To count or not to count? That is the question...
The writing of haiku is probably one of the most dumbed down exercises in our collective poetry curriculums around the planet. Every year I ask my students the same question: ‘What do you know about haiku?’ And invariably the entire room is shouting 5-7-5 as if it is the code that will stop a bomb from going off. It is almost like asking, “What is baseball?’ and having everybody shout “FIELD” at the same time. Baseball is certainly played on a field, but the answer is a long way from the nuance, practice, and reality of the game. Haiku has survived as an art form for so many thousands of years because there is something quintessentially cool, fun, and thought provoking about the writing and reading of haiku—but too many of us teachers forget to keep that in mind and impose a creative rigidity at the start by insisting on a metrical structure that is as unquestioned as gravity.
The writing of haiku has to be kept fun and thought provoking. In fact, the term haiku is derived from the word "Hai" which means "insightful," and the term "Ku," which means "fun." (Or something very close to that.) Haiku are poems of 20 syllables or less constructed in three lines using an images, actions, and a cutting element (usually a punctuation mark that sets up the twist) that separates the haiku into two sections. This might not be the definition you know, but it is the one we will use for the haiku I teach here. It is not a bad idea to stay close to the traditional 5-7-5 syllable scheme, but it is certainly not the end all be all of "effective haiku." Only a pedant is going to sit there and count syllables on you. A traditional haiku always has what is called in the Japanese language, a kigu, which is a seasonal reference of some sort, though for most western writers of haiku this has gone the way of the 5-7-5. A good haiku has neither too little or too much, and it just feels like a haiku when you read it or hear it. It makes you want to say, "Ahhhhh ku..." A haiku should be structured like a small cottage or hut: it is a small, familiar place that holds a secret of some sort—as well as the promise of great intellectual depth or emotional warmth. Write from your point of view from out of your own experiences. Never explain the meaning of what you say. Finding meaning is part of the joy and play of the readers
Technique # 1: Image and action + cool twist:
In the bog the kid with the new sneakers is getting nervous. ~fitz Technique # 2: Image on Image + Cool Twist:
For example: Outside the bombed cottage a snow-dusted soldier smiles and flips the pancakes. ~fitz Technique #3: Big to small, and small to big:
For example: All that's left of the long winter-- a mitten in the daffodils ~fitz Now let’s practice these three techniques! Haiku Technique #1 : Images & Actions + Cool Twist
For Example: In her nest of grass The robin sleeps all day A single earthworm Inches across the wet pavement Three painted monarchs Dance around a single flower Lightening flashes And distant rumbling
Here are the completed haiku using my examples. In her nest of grass The robin sleeps all day; It must be Sunday. ~fitz A single earthworm Inches across the wet pavement: Stop the speeding car? ~fitz Three painted monarchs Dance around a single flower— Sweet waiting nectar! ~fitz Lightning flashes And vague distant rumbling: Somebody's getting wet. ~fitz *These may not be the greatest haiku in the world, but I hope you get the basic idea of what I am trying to do. By adding the cutting I want you to see that even the most common of experiences can have profound and unique meaning. Haiku Technique #3: Image on Image + Cool Twist
For example: The rubber ball in the new snow A dark puddle on the dry street On a withered branch the black crow
The rubber ball in the new snow will soon be lost ~fitz When will the kids find the dark puddle on this dry street? ~fitz On his long grey branch the black crow waits all day. ~fitz Fitz’s Haiku Technique #3: Narrowing & Expanding
For example: The last oak leaf [small] The moon in the night sky [big]
Yesterday's winds: strong enough to carry away the last oak leaf. ~fitz →or narrow down the image: The moon in the night sky walks with me Down this wet road ~fitz *Each of these three techniques should help you compose haiku that are cool, fun, and insightful, but like any form of writing, the proof is always in the pudding. It is up to you to practice, experiment, innovate and use your own creative judgements while keeping in mind that traditions that evolved over the course of the last several hundred years. Don’t break the rules because you can; break the rules only after you know them!
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