Strand, Clark: - Clark Strand, an accomplished master of the haiku form, has been writing poetry for fifty years and teaching haiku for thirty. A former Vice President of the Haiku Society of America, in 1996 he created the world's first online ku-kai group where poets could come together to share haiku written in English. Strand hosts a popular Haiku Challenge on Facebook, sponsored by Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, where poets from around the world are invited to submit haiku poems weekly on a set seasonal theme, the best of which are then announced on Facebook and published in Tricycle. Stand is the author of many books including The Way of the Rose, Waking the Buddha, and Waking Up to the Dark. His writings have appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. He lives in Woodstock, New York.