What is Femku?
fem·ku
femËŒkoÍžo
noun
a feminist haiku, or a haiku written by someone fem-presenting, genderqueer, or assigned female at birth
In September 2017 Rowan Beckett coined the term "femku" in the subtitle of their first book Radical Women: A Book of Femku. Since then, the term has resonated throughout the Haiku community, thus pioneering a movement and this journal, the safe space Rowan created for women, trans, and gender-expansive Haijin to share their work. ​
Meet the Team!
Rowan Beckett is a disabled Melungeon poet and activist from Prince, WV who currently resides in Cleveland, OH. Their work has been featured in: A New Resonance 12, Haiku 2021, as a presenter for Haiku North America (2019, 2021), and co-judge for the HSA Brady Senryu Contest (2022). Rowan has won several awards, including The Short List for the Touchstone Award for Individual Poem (2017, 2019, 2022) and the Trailblazer Award (2023, haiku and tanka). Their sixth book, Hot Girl Haiku, is available for purchase.
Rowan Beckett
Founder and Editor-in-Chief
agender, they/them/boneself
Vandana Parashar is a postgraduate in Microbiology, an educator and a haiku poet. Her haiku, senryu, and tanka have been published in many national and international journals of repute and has won her many prizes and accolades. Her haiku was also shortlisted for the prestigious Touchstone Award (2020). She is the Associate Editor of haikuKATHA, Feature Columnist for whiptail journal, and part of Poetry Pea's editing team. Her debut e-chapbook, I Am, was published by Title IX Press (now Moth Orchid Press) in 2019 and her second chapbook, Alone, I Am Not, was published by Velvet Dusk Publishing in April 2022.
Vandana Parashar
International Women's Month Editor
woman, she/her
Kelly Sargent is a hard of hearing artist and poet adopted in Luxembourg, now residing in Vermont. Her debut collection of haiku and senryu is entitled Bookmarks (Red Moon Press, 2023). She is also the author of two memoirs in verse, entitled Seeing Voices: Poetry in Motion and Echoes in My Eyes (Kelsay Books, 2022 and 2024). Her short form poetry appears regularly in journals, and has placed in a number of international competitions. She is also the CNF Editor of The Bookends Review, and has reviewed for a magazine dedicated to making visible the artistic expression of sexual violence survivors.
Kelly Sargent
Assistant Editor
woman, she/her