at Haiku North America 2019
Joe McKeon (born Joseph Edward McKeon, September 10, 1948, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.), retired business executive currently volunteering at a refugee center teaching English as a second language and preparation for the U.S. citizenship test. He writes primarily social commentary poetry. He has won awards in 20 contests including first place in the Harold G. Henderson Haiku Awards (2014 and 2018), the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival contest, and the Japanese Embassy Information and Culture Center contests. His haiku were featured in New Resonance 10 (2017) and several other anthologies. His first book of haikai, Oars Up (2019), was shortlisted for the Touchstone Distinguished Book Award, and his second (2023), To Whom It May Concern, is a call to poets to speak to injustice and suffering and use haiku as a vehicle for societal transformation. His book of haibun, A Man on Horseback, was long-listed for a Touchstone and received an Honorable Mention in the HSA Merit Book Awards. McKeon has resided in Strongsville, Ohio, since 1981.
Note: This is an abstract of a longer biographical article to come.