Photo by Bettina Bröker
Ralf Bröker (born April 22, 1968, Ochtrup, NRW, Germany), German communications consultant and poet principally interested in nontraditional haiku, haibun, and tanka. In 2019 he presented a paper on “scibun” (haibun on themes in science and science fiction rather than in nature) at the International Haiku Conference in St Albans, U.K. Bröker participated in online haiku competitions, notably the Shiki Internet Kukai, the Caribbean Kigo Kukai, and the European Quarterly Kukai, and was a frequent contributor to the Japanese newspaper columns Mainichi Haiku in English and Asahi Haikuist Network. He has had German-language work published in Chrysanthemum, Einunddreißig, Fotohaiku, Haiku heute, Haiku hier und heute, Haikuscope, Journal für Haiku und Kurzgedicht, Haiku-Wort-Art-Forum, Sommergras, Tageshaiku, and VerSuch, as well as Haiku-Jahrbuch (2008–2024). His work in English can be found in Albatros / Albatross (Romania), Bones, Cattails, Diogen (Croatia), Frogpond, The Living Haiku Anthology, Moongarlic, and Sketchbook, among other publications. A haiku and tanka collection, Kreischen der Kreide / The Screech of Chalk, appeared in 2016. Bröker resides in Ochtrup, Germany.
Note: This is an abstract of a longer biographical article to come.