Write Haiku Your Own Way and Have Fun!
A lot of my peers think it s difficult to write haiku. They think you really have to bend over backwards before you can create something “good.” Wrong! Look, if you understand what modern haiku is, you ll have a much easier time writing it.
Modern haiku poetry does not adhere to the 5-7-5 syllable rule anymore. It s gone. Thrown out the window. Finished. Now, some poets still use this format. Nothing wrong with that. But you don t have to do it that way unless you want to.
The most important thing to remember about writing haiku is that you re writing about a present moment. Most beginners to haiku writing make it much more difficult than it has to be by coming up with flowery phrases and all sorts of western poetic devices. And here s where most students miss the mark. They think poetry has to use metaphor or analogy or some other clever device to express and reach the reader. Haiku doesn t operate that way. Haiku poetry is a simple statement that describes a present moment. For example, look at this haiku poem by the author:
Crows gather
inside the fir…
winter air
Here we have nothing special in particular. A few birds inside a tree. But it s the juxtaposition of lines 1 and 2 with the sentence fragment “winter air” that creates the poetics of this haiku. In fact, it is the use of juxtaposing a particular present moment with a macro view of what s happening in terms of time and place that gives us the “aha” moment!
When creating your haiku poems, first come up with your descriptive phrase. Then, consider the general ambiance or mood of the day or of the setting the phrase is derived from. Do this, and writing haiku should be fun and enjoyable for you!
Edward Weiss is a poet, author, and publisher of Wisteria Press. His 2 books “Bird Haiku” and “Seashore Haiku” are now available and he is currently working on a third. Get haiku in your inbox! Sign up for our FREE daily haiku service at http://wisteriapress.com and get a fresh haiku in your inbox every morning!
Related post
