Welcome To

The Nick Virgilio Haiku Association and Writers House

A local/global space for poets — inspiring writers, strengthening community.

The Nick Virgilio Haiku Association, with 20+ years of experience, operates the Writers House in Waterfront South. NVHA is a non-profit poetry organization that celebrates poetry and its impact on communities. Based in Camden, NJ, we offer workshops, readings, school classes and writing sessions for all ages, fostering creativity and education while honoring Nick Virgilio’s haiku legacy and inspiring centered lives through the art of poetry.

Who we work with
INSPIRE, MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Help Us Create Change Today

Join Our Next Event

Discover the art of haiku poetry at our upcoming events. Connect with poets, share your work, and be inspired.

Donate To Support

Support the poetry community with your donation. Help us foster creativity, host more events, nurture future poets and reach underserved youth.

About Our Work

Learn about the ways we use poetry for healing, building community, building mindful presence and addressing trauma. We provide a platform for poets to connect, learn and thrive together.

POETRY MATTERS

Welcome To The Nick Virgilio Writers House

We offer literary programs and events that are free to the public including:

Explore our Haiku Bookstore for Unique Poetry Publications And Inspiring Books for Sale

Stay In Touch With Us

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E-newsletter and Discover our Camden poetry programs for schools, communities, businesses and organizations! Get our news or ‘request a personalized quote to bring our creative writing and haiku workshops, engaging poetry sessions and team building programs to your party, event or audience’. Subscribe here:

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SUPPORT Us

Support Teaching in Camden Schools

When you support the Nick Virgilio Haiku Association, you make a significant impact on the community and especially for diverse audiences who have limited if any access to the arts. You bring poetry into Camden’s public private and parochial schools, nurturing mindful presence and creativity. You provide weekend and evening safe community spaces for writing and connecting, and support local poets and teachers. you make workshops, open mics and ginko walks more accessible. Our latest initiatives use trauma-informed methods gto bring poetry for self-expression and healing to underserved youth.

You’re not just supporting a cause; you’re investing in the power of poetry to inspire, heal, and unite. Every gift, big or small, plays a crucial role.

We have winners!

Here are the six winners of this year’s Nicholas A Virgilio Haiku and Senryu Memorial Contest sponsored by Haiku Society of America.

Haiku Society of America Nick Virgilio Haiku and Senryu Annual Youth Contest

The judges for the 2025 competition were Eavonka Ettinger and John Pappas.
See the web page of comments from the judges

autumn leaves
her last words heard
in a voicemail

–Phoebe Bain – Grade 12, Colorado Springs, CO

blood moon
keys between my knuckles
like my mother before me

–Brynn Jensen – Grade 12, Colorado Springs, CO

grandma’s kitchen
mooncake softens
in my mouth

–Frances McIlvoy – Grade 8, Atlanta, GA

autumn wind
the scent of the bonfire
on a borrowed hoodie

–Evelyn Reynolds – Grade 8, Atlanta, GA

war victory
the names of the dead
misspelled

–Tenzin Tinley – Grade 12, Colorado Springs, CO

empty hallway
one shoe sideways
after the argument

–Connor Wong – Grade 12, Newport Coast, CA

POETRY READINGS

Camden Poetry Events: Join Us

Immerse yourself in Camden’s vibrant poetry scene with our engaging events. Attend our local poetry gatherings and open mic readings, where poets of all levels share their work in a supportive community. Enjoy refreshments while connecting with fellow poetry fans. Don’t miss our annual Nick Virgilio Memorial Celebration, honoring the legacy of haiku and its impact on the literary world.

This Camden cultural space at 1801 Broadway (Broadway and Ferry) is part of Nick’s endurng legacy where we bring together poets, supporters, and friends for inspiring events and program. Join us to experience the power of poetry and be part of a meaningful cultural tradition.

