, Author, and Illustrator
Johnette Downing
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.
I approach my work by setting aside time each day to be in nature, whether in rural or urban environments. This approach to haiku is akin to a spiritual practice much like silent, sitting, or walking meditation: to be still, to breathe, listen, observe, and discover the poem as it reveals itself when nature and human nature are juxtaposed.
As a New Orleanian, I am witness to the beauty of nature, but also its destructive power when nature and humankind are out of balance. As our dependency on technology drives us farther away from the grounding effects of the natural world, haiku is needed more than ever, to help us experience the simple joys of our interconnectedness, and to remind us that nature can exist without us, but not the other way around.
Being born three feet below sea level, I am a water sprite, and I welcome you to join me as we ebb and flow through this water-themed site.
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Her poems have been widely published in journals such as:
Acorn
Akitsu Quarterly
Autumn Moon Haiku Journal
bottle rockets
Charlotte Digregorio’s Daily Haiku
Cordite Poetry Review
Frogpond
Haiku in Action: Nick Virgilio Haiku Association
Haiku International Association
Mayfly
Modern Haiku
New Orleans and You, Kid Magazine
Nisqually Delta Review
O’ Muse Magazine
Pass It On
Poem of the Day, Shreve Memorial Library’s Electronic Poetry Network
Prune Juice
Simply Haiku
Solaris Hill
Tiny Words
The Heron’s Nest
The Haiku Foundation App
The Haiku Foundation: Virals
Triveni Haiku India
World Haiku
YAWP, The Bohemian Cometh
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Her poems have also appeared in anthologies such as:
Animal Rights Haiku Anthology, 2015 and 2016
A Travel-Worn Satchel, Haiku Society of America Member's Anthology, 2009
big data: The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku 2014
Bird Whistle: A Contemporary Anthology of Bird Haiku, Senryu & Short Poems, bottle rockets press, 2023
bits of itself, Haiku Society of America Member's Anthology, 2002
Crude Haiku - Oil Poems, New Orleans Haiku Society, 2010
dandelion clocks, Haiku Society of America Member’s Anthology, 2008
Dandelion Wind, Haiku North America Anthology, 2007
dust devils, The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku, 2016
dust of summers: The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku 2007
flower of another country, Haiku Society of America Member’s Anthology, 2007
gatherings: a haiku anthology of amusement parks, bottle rockets press, 2008
Haiku Society of America Member’s Anthology, 2003
Kamesan’s World Haiku Anthology on War, Violence and Human Rights Violation, 2012
Katrina-ku: Storm Poems, New Orleans Haiku Society, 2006
lanterns: a firefly anthology, bottle rockets press, 2007
Loose change, Haiku Society of America Member’s Anthology, 2005
Red Moon Anthology, Red Moon Press, 2007
seed packets: an anthology of flower haiku, bottle rockets press, 2010
sharing the sun, Haiku Society of America Member's Anthology, 2010
Take-out Window, Haiku Society of America Member's Anthology, 2014
The Temple Bell Stops, Contemporary Poems of Grief, Loss and Change, Modern English Tanka Press, 2012
They Gave Us Life: Celebrating Mothers and Fathers in Haiku Anthology, Middle Island Press, 2017
Walking the Same Path, Haiku Society of America Member’s Anthology, 2004
Window Seats, A Contemporary Anthology of Cat Haiku & Senryu, bottle rockets press, 2021
World Haiku, World Haiku Association, 2006
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A cut-paper illustrator, Johnette’s “mountain hike” collage has appeared on the cover of Poetry X Collage, and her collage and/or photography haiga have appeared in:
Big Orange Monster Exhibition, Kolaj Institute, September 2025
bottle rockets, #49, Vol. 25:1, August 2023
Modern Haiku, Issue 56.3, Autumn 2025
O’ Muse Magazine, #02 Summer Solstice, 2021
Poetry X Collage, Volume 5, Kolaj Institute, 2023
Recipient of the 2017 Louisiana Writer Award, the 2024 Robert Spiess Memorial Haiku Award, and the 2026 NOTCF Literary Arts & Humanities Award, Johnette Downing is a North American poet and artist specializing in haiku, senryu, haibun, and haiga (haiku and art). Cofounder of the former New Orleans Haiku Society and the first Art Editor of bottle rockets (2023-2025), Johnette is the author of Singing Waters, A Selection of Haiku, Senryu, and Haibun (April 2022, buddha baby press), which is a collection of over one hundred of her previously published poems in one volume.
She is listed in Haikupedia, the Haiku Foundation’s encyclopedia of world haiku poets, and has received:
2026 Literary Arts & Humanities Award, New Orleans Culture Bearer, New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Foundation
2025 Reader’s Choice Award, Second Runner Up, The Heron’s Nest, December 2025 for “keyhole.”
2024 Robert Spiess Memorial Haiku Award for “Mercury retrograde.”
Editor’s Choice, The Heron’s Nest, Volume XXVI, Number 3, September 2024 for “southern heat.”
2024 Reader’s Choice Awards, Special Mention Haiku, The Heron’s Nest, Volume 26, for “southern heat.”
2024 Reader’s Choice Awards, Popular Poets, The Heron’s Nest, Volume 26.
Haiku Society of America’s 2024 Merit Book Awards for Best Haiku Anthology: editors Stanford M. Forrester and Johnette Downing for Bird Whistle: A Contemporary Anthology of Bird Haiku, Senryu, & Short Poems.
2023 Touchstone Awards for Individual Poems—Long List for “eggshells.”
2017 Louisiana Writer Award
Haiku International Association Honorable Mention Award in Japan for her poem “ripples in the pond.”
Johnette has been a featured poet at Just Listen to Yourself, Louisiana Book Festival, Powow River Poets, The Poet’s Loft, 17 Poets! Reading Series at the Gold Mine Saloon, Japan Fest, Blue Cypress Books, Kindling Words, Writing Louisiana for Everyone, Maple Leaf Poetry, and Haiku Society of America’s Quarterly Meetings, as well as readings at Haiku North America, Wild Graces, and many others.
She has taught haiku workshops at select literary festivals, libraries, schools, and conferences across the United States.
In addition to her work in poetry, Johnette Downing is an author, illustrator, and musician with thirty books and thirteen recordings for children, as well as two biographies.