Ion Codrescu was born in Cobadin, Romania in 1951. He was educated and received his degree at the Fine Arts Academy, Bucharest.

Although he has been writing haiku on and off over the years, he did not start publishing until 1992. He has published poems, essays, and articles in 18 countries and 13 languages.

In the 1990s, Ion was on a scholarship in Japan where he studied ink painting and haiga with the Japanese artist Ryuhei Nishiyama. Later, both master and student produced an art show at the Constantza Art Museum.

Also in the 1990s, he founded the Constantza Haiku Society of Romania, the international haiku journal Albatross, the Constantza International Haiku Festival and the Constantza National Haiku Conference. In 2004 Ion Codrescu founded the HERMITAGE international haiku journal.

Ion is a member of the Romanian Writers' Association; the Haiku Society of America; Haiku International Association; Renku Association of Japan; Haiku Association of France; Accademia Internatinale "Greci-Marino"; Accademia del Verbano, di Lettere, Arti, Science of Italy; the World Haiku Association; and the World Haiku Club.

He has been invited to deliver papers on haiku, to lead haiku and renku workshops, to read his poems, or to make exhibitions with his ink drawings, paintings, and haiga in many countries. His paintings are in private art collections and public museums in a variety of countries.

He has won numerous prizes and has numerous publications. His Keynote Speech for the World Haiku Festival 2000, London-Oxford Conference, "Rules of Form and Freedom of Spirit in Haiku," can be found in the World Haiku Review. A more complete biography is found on the tempslibres/free times web site.

Books :
• Drawings Among Haiku, Muntenia Press, Romania, 1992.
• Constantza Haiku Anthology, Muntenia Press, Romania, 1992.
• L'Abricotier change de visage, Voix d'Encre Press, France, 1994.
• Round the Pond - An Anthology, Muntenia Press, Romania, 1994.
• Unsold Flowers, Hub Editions, Great Britain, 1995.
• A Foreign Guest, Ex Ponto Press, Romania, 1999.
• Mountain Voices, Ami-Net International Press, Great Britain, 2000.
• Kapljice Rose [Dewdrops], Apokalipsa Press, Solvenia, 2000.
• Haiku-Haiga. Creative Activities for Students, Ex Ponto Press, Constantza, Romania, 2004 (new anthology)

Contact : Ion Codrescu: ioncodrescu@yahoo.com
For further information or to see a wider selection of Ion Codrescu's images, visit his web site: Ion Codrescu Gallery [http://nc-haiku.org/galleries/codrescu/gallery2_0.htm]. On this gallery, prices are quoted for some of his haiga images.