Haiku guidelines

Subject: Haiku guidelines Thu Apr 19, 2007 2:38 am

Haiku: A haiku is usually a three line poem known for its brevity. Haiku is still evolving in the English language so there is no hard and fast rules but rather guidelines.

What makes a good haiku great is juxtaposition, an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, esp. for comparison or contrast.

A good pivot point that joins the images together is a must. Syllable count... the norm is 5-7-5. In my view as long as the total syllable count is 17 or under that is fine.

A haiku should be "child-like", simple and full of wonder. The aha moment is that moment when the haiku comes alive. It is the bringing together two separate images and connecting them.

Haiku should be grounded in nature (yes people are part of nature), have a seasonal word (so the reader knows what season you are describing), have a "cutting word" and be pleasing to the ear and eye.

With all poetry esp. with short form, show us don't tell us. Try to describe what you see instead of how you interact with it.

"HAIKU A poem recording the essence of a moment keenly perceived, in which nature is linked to human nature. Usually a haiku in English is written in three unrhymed lines of seventeen or fewer syllables, with the middle line longest, though a variety of line arrangements is used today; in Japanese, a typical haiku has seventeen "sound-symbols" (onji) arranged five, seven, and five. (Some translators of Japanese poetry have noted that about twelve syllables in English approximates seventeen Japanese onji.)

The most common technique is a juxtaposition of two images (Japanese renso). Traditional Japanese haiku include a "season word" (kigo), a word or phrase that helps identify the season of the experience recorded in the poem, and a "cutting word" (kireji), a sort of spoken punctuation that marks a pause. In English season words are sometimes omitted, but the original focus on experience captured in clear images continues. Punctuation, space, or line-breaks may substitute for cutting words. Most haiku have no titles, and metaphors and similes are usually avoided." From this webpage
http://www.gvsu.edu/english/cummings/Welch4.htm

Here is a great page on haiku by Jane Reichhold, she is one of the leading authorities on haiku.
http://www.ahapoetry.com/haiku.htm

New to haiku?

Here is a great place to start.

http://www.haikuworld.org/begin/mdwelch.apr2003.html

Happy writing!

Billy

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