Jessica Lopez Salinas, California | 12th grade

Anyone in the world has the ability to write a haiku; their ‘expertise’ is not the driving factor between ‘good’ and ‘bad’. Haiku is just a way to write what cannot be spoken

Jasmine Feier Leesburg, Virginia | 12th grade

Haiku helps me take the time to appreciate nature and the world around me

Emily Gonyea Beverly, Masachusetts | 12th grade

Haiku allows me to write down what I am truly feeling instead of keeping everything to myself. When writing haiku, I feel safer, like I can say what I am feeling without having anyone judge me

Alex Hansen Washburn, Wisconsin | 12th grade

Haiku helps me calm my mind and focus my energy into a single task. I find it very calming and I use it to ground and center myself

Aman Amaram Petersburg, Virginia | 11th grade

What I like about writing haiku is that it allows me to express what I want to say but can’t quite find the exact words for. As someone with intense feelings, along with a learning disorder, I often struggle to condense my emotions into simple sentences. Therefore, being able to use words that describe how I feel without forming sentences is something that I truly enjoy and appreciate. Haiku gives me an untraditional yet heard voice, which I feel is beautiful.

Pritisha Bobbie Vijayan Dublin, Ohio | 8th grade

What I like about writing haiku is how effortlessly easy and yet mentally demanding it is. I sift through my memories trying to encompass them in less than 17 syllables. I love how I hace to actually think about every word and line. Each word and letter plays a vital part….

Rashmi Karthik Miami, Florida | 9th grade

Haiku helps me better understand myself and truly grasp the simplicity of a world which seems so confusing and complex

Adaline Lawson Burlington, Vermont | 8th grade

What I like about haiku is that I can be in the moment and appreciate life

Emily Rutz Royersford, Pennsylvania | 12th grade

Haiku helps me organize my thoughts, ground myself from all the worries of the world, ascend to the eye of the hurricane in this ever moving, fast-paced society. Why can’t we just stop and appreciate the little things, like leaves falling from a tree?

Anonymous Camden, NJ

I enjoy writing more after taking this class

Philadelphia, Inquirer

The Nick Virgilio Writers House is where poets read, write, study, teach, and talk about the latest iterations of the 17th-century Japanese verse form called haiku. And that’s just on the second floor…. Where some might see haiku as an arcane, overly rigorous, or even elitist sort of poetry, writers and fans know it as a plainspoken, egalitarian platform from which three short lines of text can speak volumes. “The Nick Virgilio Writers House stretches the limits of haiku…

The Courier Post

services now include a lot more than nurturing writers, poets and readers: It's hosted online contests that have received entries in the favored genre of its namesake, haiku, from poets all over the world. It's become a more vital part of its South Camden community… Its core mission remains poetry, and haiku in particular.

Anonymous, Camden | NJ Grade 6

I enjoy writing more after taking this class

TESTIMONIALS

What Kids Say About Writing Haiku with Us

Hear from those who’ve been touched by our work. Our testimonials showcase the transformative power of haiku and poetry, reflecting the positive impact we’ve had on poets, students, and the community.

Haiku in Action

A Weekly Haiku / Senryu Journal Focused on Poems of the Moment

Haiku in Action is the NVHA online poetry journal, publishing haiku and senryu every week. Poems based on our weekly prompts have a better chance of being accepted. [Learn more about Haiku in Action and writing modern American haiku here] We accept submissions on a rolling basis. We do not send rejections. If your work is accepted, you will receive a confirmation email and your piece will be published on social media the next day and on our site below.     

BLOG

Blogs & Articles

Timeline Of Nick’s Life In Poetry

There are poets and visionaries—souls who write to reveal the truth hidden in the ordinary, not to get praise. One such person was Nick Virgilio. One of the founders of...

How Camden Shaped Nick’s Haiku

New Jersey’s Camden. A city that had been a titan of shipbuilding and industry, more recently has endured great hardships. While it may seem like a place of suffering to...

Listen to Nick Virgilio with Scott Simon of NPR

Recorded in Studio 1988