Brendon Kent

(1 February 1958 - 24 February 2024)


Brendon KentBrendon Kent was a British haiku and haiga poet born on 1 February 1958, in Southampton, England.

He has worked at a variety of jobs, including the production of wind turbines. He was a member of the British Haiku Society and the World Haiku Association and served as Assistant Editor of the Facebook page My Haiku Pond.

Kent's work focused on haiku poetry, and he published several collections during his lifetime. In 2014 he independently published Illustrated haiku: - green leaves (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform). His book Moon on Water was published by Alba Publishing, UK in June 2018. After his death, a posthumous collection titled Navigating Moons was released, which contains his final published and unpublished haiku, senryu, and other poems. It is described as "poems of a cancer journey," following his battle with cancer towards the end of his life.

Throughout his career, Kent was active in the haiku community and gained recognition for his contributions to the art form. He was widely anthologised and has won several awards in international competitions, notably the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Contest, International Section (Best International Haiku (2015), Sakura Award (2017, 2019), and Honourable Mention (2018, 2019); the Golden Haiku Contest in Washington, D.C. (Honourable Mentions in 2018, 2019, 2020, and twice in 2021). Kent was also listed in The European Top 100 haiku authors in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019.

Brendon Kent passed away on 24 February 2024 in Southampton. He requested that proceeds from his posthumous book Navigating Moons be donated to the UK charity Macmillan Cancer Support. This gesture truly reflects his generous character and his commitment to supporting others even after his passing.

Awards and Other Honours:

  • Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Contest, International Section (Best International Haiku (2015), Sakura Award (2017, 2019), and Honourable Mention (2018, 2019);
  • Golden Triangle Haiku Award, Washington DC (Honourable Mentions in 2018, 2019, 2020, and twice in 2021);
  • Kent was also listed in The European Top 100 haiku authors in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019;
  • The 12th Polish International Haiku Competition (PIHC) in 2022 - First Prize.

Books Published:

  • Illustrated haiku: - green leaves (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014);
  • moon on water, Alba Publishing, 2018;
  • Navigating Moons, Poems of a cancer journey, e-book 2024.

Work Anthologised:

  • Edge: The BHS Members’ Anthology (2015);
  • Yanty’s Butterfly: Haiku Nook: An Anthology, ed. Jacob D. Salzer (Lulu.com, 2016);
  • Beginning: The BHS Members’ Anthology (2016);
  • Ekphrasis: The BHS Members’ Anthology (2017);
  • A Hole in the Light (Red Moon Press, 2018);
  • Wild: The BHS Members’ Anthology (2018);
  • World Haiku Anthology, Ban'ya Natsuishi: No. 14 (2018); No.15 (2019); No. 16 (2020); No. 17 (2021); No. 19 (2023);
  • Wind Flowers (Red Moon Press, 2019);
  • where silence becomes song, ed. David Bingham and Iliyana Stoyanova (International Haiku Conference Anthology, St Albans, 2019);
  • All the Way Home: Aging in Haiku (ed. Robert Epstein, Middle Island Press, 2019);
  • Root: The BHS Members’ Anthology (2019);
  • City: The BHS Members’ Haiku Anthology (2020);
  • Love: The BHS Members’ Tanka Anthology (2020);
  • Half A Rainbow: Haiku Nook: An Anthology, ed. Jacob D. Salzer (Lulu Press 2020);
  • Temple: The British Haiku Society Members’ Anthology (2021);
  • Desert Rain: Haiku Nook: An Anthology: Volume I (Haiku & Senryu), Volume II (Tanka) & Volume III (Haibun), ed. Jacob D. Salzer (Lulu.com 2022);
  • Water: The BHS Members’ Anthology (2022);
  • Change: The BHS Members’ Anthology (2023);
  • Shining Wind/Сияен вятър, ed. A A Marcoff, David Bingham, Iliyana Stoyanova and Vladislav Hristov (The British Haiku Society, 2024).

Selected haiku:

toy soldiers—
the grandkids playing
refugees

   (Mainichi, Jan. 11, 2016)

*

the magician’s final trick     appears
when he dis……

    (Yanty’s Butterfly, 2016)

*

into itself
the painting becomes
the artist

   (Ekphrasis: The BHS Members’ Anthology (2017)

*

the wind where the empty swing swung

   (moon on water, 2018)

*

a harshness
in the river’s voice…
shifting wind

   (Wild: The BHS Members’ Anthology (2018)

*

after the bells the bells the bells sound like

   (where silence becomes song, ed. David Bingham and Iliyana Stoyanova (International Haiku Conference Anthology, St Albans, 2019)

*

twisted vine…
I ask myself the same
old questions

   (Root: The BHS Members’ Anthology (2019)

*

street café every sip a siren

   (City: The BHS Members’ Haiku Anthology (2020)

*

two pebbles
and the river’s song
this willow
dancing the same way
you always did

               (for Martha Magenta)

   (Love: The BHS Members’ Tanka Anthology (2020)

*

shinrin yoku
everywhere
the sound of me

   (Temple: The BHS Members’ Anthology (2021)

*

slow sunset—
talking to my mother
as if she were here

   (Change: The BHS Members’ Anthology (2023)

*

afterwards
nothing else matters
white poppy

   (Blithe Spirit 34.2)

*

every moon out of my hands stardust I return to

всяка луна извън контрол звезден прах, към който се завръщам

   (Shining Wind/Сияен вятър, ed. A A Marcoff, David Bingham, Iliyana Stoyanova and Vladislav Hristov (The British Haiku Society, 2024); Navigating Moons, 2024)

*

lightning strike —
my doctor tells me
weeks not months

navigating moons
stretching
yesterday
a little
longer

   (Navigating Moons, 2024)

Sources:

https://haikupedia.org/article-haikupedia/brendon-kent/
https://thehaikufoundation.org/poet-details/?IDclient=1754
https://thehaikufoundation.org/revirals-441/
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20151228/p2g/00m/0fe/050000c
https://haikupedia.org/article-haikupedia/european-top-100-most-creative-haiku-authors/#htoc-european-top-100-haiku-authors-in-2023
https://haikucommentary.wordpress.com/2024/05/16/brendon-kents-navigating-moons/
https://haikueurotop.blogspot.com/2015/