about haiku
What is a haiku?
A haiku is a poem that captures a scene or experience in just a few words, suggesting the depth and intensity of the moment. Haiku use concrete images to imply the poet’s emotion without stating it.
Who writes haiku?
People of all ages from around the world write haiku. For some it is recreation, for some it is a spiritual practice, and for others it is a literary discipline.
How can I get started?
The best way is to read as many haiku as you can. Start with the 2006 Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Top Selected haiku.
Refer to one of the websites listed at the bottom of this column for some great online resources. At the library or bookstore, look for Cor van den Heuvel’s The Haiku Anthology with hundreds of excellent haiku in English. Robert Hass’s Essential Haiku features poems by three of Japan’s greatest haiku masters, Basho, Buson, and Issa.
Several “how to write haiku” books are available; William J. Higginson’s Haiku Handbook and Lee Gurga’s Haiku: A Poet’s Guide are among the best.
What are some of the basics of writing haiku?
Haiku differ from other types of poems. Haiku use plain language and sensory images. They avoid using abstract or conceptual words, similes, metaphors, rhyme, or language that is too “poetic.” If you are writing a general statement about life without evoking any emotions through sights, sounds, smells, or tastes, you are likely writing something other than a haiku.
In a haiku, every word must count. If you can omit a word or phrase without losing the thread of your meaning or interrupting the natural flow of language, do so.
I thought that a haiku had to contain 17 syllables. Why don’t Western haiku follow a 5-7-5 syllable count?
In Japan, the haiku is traditionally written in a single vertical line with sound symbols arranged in a 5-7-5 pattern. However, as Japanese words are often longer than English words, literal translations end up as English poems with fewer than 17 syllables.
A few haiku poets writing in English do follow the 5-7-5 pattern with wonderful results, but most poets view the haiku as a poem in three lines of 17 or fewer syllables.
What else should I know about the form of a haiku?
Most haiku contain a kigo, a word or short phrase that places the poem in a season of the year. For example, if you use the word “daffodil,” the reader will know you are describing a scene in spring. The kigo links the haiku to the deeper rhythms of nature.
In addition, most haiku create the English equivalent of the kireji, which in Japanese haiku is a word that cuts the poem into two parts. In the West, poets use punctuation marks (dashes, commas, or colons) or spacing (extra spaces between words or line breaks) to divide their poem. The purpose of having two parts is to create tension or an unstated relationship between two images.
By reading good haiku, you’ll see how kigo and kireji work.
Are there any helpful haiku organizations?
Yes. Haiku Canada has members across the country and around the world. Pacifi-kana represents Haiku Canada in British Columbia and the Yukon, Northwest, and Nunavut Territories. The Haiku Society of America welcomes members from other countries. Haiku Northwest in Washington State is the closest US regional group to Vancouver.
Visit the following websites to learn more about these and other organizations:
I'm interested in teaching haiku to my class. Do you have any resources to help me?
Yes, we have a Teaching Haiku page that talks about history and techniques, provides sample haiku and questions for classroom use, suggestions for teaching haiku at the elementary and high school levels, plus links to lesson plans and other resources for haiku.
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