Haiku: Part 2 (hey, that rhymes!)
There are thousands examples of haiku on the internet, in blogs and other places. Here's a quick look of some of the best and most interesting sites:
suchlike.net: news in haiku
In this little gem of a site, the author reports one important news story per day in haiku form. Though he does not follow the constraints for subject, he does adhere to the form rules (syllables and line length). Not only do his poems give a succinct (if not terribly artistic) description of a news story, but he also offers links to articles and other information on the story in question. For a good example, check out this post about Wal-Mart's newest building site.
Also, in one post, he links to a contest run by The Guardian (a UK news service) that basically encourages people to do the exact same thing, express headline news in haiku form. Looks to me like the idea is spreading.
Ben Guaraldi | Haiku
This is another daily haiku blog, but more artistic than journalistic. Though occasionally there is some mention of current events (see Red Sox 2), the bulk of the entries are made up of the traditional "scene snapshot" type poems that follow the 5-7-5 syllables/line mandate.
In my mind, these particular haikus bring up an interesting idea. Traditionally, haikus were supposed to be centered around nature. The idea was at least in part to bring about awareness of one's surroundings. In modern times, however, peoples' surroundings are becoming constantly less "natural", and more manmade, with cars and buildings and streetlights and sidewalks replacing trees and rivers and mountainscapes. In light of these changing conditions, might a change in the focus of haiku be justified? For example, look at this poem. There is a clear sense of place and time here. All the "haiku rules" are followed, yet this poem has nothing to do with nature. Still, it is a snapshot of a scene in city life, one that is familiar to people, and looking at the event (in this case, a truck rumbling through the streets in the early morning) through the eye of a haiku necessarily makes us aware of this particular sort of event. I believe that this is the goal of haiku; not just to say pretty words, but to call attention to the minutae of life in order to allow people to appreciate it more fully.
Conscious-Living Poetry
Admittedly, this blog is not solely focused on haiku. But a fair number of entries are written as haikus, so I think it's perfectly valid to include mention of it here. Unlike the previous blogs, Don (the author) does not seem to feel beholden to the 5-7-5 syllables rule. Most of the pieces that he calls "Haiku Moments" seem to pay no attention to traditional rules of haiku, and yet in my mind it is doubtless that they are truly haikus. For some beautiful examples, look here or here.
I will argue that some of the poems he calls haiku might not qualify. For example, this poem, though it is well-put and wise, breaks a lot of the rules of haiku. How many of these rules can you ignore before a poem ceases to be a haiku and becomes something else? It's a question I can't answer.
Other Haiku Blogs: FiveSevenFive and Haiku the Blog
If any of this has given you the inspiration to try writing your own haikus, there are a couple ways you can go about it. Jane Reichhold's article on haiku techniques is worth a read if you are interested in constructing your own haikus. This article may also be helpful (and is much shorter). If you don't want to go through all that study, you could try the interactive Create Your Own Haiku toy. Or if you're REALLY lazy, just let The Genuine Haiku Generator create a random haiku for you.
Final thought (courtesy of the Genuine Haiku Generator):
homicidal loose
eternal illusion sings
lustfully, drunk bronze
In this little gem of a site, the author reports one important news story per day in haiku form. Though he does not follow the constraints for subject, he does adhere to the form rules (syllables and line length). Not only do his poems give a succinct (if not terribly artistic) description of a news story, but he also offers links to articles and other information on the story in question. For a good example, check out this post about Wal-Mart's newest building site.
Also, in one post, he links to a contest run by The Guardian (a UK news service) that basically encourages people to do the exact same thing, express headline news in haiku form. Looks to me like the idea is spreading.
This is another daily haiku blog, but more artistic than journalistic. Though occasionally there is some mention of current events (see Red Sox 2), the bulk of the entries are made up of the traditional "scene snapshot" type poems that follow the 5-7-5 syllables/line mandate.
In my mind, these particular haikus bring up an interesting idea. Traditionally, haikus were supposed to be centered around nature. The idea was at least in part to bring about awareness of one's surroundings. In modern times, however, peoples' surroundings are becoming constantly less "natural", and more manmade, with cars and buildings and streetlights and sidewalks replacing trees and rivers and mountainscapes. In light of these changing conditions, might a change in the focus of haiku be justified? For example, look at this poem. There is a clear sense of place and time here. All the "haiku rules" are followed, yet this poem has nothing to do with nature. Still, it is a snapshot of a scene in city life, one that is familiar to people, and looking at the event (in this case, a truck rumbling through the streets in the early morning) through the eye of a haiku necessarily makes us aware of this particular sort of event. I believe that this is the goal of haiku; not just to say pretty words, but to call attention to the minutae of life in order to allow people to appreciate it more fully.
Admittedly, this blog is not solely focused on haiku. But a fair number of entries are written as haikus, so I think it's perfectly valid to include mention of it here. Unlike the previous blogs, Don (the author) does not seem to feel beholden to the 5-7-5 syllables rule. Most of the pieces that he calls "Haiku Moments" seem to pay no attention to traditional rules of haiku, and yet in my mind it is doubtless that they are truly haikus. For some beautiful examples, look here or here.
I will argue that some of the poems he calls haiku might not qualify. For example, this poem, though it is well-put and wise, breaks a lot of the rules of haiku. How many of these rules can you ignore before a poem ceases to be a haiku and becomes something else? It's a question I can't answer.
If any of this has given you the inspiration to try writing your own haikus, there are a couple ways you can go about it. Jane Reichhold's article on haiku techniques is worth a read if you are interested in constructing your own haikus. This article may also be helpful (and is much shorter). If you don't want to go through all that study, you could try the interactive Create Your Own Haiku toy. Or if you're REALLY lazy, just let The Genuine Haiku Generator create a random haiku for you.
Final thought (courtesy of the Genuine Haiku Generator):
homicidal loose
eternal illusion sings
lustfully, drunk bronze
posted by Angel at 9:44 PM
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