Haiku - what it is, and isn't
As a writer who is quite interested in Haiku and also quite informed as to what constitutes Haiku and related forms, such as Senryu, I read every blog post I see which has the word Haiku in the title.
Sad to say, nearly every poem which the author has labelled Haiku is not Haiku, most of it is Senryu, and some not even that.
The Haiku Society of America has defined Haiku twice in recent years, first, in 1976, and most recently, in 2004. Here are those definitions:
HAIKU [1973/1976] Haiku Society of America Definitions Committee
An unrhymed Japanese poem recording the essence of a moment keenly perceived, in which Nature is linked to human nature. It usually consists of seventeen onji (Japanese sound-symbols).
HAIKU {2004}
Definition: A haiku is a short poem that uses imagistic language to convey the essence of an experience of nature or the season intuitively linked to the human condition.
An unrhymed Japanese poem recording the essence of a moment keenly perceived, in which Nature is linked to human nature. It usually consists of seventeen onji (Japanese sound-symbols).
HAIKU {2004}
Definition: A haiku is a short poem that uses imagistic language to convey the essence of an experience of nature or the season intuitively linked to the human condition.
Note "the essense of a moment" and "an experience of nature or the season" .
Japanese definitions of Haiku are even more strict, in that they proscribe any reference to persons or to human activities.
Perhaps a few examples will help.
Example of traditional (English) form:
A warm Autumn wind
Sycamore shedding its leaves
Brown kites sailing down.
Note the seasonal reference as well as the essense of a moment.
A warm Autumn wind
Sycamore shedding its leaves
Brown kites sailing down.
Note the seasonal reference as well as the essense of a moment.
This next departs from the traditional, in that in contains reference to a person:
Peach blossoms falling
Rosy clouds on Baoshi hill
Pink, your cheek on mine.
Here the seasonal reference is inferred by reference to falling peach blossoms.
Some OS members seem to think that any poem which adheres to the typical structure of 5-7-5 sylables is Haiku. That most assuredly is not the case. If it were, the following would be Haiku -
La de da de da
la didee la didee da
La de da de da
Can you imagine that any serious poet would consider that to be genuine Haiku?
Senryu is similar in format (5-7-5), but does not need either seasonal nor "moment in time" references. It is often humourous, or pokes fun at human nature. Here are some examples:
Here's a Senryu about musician Ben Folds:
Rented piano.
But the rental store would scream
if they saw Ben "play".
Rented piano.
But the rental store would scream
if they saw Ben "play".
And a few of mine:
Oh my dearest one
You are so like my prize pig
Belching and farting
**
On nine eleven
Fear grips America's heart
Terrorists laughing
**
Getting to know you
Your hand in my pants pocket
You tickle my balls
You are so like my prize pig
Belching and farting
**
On nine eleven
Fear grips America's heart
Terrorists laughing
**
Getting to know you
Your hand in my pants pocket
You tickle my balls
So please do attempt to write Haiku, but be sure you are writing the real deal, not just something that fits the 5-7-5 mold.
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Comments
Your hand in my pants pocket
You tickle my balls
you win ... best fake haiku EVAH!!!
So what do I win?
The peace of O S weekend.
No deletes allowed.
WOOF
No one spoke.
The host. The guest.
The white chrysanthemum.
Then I go off and argue with myself about whether 'tis nobler to allow somebody to labor under the delusion they're writing haiku, or to correct their misperception.
And I never do either.
There is also a discussion (I can't find it) that American and/or English Haiku should follow the 3-5-3 pattern instead of the 5-7-5 since English is a very monosyllabic language, and you can say a lot with 5-7-5, and the aim of Haiku is too use the fewest words to capture a moment (Unlike this sentence).
This link does not reference the 3-5-3 rule, but it does have some good advise on writing Haikus. http://www.ahapoetry.com/haiku.htm#comego
BTW, if you've read some of my Haikus on OS, you will notice that I do insert the seasonal reference. Do I get an "A" for effort? How about a "B"? "C+"?
3-5-3 Rated
Rated
A dove in blue sky
The falcon dives from above
Feather floating down
Did I get the gist of the form?
BTW, I'll spread the word on the difference between the poetic forms discussed, if you join me in my campaign to get the word out that sushi is not raw fish. Admittedly, some sushi has raw fish on or in it, but not all sushi does. Sashimi is raw fish. Deal?
Looks like suicide again for me...
Dogs romping on emerald
Clean it UP!
Dawg, well done (even without seasonal reference)
Midwest - I believe the author was Oshima Ryota
Verbal, c'mon don't pretend to shyness. I've seen you in action
Trudge, I'd give you an A
junk - Oh yeah, now where did I leave my brain?
sui - You seem quite competent to me - yes, actual Haiku
BTW, I seldom eat sushi, not because I don't like it, but because, since it's adoption by the yuppies, guppies & puppies, it has become way overpriced.
Leonde, I've read some of yours, and you also get an A
Vac, most of the time is enough. *Stephen Wright on suicide, "I got a paper cut writing my suicide note. It's a start."
Zuma - good advice, bad Haiku.
Haiku on the computer,
Tickle my moments.
But sometimes they don't make sense.
Refrigerator.
Point taken - but I also think that no form of poetic expression should be discouraged. Unless I'm trying to eat dinner and someone is shouting over an open mic.
Lawn grows. Some spots greener. It
must be the dog's poop.
So since I am not writing haiku as pure haiku, but a derivative of it, I tag all of my posts that are haiku-graphic with "art, haiku, poetry".
If I were rigidly clinging to form, I would have referenced nature in all of them. I am referencing human nature.
water always blue
a foolish consistency
hobgoblins of minds
Being able to do the actual thing frees me to work within new perameters.
Bite me, Wayne!
This site shows examples of haiku and photographs merged, frequently with the writer of the haiku different from the photographer.
I write the haiku directly inspired by my own image about 90% of the time, with the occassional insertion of a group of images that I did not photograph or generate otherwise.
My plan, once the haiku are written, is to revisit the best of them and reinterpret the image with chinese brushpainting, which I hve studied for about 22 years, now. Seriously for about 15.
If people are writing haiku, then they should certainly stick to the proscribed form.
But I am not writing that, so I think Wayne is right!
Not being Japanese or a member of the Society, I am free like a bird.
fluttering weakly
the caged bird still tries to fly
but his wings are clipped
rated for incredible chutzpah and deep focus on the utterly trivial
There was a young poet named Wayne
With the love of his life named Jane
They haiku'd all night
And senryu'd with delight
Ending with a couplet and quatrain.
WOOF
I am generally more inspired by nature than politics or man made things. And that explains it, but I am pleased to know that many, if not most, of my haiku would pass board approval.
That, of course, has no bearing of the quality of the real or faux haiku in my blog, only there purity.
parameter
spell check in comments
it rhymes, has no defined meter, but there is some Japanese poetic form that it fits precisely. Maybe desk haiku.
not what I was thinking of
it's lovely. really.