20 years of tinywords!

November 2020 marks the 20th year of publication for tinywords. The brainchild of founding editor Dylan Tweney, what began as a simple personal e-mail and SMS mailing list has grown over the years to an international journal of haiku and micropoetry with well over 6,000 subscribers on email and Twitter, and countless readers and commenters on the tinywords website.  It has also become a community of readers and writers around the world.

For the first eight years Dylan worked mostly on his own, publishing one haiku nearly every weekday.  In November of 2009, tinywords began to publish with a wider view, including but not limited to haiku.  The journal also moved to a structure based on the serial release of multiple issues per year, some of which were offered in printed form. Associate editors joined to become part of the submission reading and selection process.  Since 2012 Peter Newton and Kathe L. Palka have been the leading co-editors of tinywords.  Dylan still provides technical support for the site, and also helps read poems during every submission period.

To learn more about the history of the journal please visit our About page where you will find a more detailed history, some interesting tinywords trivia as well as a link to an entertaining podcast of a conversation between Dave Bonta and Dylan Tweney.  You can also write to Dylan to request a copy of a printed broadside published by the late Norbert Blei, containing Dylan’s views on haiku and on tinywords.

And please enjoy our comprehensive online Archive where you can read though all our years of publication, including the older archive of haiku published 2000-2008.

Be safe, stay well,

The Editors

33 Responses

  1. Shirley Weese Says:

    Congratulations, I have enjoyed tiny words since the beginning. Every best wish for the future!!

  2. Gaby Bedetti Says:

    Congrats to tinywords for its longevity. The daily poem invariably gives perspective to my day. I marvel at the deftness of form and insight. Keep it going!

  3. Alan Summers Says:

    Wow! And delighted to have had a small part as a selection editor many many moons ago!

    Alan Summers

  4. Nancy Rapp Says:

    Congratulations ? tinywords is a spark of joy for me each day. Thanks so much to the dedication and expertise of everyone involved. It’s such a thrill to have a haiku included and to hear a response, as the reader is integral to the moment and enriches and creates a new moment.

  5. kjmunro Says:

    Congratulations!

  6. Dan Bodah Says:

    Thank you for bringing tinywords into existence and growing it all these years. It is a real pleasure day by day.

  7. martin1223 Says:

    Hurray for Tinywords! Enjoyed getting that tiny poem in my inbox every day for the last twenty years. What a treat! Thank you Dylan Tweeny Founding editor, Peter Newton, and Kathe L. Palka leading co-editors.

  8. Dave Serjeant Says:

    Happy birthday Tinywords. Like Alan above I’m so happy to have played a small part in your history as part of the team. Here’s to the next twenty years!

  9. Alan Summers Says:

    Yay! And my wonderful past editor who supported me so much with writing haibun, and those mammoth book reviews! :-)

  10. Adjei Agyei-Baah Says:

    Congratulations. Great feat!

  11. Christopher Pickslay Says:

    Congrats all! I'm way off my haiku game. Need to start making it a habit again.

  12. Kristen Lindquist Says:

    Congratulations on your milestone anniversary! Keep up the good work!

  13. Jo Balistreri Says:

    Congratulations to all of you who have made this such a bountiful site. We are enriched by your dedication and passion to haiku. It is a source of pleasure to me every single day.
    Thank you. Thank you.

  14. Carol Reynolds Says:

    A big thank you to all involved with Tinywords. I love waking up to Tinywords every day and since discovering haiku 10 years ago having access to the international haiku community through such sites has helped improve my haiku and the quality of haiku in general.

  15. Victor Ortiz Says:

    Congratulations! We are lucky to have you. THANK YOU!!! And may 20 more years be in your future!

  16. Helen Buckingham Says:

    Many congratulations…..long may Tinywords continue!

  17. Susan Constable Says:

    Congratulations on your 20th anniversary! I appreciate all the work that goes into making this site such a success. Wonderful to have some positive news in 2020. Thank you so much!

  18. snakypoet Says:

    Hooray! I love tinywords.

  19. Anton Floyd Says:

    Congratulations and thank you for this daily delight. Continued success to you all.

  20. Sylvia Forges-Ryan Says:

    Congratulations and all good wishes for at least 20 more years. And thanks for all the work you?ve done for haiku!

  21. Sylvia Forges-Ryan Says:

    Congratulations and all good wishes for at least 20 more years. And thanks for all you?ve done for haiku!

  22. Leanne Mumford Says:

    Congratulations to the current editorial team and all who have contributed to tinywords over two decades. I appreciate the commitment, and the opportunities for poets around the world to share haiku through tinywords.

  23. Gregory Longenecker Says:

    Amazing journal! I look forward to reading it everyday.

  24. Bob Lucky Says:

    Congratulations. Continued success. I'm glad I've become a member of this community. Wonderful company.

  25. Robert kingston Says:

    Congratulations to all at tinywords on your twentieth anniversary. So look forward to a fresh poem each day.

  26. Katrina Says:

    Congratulations and thank you! Love reading tinywords.

  27. Debbie Feller Says:

    So thankful for tiny words and all the joy you bring into our lives!

  28. V. Ranaldi-Adams Says:

    Congrats !!

  29. Dave Bonta Says:

    Congratulations! So few literary magazines ever make it to 20. Best wishes for the next 20.

  30. Sam Bateman Says:

    Kudos to tinywords and all the editors—past and present.

  31. parishaiku Says:

    What an accomplishment! And may Tinywords enjoy at least another 20 good years! A delightful and meaningful contribution to the haiku community–bravo!

  32. Marion Clarke Says:

    I LOVE tinywords! Thanks to all involved.

  33. Jeff Hoagland Says:

    Congratulations and a heartfelt thank you for this sustained accomplishment. The arrival, each day, of a new haiku, especially during this pandamnic (my spelling), provides some much needed medicine. Thank you as well to all the participating poets. I look forward to continued enjoyment!

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