An award-winning haiku poet and photographer, Kit Pancoast Nagamura was born in the U.S. and studied at Brown University, University of Michigan (M.A.), and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Ph.D.). She has lived in Japan for over 20 years. Nagamura has won numerous accolades for her haiku, including an Ito-en Oicha Award of Excellence, Award of Excellence for Matsuyama's Setouchi International Haiku Contest, an O Miami Poetry Award; and has won three consecutive Honorable Mentions in the Tokutomi Haiku Contest held by the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society. She hosts NHK World's Haiku Masters program, which airs around the world. In addition, she gives workshops, and serves as a judge for the Golden Triangle Haiku Contest in Washington, D.C., among others. Nagamura is the co-author of Kodansha's The Ultimate Japanese Phrasebook.