Geert Verbeke: A real kuyu, born in Kortrijk, Flanders (Belgium) in old Europe for peace, on 31 May 1948. Father of four children: Hans, Saskia, Merlijn & Jonas. For the last15 years the happy partner of Jenny Ovaere, a teacher in special care education and guide for Joker adventure travelling. Geert began writing Western haiku in 1968 after his beloved mother, Jo Hiltrop, offered him a small cahier: 'Zen-buddhism' with selected writings of D.T. Suzuki and references to R.H. Blyth, H.G. Henderson and Allan Watts. His communication with the Italian sculptor Pietro Bares was another stimulation. The decisive factor to write and study haiku was the discovery of Himalayan singing bowls and the travels with his wife and soulmate to Kathmandu, the Sinai desert, Istanbul, Tunisia, Djerba, France, Tanzania, Zanzibar and the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA.

Geert's website: http://users.skynet.be/geert.verbeke.bowls