Haiku


 * Haiku** are deceptively simple poems. The form was invented in Japan in the 17th century and adopted by Western poets in the 20th century. **Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) and Yosa Buson (1716-1784)** are considered the greatest Haiku poets in its native Japanese. In modern times, Beat poet and novelist Jack Kerouac mastered the form, having been attracted to it for its adaptability to jazz riffs.


 * Haiku are 3-line poems that offer a glimpse into a moment of intense emotion, observation, or discovery**. Because Japanese and English do not translate easily, haiku in translation do not follow a strict syllable count, and neither must haiku in English. Some teachers direct their students to follow a strict 5-7-5 syllable format in the poem's 3 lines, but most believe that the content is more important than any strict regulation of meter.

To write successful haiku, the poet must be struck by a moment, image, or thought that has a greater importance than the thing itself. In the opening line or two, that thing must be described concisely, using concrete imagery. Then in the last line of the poem, the poet must state or suggest a greater richness or irony lying beneath the thing initially stated. The ending may be metaphoric, ironic, surprising, poignant, or even humorous. Syntactically, a haiku may read like a complete sentence, or it may be a fragment. Capitalization and punctuation are optional.


 * Here are some samples from master Matsuo Basho, translated by Sam Hamill:**

Pitifully -- under a great soldier's empty helmet, a cricket sings

After morning snow onion shoots rise in the garden like little signposts

Sick on my journey, only my dreams will wander these desolate moors


 * Now some from master Yosa Buson, translated by American laureate Robert Hass:**

Coolness -- the sound of the bell as it leaves the bell.

White blossoms of the pear and a woman in moonlight reading a letter.

The old man cutting barley -- bent like a sickle.


 * And finally, a sampling of Jack Kerouac's:**

Holding up my purring cat to the moon, I sighed. Glow worm sleeping on this flower -- your light's on.

Snap your finger stop the world -- rain falls harder.


 * Click here to read some of Ms. Hutchinson's Spring Haiku.**