Introduction to Haiku

8 Responses to “Introduction to Haiku”

• Morgana
  January 8th, 2009 at 7:00 am

  Nicely done. Thank you for giving us more knowledge on the field many of us are aspiring to conquer.

• Adam Henry Sears
  January 8th, 2009 at 11:06 am

  I agree with much of what you say, Stephanie, but I think you’re forgetting a couple of principles: I’ve done my research and … in it’s truest form, haiku represents not just nature, but a season, conveyed through a connection to humanity. Also, to be considered a true haiku there must be a contrast of opposites within the haiku. The japanese use ‘onji’ in their language which is a slightly more specific form of syllable, so, while there is a strict number of onji in japanese, also there should be a strict number of syllables in English. It’s just that, in English, punctuation and coherence of thought are a necessity. That’s what makes writing true haiku so difficult in English,… because Proper grammar and punctuation are still required. Thanks for sharing.

• Sharazad
  January 8th, 2009 at 2:13 pm

  Thanks so much for your input Adam.
  This is not an in-depth definition of haiku, since I wanted to be brief.
  I did not mention the ‘kigo’, or seasonal references, which are important to classic Japanese haikai (plural haiku).
  Kigo are are not always included by modern Japanese writers or non-Japanese writers. Traditionalists consider it a requirement but many poets do leave the kigo out, using the haiku form to investigate other subjects like war, sex, urban life, etc.

  I also didn’t write about the kireji or ‘cutting words” that traditionally appear at the end of one
  of the verse’s phrases. Kireji doesn’t have an english equivalent.
  People write haiku in hundreds of different languages and
  there is no consensus about a true or definitive format or even subject matter for international haiku.

  I hope that everyone who reads this writes some haiku and posts
  them on triond, because they are so much fun.

• Sharazad
  January 8th, 2009 at 2:13 pm

  Thanks so much for your input Adam.
  This is not an in-depth definition of haiku, since I wanted to be brief.
  I did not mention the ‘kigo’, or seasonal references, which are important to classic Japanese haikai (plural haiku).
  Kigo are are not always included by modern Japanese writers or non-Japanese writers. Traditionalists consider it a requirement but many poets do leave the kigo out, using the haiku form to investigate other subjects like war, sex, urban life, etc.

  I also didn’t write about the kireji or ‘cutting words” that traditionally appear at the end of one
  of the verse’s phrases. Kireji doesn’t have an english equivalent.
  People write haiku in hundreds of different languages and
  there is no consensus about a true or definitive format or even subject matter for international haiku.

  I hope that everyone who reads this writes some haiku and posts
  them on triond, because they are so much fun.

• Sharazad
  January 8th, 2009 at 2:14 pm

  Thanks so much for your input Adam.
  This is not an in-depth definition of haiku, since I wanted to be brief.
  I did not mention the \’kigo\’, or seasonal references, which are important to classic Japanese haikai (plural haiku).
  Kigo are are not always included by modern Japanese writers or non-Japanese writers. Traditionalists consider it a requirement but many poets do leave the kigo out, using the haiku form to investigate other subjects like war, sex, urban life, etc.

  I also didn’t write about the kireji or ‘cutting words” that traditionally appear at the end of one
  of the verse’s phrases. Kireji doesn’t have an english equivalent.
  People write haiku in hundreds of different languages and
  there is no consensus about a true or definitive format or even subject matter for international haiku.

  I hope that everyone who reads this writes some haiku and posts
  them on triond, because they are so much fun and a good exercise.

• Sharazad
  January 8th, 2009 at 2:26 pm

  First, I’d like to apologize to the readers because I posted multiple haiku and the website has run them all together so it
  looks like all one poem. Yeah. Think I will fix that…

  Also thanks so much for your input Adam.
  This is not an in-depth definition of haiku, since I wanted to write something brief and introductory.
  I did not mention the ‘kigo’, or seasonal references, that are so important to classic Japanese haikai. Kigo are are not always included by modern Japanese writers or non-Japanese writers.
  Traditionalists consider it a requirement but many poets do leave the kigo out, using the haiku form to investigate other subjects like war, sex, urban life, etc.

  I also didn’t write about the kireji or ‘cutting words” that traditionally appear at the end of one of the verse’s phrases. Kireji doesn’t have an english equivalent and are usually replaced by punctuation.
  People write haiku in hundreds of different languages and
  there is no true or definitive style or even subject matter for international haiku.

  I hope that everyone who reads this writes some haiku and posts
  them on triond, because they are so much fun.

• James DeVere
  January 9th, 2009 at 7:11 pm

  I love Haiku – it’s such a great form for the Internet. People can just glance at it and get a decent read without having to spend any time on it,

  Thanks . j

• Carolyn Cordon
  January 11th, 2009 at 12:42 am

  I am keen on haiku – last year I was fortunate enough to do an online workshop with a very learned man in haiku in Australia. I learned that everything I had written before the workshop was not haiku, it was just small poems pretending to be haiku, and I learned to write, sometimes, good haiku. It was an interesting and difficult month, but I feel I know what I am doing now. I also know that good haiku is nowhere near as simple as it looks!

  Good on you Stephanie for telling the general reader a little of the fascinating story of haiku.

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