HAIKU AND HOW WE WRITE IT (PART 2) on the 21st of Octorber, 2013

HAIKU AND HOW WE WRITE IT. (PART TWO)

 compiled by: MOSES S. ROTIMI

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USE SENSORY LANGUAGE

(1)  Describe the details. Haiku are comprised of details observed by the five senses. The poet witnesses an event and uses words to compress that experience so others may understand it in some way. Once you have chosen a subject for your haiku,

(2)  think about what details you want to describe. Call the subject to mind and explore these questions

·         What did you notice about the subject? What colors, textures, and contrasts did you observe?

·         How did the subject sound? What was the tenor and volume of the event that took place?

·         Did it have a smell, or a taste? How can you accurately describe the way it felt?

(3)   Show, don't tell. Haiku are about moments of objective experience, not subjective interpretation or analysis of those events. It's important to show the reader something true about the moment's existence, rather than telling the reader what emotions it conjured in you. Let the reader feel his or her own emotions in reaction to the image.

o   Use understated subtle imagery. For instance, instead of saying it's summer, focus on the slant of the sun or the heavy air.

o   Don't use cliches. Lines that readers recognize, such as "dark, stormy night," tend to lose their power over time. Think through the image you want to describe and use inventive, original language to convey meaning. This doesn't mean you should use a thesaurus to find words that aren't commonly used; rather, simply write about what you saw and want to express in the truest language you know.

ABOVE ALL

Be inspired

Practice a lot

Communicate with other poets.

ADDITIONAL TIPS:

·         Haiku has been called "unfinished" poetry because each one requires the reader to finish it in his or her heart.

·         Contemporary haiku poets may write poems that are just a short fragment with three or fewer words.

·         A Haiku doesn't always need to rhyme.

·         Haiku originated from haikai no renga, a collaborative group poem that is usually one hundred verses in length. The hokku, or starting verse, of renga collaborations indicated the season and also contained a cutting word. The haiku as its own form of poetry continues in this tradition.

Sample Love Haiku

• Refreshing and cool,
  love is a sweet summer rain
  that washes the world.

• Love is like winter
  Warm breaths thaw cold hearts until
  one day the spring comes

• A bird flies sweetly
  on paper wings. Telling all
  of my love for you.

• Every day I will
  love you more than you could know.
  We are here as one.

• The softest whisper
  beckons me closer to you.
  I love you, dearest.

• Vast as a mountain,
  my love for you shines through for
  all the world to see.

Sample Funny Haiku

• One shark said to the
  other when eating a clown
  fish: this tastes funny.

• The bartender said
  to the neutron, “For you, sir,
  there will be no charge.”

• A question for you:
  Where does Washington keep his
  armies? His sleevies.

• An octopus went
  off to war. It’s a good thing
  that he was well-armed.

• A wise man once asked,
  “Why, pray tell, is the sand wet?”
  Because the sea weed.

• The best way to carve
  wood is extremely slowly,
  whittle by whittle.

 Compiled By: MOSES S. OLAROTIMI (Sheyzznote)

HAIKU AND HOW WE WRITE IT (PART 1) on the 8th of Octorber, 2013

HAIKU AND HOW WE WRITE IT. (PART ONE)
compiled by: MOSES S. ROTIMI

#Help promote poetry, #COMMENT on this article, and help forge letters into golden words.

(1) Know the sound structure of Haiku. 
Japanese Haiku traditionally consist of 17 on, or sounds, divided into three phrases: 5 sounds, 7 sounds, and 5 sounds. English poets interpreted on as syllables. Haiku poetry has evolved over time, and most poets no longer adhere to this structure, in either Japanese or English; modern Haiku may have more than 17 sounds or as few as one.
When you're deciding how many sounds or syllables to use in your Haiku, refer to the Japanese idea that the Haiku should be able to be expressed in one breath. In English, that usually means the poem will be 10 to 14 syllables long.

(2) Use Haiku to juxtapose two ideas. 
The Japanese word kiru, which means "cutting," expresses the notion that Haiku should always contain two juxtaposed ideas. The two parts are grammatically independent, and they are usually imagistically distinct as well.

• Japanese haiku are commonly written on one straight line, with juxtaposed ideas separated by a kireji, or cutting word, that helps define the ideas in relation to each other. The kireji usually appears at the end of one of the sound phrases. There is no direct English translation of the kireji, so it is often translated as a dash. Note the two separate ideas in this Japanese haiku by Bashō: “how cool the feeling of a wall against the feet — siesta”.

• English haiku are most often written as three lines. The juxtaposed ideas (of which there should only be two) are "cut" by a line break, punctuation, or simply a space. This poem is by American poet Lee Gurga:
fresh scent—
the labrador's muzzle
deeper into snow

CHOOSE A SUBJECT

(3) Distill a poignant experience.
Haiku is traditionally focused on details of one's environment that relate to the human condition.

• Japanese poets traditionally used haiku to capture and distill a fleeting natural image, such as a frog jumping into a pond, rain falling onto leaves, or a flower bending in the wind. Many people go for walks just to find new inspiration for their poetry, known in Japan as ginkgo walks.

• Contemporary haiku may stray from nature as a subject. Urban environments, emotions, relationships and even humorous topics may be haiku subjects.

(4) Include a seasonal reference.
 A reference to the season or changing of the seasons, referred to in Japanese as kigo, is an essential element of haiku. The reference may be obvious, as in using a word like "spring" or "autumn" to indicate the season, or it might be subtler. Example: poem by Fukuda Chiyo-ni:
morning glory!
the well bucket-entangled,
I ask for water

(5) Create a subject shift. 
In keeping with the idea that haiku should contain two juxtaposed ideas, shift the perspective on your chosen subject so that your poem has two parts. For example, you could focus on the detail of an ant crawling on a log, then juxtapose that image with an expansive view of the whole forest, or the season the ant is currently inhabiting. The juxtaposition gives the poem a deeper metaphorical meaning than it would have if it were a simple, single-planed description.

        Sample Nature Haiku
• An afternoon breeze
expels cold air, along with
the fallen brown leaves.
• Cherry blossoms bloom,
softly falling from the tree,
explode into night.
• The warmth on my skin.
Fire falls beneath the trees.
I see the sun set.
• Summer here again.
Music plays sweetly, drifting.
And life is renewed.
• A winter blanket
covers the Earth in repose
but only a dream
• An ocean voyage.
As waves break over the bow,
the sea welcomes me.

Compiled by: MOSES S. ROTIMI