David Reynolds, faculty and chair of the Fountain Valley School English Department, recently released an original haiku collection, Coming Storm, which explores love, loss, nature, and the quiet beauty of everyday moments across the 12 months of the calendar year. 

The collection, which began as part of a Fountain Valley School time-release award granted to Reynolds in 2023, includes approximately 100 haiku poems written by Reynolds over the past decade. After reviewing more than 350 passages and carefully curating his final selection, Reynolds offers poetry enthusiasts – from novice writers and high school students to seasoned professionals – various themes, ranging from political and societal reflections to lighter observations of daily life. Throughout the process, Reynolds envisioned an accessible yet layered collection, likening his haiku to “a chocolate truffle; small but rich.”

“A lot of haiku have a heaviness to them. A lot are about mortality and sadness and while I think it’s good to explore that, I think there’s also great space for haiku to be light and fun,” he says.

Reynolds’ experience teaching creative writing courses and workshops to a mix of high school and adult learners in the Colorado Springs community for nearly 10 years has helped shape his unique approach to writing. Reynolds also takes pleasure in overseeing Poetry Out Loud and Fountain Valley School’s award-winning student literary magazine, Athenaea, organizing a city-wide poetry competition open annually to high school students across the Pikes Peak region, and planning FVS’s ShakespeareFest depicting student-directed performances. He and his students’ works have been featured in Modern Haiku on multiple occasions. 

This newly published collection marks an important milestone in Reynolds’ career, reflecting both his journey as a writer and his professional dedication to educating others. With Coming Storm, praised by Head of the Haiku Society of America’s Mountain Region Michael Drummy as containing “real gems,” that probe all five senses and evoke a shared emotional experience, Reynolds brings to life a deeply personal yet universally relatable collection, offering readers a unique window into the power of haiku to capture life's fleeting moments.

Coming Storm may be purchased for $25 directly from David Reynolds by emailing dreynolds@fvs.edu.