THE HAIBUN GALLERY: 21st May 2026 Teji Sethi - Guest Editor
- Srinivas Sambangi
- May 21
- 2 min read
Editors on haikuKATHA: Shalini Pattabiraman, Vidya Shankar, Firdaus Parvez and Kala Ramesh
Guest Editor: Teji Sethi
Host: Srinivas Sambangi
Featured Poet: Michael Dylan Welch
A Thursday Feature
21st May 2026
Documenting History in Haibun
Haibun, with its blend of prose and haiku, has a unique ability to both record and recreate historical events. It can serve not only to chronicle what happened but also to preserve the texture of lived experience by anchoring the narrative in a specific time and place. In this way, a haibun documents the event while offering readers the chance to revisit it and perceive it from a different perspective.
The haibun I showcase today is by Michael Dylan Welch. Michael Dylan Welch often experiments with haibun as a way of reframing history, and in this case he uses Roosevelt’s “Day of Infamy” speech as the prose.
Pearls
Michael Dylan Welch
Yesterday, December 7th, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
Japan has . . . undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.
roadside stand—
the flowers today
at half price
First published in Contemporary Haibun Online 16:1, April 2020. Sourced from: Graceguts
Prompt for Writers
I would like you to attempt a haibun that records a historical movement, event, or a struggle
***
Thank you, Teji, for being with us as a guest editor this month. This is quite an interesting and unique prompt.
_Srinivas
#1`
A Day of Anarchy
September 9, 2026 ---- a day when my state is an absolute failure! All bodies of the state are functionless. It is a collective mass nightmare. It’s all due to the total losses of morality, honesty and integrity of the leaders. They spend over three and half decades to exploit the resources of the state for their personal gains by abusing power with total disregard and disrespect to people. How the leaders foil all bodies of state--- executive judiciary, and parliamentary. The infiltrators of Gen-Z protestors virtually capture the state and set the state ablaze all over the country. Nepal Army, Nepal Police, and Armed Police Force won't take any action to stop…
#1
The Last Shelter
The final radio broadcast dissolved into static and the distant thud of artillery. We left before dawn carrying only what could fit into two hands: bread, a change of clothes, and the silence growing heavier with every mile. The road out of the city was crowded with carts, crying children, and horses slick with cold sweat.
By noon, sunlight broke through the dust and settled across the ripe fields beyond the roadside tavern where we stopped to rest. Its windows had already been covered with black paper. Somewhere inside, an old record kept skipping over the same few notes, as if the melody itself could not move forward.
No one spoke. We sat watching the light…
#1 When the Garden Fell Silent In Amritsar, thousands had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh to protest laws that allowed arrests without trial under British rule. Some had come for the meeting; others were simply passing through the crowded garden. The space was enclosed by high walls and narrow exits. Then troops of the British Indian Army entered under the command of Reginald Dyer, blocked the main passage and opened fire on the unarmed crowd.
People ran in every direction with nowhere to escape. Some jumped into the well to avoid the bullets. When the shooting stopped, the ground was covered with shoes, shawls, and silence.
spring twilight— pigeons scatter from the parapet
Sathya Venkatesh, India
#1, 23/05
The Summer of 1991
She is almost ready for her first delivery. The delivery date is May 16. Her parents are anxious; their prayers converted to calling the name of the Lord every other second. She is calm and quiet. That night, she wakes up to see the Mariamman procession that returns home with the ladies holding the holy kumbhas.
But, somehow, the date exceeds. She is advised by the doctor to get admitted on May 22nd. The family is ready to welcome a new born. Meanwhile, the autorickshaw driver calls on them to be ready as early as possible. A fear moves on... The girl sees an expression of concern in her father's face.
An assassi…
#1
cuckoos in a jurassic park
Transport vanishes altogether from the streets of Kolkata. I walk back home from work. Around 10 miles. Arduous and unsafe. People armed with choppers, fish-knives, sticks or whatever else their fancy dictates, perform a death dance across the city. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi has been assassinated by two of her Sikh security guards. The entire Sikh community is the target of a man-hunt in response.
singh bandhu …
faint strain of tilak kamod
from afar
dipankar (দীপংকর) India
Note! Singh Bandhu is the name of a well-known classical vocalist duo in India. Bandhu means a friend in North India. All Sikhs have a Singh in their surnames. Tilak Kamod is a classical…