Poet, educator, and musician, Marco Fraticelli has contributed as an executive member of Haiku Canada (1988-2014), and as an editor and publisher of the literary magazine The Alchemist (1974-1987) and the Hexagram Series (1991-2012). His poetry has won awards in Canada, the United States, and Japan.
Through his career as a teacher in both elementary and high schools, he introduced countless students to haiku as part of English literature classes. In 2021, he was invited to judge 2 contests: the Betty Drevniok Award Contest (Haiku Canada), and the Haiku Juniors (17 years or younger) category of the New Zealand Poetry Society International Poetry Competition.
He has given many readings and workshops, including: a presentation at the British Haiku Society (BHS) Spring Gathering: Haibun: The Gateway to Haiku (June 2021), and a reading and workshop entitled An Evening with Marco Fraticelli at the Historic Joy Kogawa House in Vancouver (October 2019).
His most recent collections include haibun – a form that combines story with haiku. Drifting (catkin press, 2013, currently in its third printing) matches excerpts from found diaries of Celesta Taylor (1860 – 1937) with haiku by Marco. His book includes a postscript about the 30-year journey from finding the diaries to publication. His second haibun collection, A Thousand Years (catkin press, 2018) combines imagined letters written by Marco with actual haiku by the 18th century woman haiku master, Chiyo-ni. A Thousand Years received 2 distinguished awards: First Prize in the inaugural Marianne Bluger Book Award (Haiku Canada, 2020) & Touchstone Distinguished Books Honorable Mention (The Haiku Foundation, 2018).
He has just completed his first children’s novel that is also a haiku primer in story form: Dear Elsa (Red Deer Press, 2023). His book Drifting has been translated into French, Dérive (catkin press, 2023), and both books were launched at the Haiku Canada Weekend, May 2023.
Marco is currently working on a memoir (of sorts) inspired by Beatles lyrics.
A presentation about haibun - a literary form that combines story and haiku.
Of particular interest to communities interested in local history, a presentation about my book Drifting. This book combines excerpts from the found diaries of Celesta Taylor (1860-1937) with my haiku. Celesta and her family lived in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. There was a 30-year journey from finding the diaries to publication.
An introduction to writing haiku, and a presentation on teaching haiku to middle-school-aged students.
