Yvonne Hardenbrook was born in Virginia, and she graduated from high school in western Maryland, and from West Virginia Wesleyan College. Following post-grad studies at The Ohio State University, when she began writing poetry, Yvonne had a many-faceted career from paper mill lab assistant to medical librarian to slenderizing salon assistant manager to legal secretary, then became a classroom teacher and newsletter editor in Columbus, Ohio.

She began publishing her poetry in 1979, and has been studying and practicing the Japanese forms since 1983. Her first haiku collection won the 1989 Cicada Award and publication from Amelia Magazine. Her haiku and tanka have appeared in the U.S., Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the U.K., where she has won numerous awards. After 20 years of publishing, she says her “other” poetry has been deeply affected by her haiku studies, and her experience as a Western poet has informed her Japanese poetry. Never before has she felt so close to her natural world and the people in it than through haiku and tanka. She has taught the forms in public school classes, community workshops, and various poetry organizations.