haiku explained

I've been a fan of haiku for several years now. I knew that the western idea of haiku as a strictly structured 5-7-5 syllabic line poem was not the true rule, but I had found no explanation that persuaded me away from those guidelines, in part because I didn't have a true understanding of the intention/definition of haiku. I knew it was a Japanese form, and from my study of karate, I know that spelling out meaning is not part of that culture of teaching/instruction.

My teacher would not explain things a whole lot. He would show us things, correct us when we were wrong. We would learn through imitation, at first. We would practice, practice, and practice a kata, and then at some point, the meaning would come clearer. The student evolves understanding from within, and there is an "aha" moment. The meaning is constructed over time. Once that meaning is established, the practice becomes easier - and harder. Every kata will be better from that point on for the gain of the new understanding.

What did I know about haiku? I knew that I was attracted to its form. My understanding was that haiku is a brief and starkly constructed poem that brings in an aspect of nature or season with some some kind of human "leap," so that the imagination can feel or picture what is being expressed. I have stumbled along blindly, (having fun,) writing these haiku, not getting any real critical feedback to improve the practice, and I would have a sense of when one was "decent." It is like when you are drawn to something (art, music, etc.) - you know that you like it - but you don't know exactly why, and you might not even care why. However, on some level you'd like to have a deeper understanding of it.

Occasionally I search the web for a new haiku web site. There are a proliferation of such sites online, but none really had a great explanation of haiku to take me to the next level in my enjoyment of reading/writing haiku. I had contemplated the famous Japanese haiku I've read and thought about how translation from Japanese affects meaning, and how the syllabic structure is so compact and definitely does not fit any sort of artificial structure. The other night I hit haiku gold when I found David Giacalone's, the archives of f/k/a. I recognized the name as someone whose work I had seen published, so I tooled around in the site and found an excellent explanation of haiku (versus senryu versus zappai).

Quick Definition of Haiku: Haiku is a “one-breath” poem (no more than 17 syllables, but the best often have far fewer in English) that relates nature to human nature, and usually compares or contrasts a pair of sensory images, which are separated by a pause. At its best, haiku lets the reader share in the poet’s “haiku moment” — a moment of insight or awe.

Quick Definition of Senryu: Senryu is a short poem similar in structure to haiku but featuring observations on human nature (often ironic, humorous and/or coarse).

What haiku isn’t: Not only is it untrue that haiku must be 17 syllables (in English-language haiku, shorter is better, and many of the best are 10 to 14 syllables), but it is especially untrue that any poem/verse set forth in the 5 - 7 -5-syllable format is haiku. Most of what we see on the internet — even if quite funny and imaginative — is (at its best) senryu, but most so-called haiku is really very light verse, or doggerel. It would be great if you could help correct the misconceptions by calling your next “haiku” contest by another name. Maybe “lowku” or “hipKu” or “hypeKu.” (”ku” means verse or poem in Japanese.)

[Gurga], discussing his use of the term zappai: “[T]here is a third genre in Japanese practice that includes light verses in haiku-like form written purely as a joke. . . . Zappai means ‘miscellaneous haikai verse’ in Japanese.

“Likewise, in the West, poems written in three lines and seventeen syllables, clearly not haiku in tone or feeling, have often been called senryu by those sophisticated enough to to differentiate these verses from true haiku. Even beyond senryu, however, lies that large class of poems written in parody of haiku or using the 5–7–5 haiku form and mock-Zen spirit as a vehicle for lowbrow humor. . .

“If a short poem sounds like an aphorism, epigram, proverb, or fortune-cookie wisdom, it is probably zappai. Whether we choose to refer to these kinds of light verse as zappai or pseudohaiku, however, is not really important. What is important is that it be understood that, though their authors may choose to call them haiku, they are merely versified ideas in haiku-form, not poems of the haiku genre.

For more from David Giagalone, check out his haiku primer. I also recommend reading the full explanation hyperlinked above.

Now, in looking back on my various haiku, I realize that some of the poems work as haiku, others are senryu, and some are zappai. Will I change my labels? Nope. I will just evolve my understanding and go from here. Now that I look back, I could probably go back and edit many of them to improve them, though chances are, I won't. Meanwhile, I am thinking about one-breath poems that are 17 or less syllables.