One thing cannot be denied. Here on WOL we are in the midst of a Haiku Hiatus! courtesy of WOL's own Haiku Tsar (or should that be Emperor) Rob Mann.

This got me thinking about the form itself, which by the look of it, many poets seem to like. Indeed we've all had a go at it, perhaps it's the 5-7-5 syllable discipline that challenges our use of better words.

So what makes a good Haiku?

Graham, Wolfie et al.,

After the unwarranted title, furnished by one of the sensei of WOL, what am I supposed to say? I feel that I am only an apprentice to haiku, having discovered the form recently. I am still learning, but do love the discipline of the 5-7-5 format.

I find that the 'restraints' help concentrate my focus, be more selective with words and want to feel that I can add complexity/depth/meaning by choosing appropriately.

As for how my pieces are interpreted, I hope that they invoke images or, as someone said recently, they are sonically satisfying.

I am aware that others are indulging in the art, with some great results, although quite a few are not as formulaic. Although I prefer the structure, I think each work should be viewed on its own merit. There are recent examples of tanka and haibun which are also excellent and enlightening and should not go without mention (Stu and Trevor).

Importantly, the power of WOL to provoke interest in the written word is proven once more!

Rob, your unwanted title is my warm and grateful recognition of the impact that you have had on your fellow poets and the haiku form. Bravo!

Who knows perhaps we could have a WOL Haiku of the Year?

Interesting comment here about the 17 syllable discipline. Similarly the juxtaposition principle.




Haiku (plural haiku) is a very short form of Japanese poetry. It is typically characterised by three qualities:

The essence of haiku is "cutting" (kiru). This is often represented by the juxtaposition of two images or ideas and a kireji ("cutting word") between them, a kind of verbal punctuation mark which signals the moment of separation and colors the manner in which the juxtaposed elements are related.
Traditional haiku consist of 17 on (also known as morae though often loosely translated as "syllables"), in three phrases of 5, 7, and 5 on respectively.
A kigo (seasonal reference), usually drawn from a saijiki, an extensive but defined list of such words.
Modern Japanese haiku (現代俳句 gendai-haiku?) are increasingly unlikely to follow the tradition of 17 on or to take nature as their subject, but the use of juxtaposition continues to be honored in both traditional and modern haiku. There is a common, although relatively recent, perception that the images juxtaposed must be directly observed everyday objects or occurrences.

In Japanese, haiku are traditionally printed in a single vertical line while haiku in English often appear in three lines to parallel the three phrases of Japanese haiku.

Previously called hokku, haiku was given its current name by the Japanese writer Masaoka Shiki at the end of the 19th century.

i spent a good year writing haiku before i tried any other poetry really. its a good form to start on as it requires some discipline and is easily completed.

i have a great book of basho's entire haiku, both in japanese and english. its really interesting to see the japanese equivalent of the haiku we all know.

its nice to see good haiku coming back, however a lot of the poems on here that are titled haikus are not actually haikus. nowadays you can change the theme of a haiku and possibly even the cutting word/line. however, the syllables should always be 5/7/5. it would also be nice to see the traditional haikus return, perhaps more with the kigo (seasonal word) in place.

not that i often adhere to those rules however. except the syllables.

The syllable count is probably the least important element of the haiku in English. The short Japanese on syllables are not the same as syllables in English. Instead, the cutting and the kigo seasonal word are the most important. Without that, it can't be called a haiku.

You can have a short poem which the Japanese would say has the 'stink' of haiku without it being a strict haiku; such as Keruoac's 'pops'.

Originally, haiku were written as the jokey start to a 'renga' or poem sequence where poets round a table (usually with a large amount of Saki!) would compete with each other to write the most subtle response to the poem before.

Of course, trust the West to take the least important aspect and turn it into a 'rule'...

interesting.

while it does seem the syllable idea came from a bastardization of the japanese demanding 5-7-5, the haiku journal states that a haiku must be 5-7-5 syllables to be considered for print.

as usual with these things, seems there are many differing ideas.

i agree with the kigo though, that has to be present (although interestingly i have had several haiku published without this element...)

seems like yet another topic mankind is destined to disagree on.

LCPTB you make several good points but WOL is home to many and various poets of many and various abilities, inclinations, genres etc and long may it be so.

Woe be the poet who takes himself too seriously!

Talking of haiku,
Laura Taylor`s `Arrested Development` is
a very interesting assay at imposing a strict form on a longer theme. I think - in a `story` poem like this - it helps to stop the individual lines and the stanza size `running away with themselves` (to good, clear effect).

Laura`s poem was quite humorous - I`d like to see someone try it on some serious stuff.

We should keep the typographical form..but `English` it.

Harry - interesting you should say that! My latest effort entitled Haiku Combo: Seasonal Reign is just such an attempt. A walk through the woods with changing seasons governing the cycle of life for the resident flora.
Rob

LCPTB I didn't warn you! You have picked up the wrong cap and pulled it down firmly over your ears.
I'd love to see all levels of poetry here on WOL and I'd also like to see at least ten comments for each poem too.
The fact that WOL engenders such educated interest in forms such as Haiku, ably championed by Rob, is testament to where the site is heading.
I for one feel that all poets could learn from reading the work and comments on WOL. What a brilliant resource!

Going back to the question posed in the thread title. There must be something in the sparse brevity of Haiku that appeals to many of us. Small but incredibly well formed.

Sorry LCPTB I was addressing the platitude to the masses.

Robert,
I did realise that `Combo` was on a (seasonal) theme,, but what caught me in Laura`s work was the ability of the tight syllabic form to handle the telling of a (humorous) tale like it did.

I was comparing it with our prize winner Tom Watts style of telling a tale (which is much looser but also effective)

My interest is in how to get some kind of serious poetic `punch` into a tale telling style.

I myself am trying to develop the haikupi.

How many syllables does a Haikupi have JC
4-2-4 or 4-4-2?

He's one of our own
He's one of our own He's one
Of our own he's one....

Looks like Leicester`s developed a slowuppie at the same time as Tottenham`s burst into an urriruppie.

Mind you would think Kane might have had the decency to get himself sent off (just to even it up)

Great discussion :)

LCPT makes a very good point above with this:

5....in English there is no direct equivalent to the Japanese sound unit, the "on", except perhaps the syllable, or (the phoneme?)

.....the English writer of Haiku can only ever come to achieving an approximation of what "a good Haiku" is, and that for example, if WOL were to have a Haiku competition, then to ensure complete fairness, a very strict set of rules regarding the composition of a Haiku would have to be drawn up!


Absolutely. The form of the Japanese language is such that it is impossible for it to be replicated with English language (there's a term for it that I can't think of right now). Given this impossibility, we can get close to writing haiku but that's all. And given THAT, I feel it gives us a little flexibility on the rules.

Thanks for your comments above Harry. I knew I was breaking the kigo rule and the kiru rules in several stanzas but I do enjoy the discipline imposed by the brevity.