Post by david on Jan 2, 2006 21:49:35 GMT -5
Guys - I recently submitted some haiku to the magazine "Frogpond," the journal of The Haiku Society of America. One of their editors, John Stevenson, was very enouraging and helpful.
He sent this as part of his response. Maybe you'll find it helpful, too.
David,
In the hope that it will open some discussion and help you prepare new poems for Frogpond, here are a few thoughts about English-language
haiku:
* The Haiku Society of America does not subscribe to the theory that a
haiku must be written in three lines, totaling seventeen syllables, in
a 5-7-5 pattern. Haiku derive from the opening verse of a Japanese
collaborative poem called a renku. This opening verse, called the
hokku, has a number of characteristics that also tend to define haiku,
and some of which transfer very effectively to other cultures. The
formal aspects of the hokku, however, do not transfer well to most
Western languages and cultures. I once recited a 5-7-5 English-language
haiku to some Japanese poets and their only comment was, “Why is it so
long?” We now understand English-language haiku to require less than
seventeen syllables, though no specific number of syllables is
generally agreed upon.
* The language of haiku is simple, natural, concrete, and direct.
Minimal use of simile, metaphor or other figurative, abstract, or
ornamental language is expected. Cleverness or direct comment by the
poet is generally not a plus. Haiku try to be comparatively
“transparent” and avoid calling attention to the poet or the poem
itself, especially when this draws attention away from the image(s)
contained within the poem.
* Haiku arise from an experience of real things and inspire a sense of
larger significance, primarily through intuition rather than thought.
The most effective haiku don't tell the reader what things mean. They
take the reader to places or things that inspired the poet and let the
reader discover them. The fact that the poet points them out implies,
without further verbiage, that these images (of real things) have been
discovered to be deeply resonant.
There's much more to it than this, of course, but this would be a good
place to start if you’d like to write haiku for Frogpond. If you
haven’t already done so, I urge you to visit the Haiku Society of
America’s web site (http://www.hsa-haiku.org). This will give you a
good sense of the kind of work we are hoping to use. If you visit the
site, please be sure, in particular, to read the poems in the Henderson
Award and Museum of Haiku Literature Award archives.
With best wishes,
John
He sent this as part of his response. Maybe you'll find it helpful, too.
David,
In the hope that it will open some discussion and help you prepare new poems for Frogpond, here are a few thoughts about English-language
haiku:
* The Haiku Society of America does not subscribe to the theory that a
haiku must be written in three lines, totaling seventeen syllables, in
a 5-7-5 pattern. Haiku derive from the opening verse of a Japanese
collaborative poem called a renku. This opening verse, called the
hokku, has a number of characteristics that also tend to define haiku,
and some of which transfer very effectively to other cultures. The
formal aspects of the hokku, however, do not transfer well to most
Western languages and cultures. I once recited a 5-7-5 English-language
haiku to some Japanese poets and their only comment was, “Why is it so
long?” We now understand English-language haiku to require less than
seventeen syllables, though no specific number of syllables is
generally agreed upon.
* The language of haiku is simple, natural, concrete, and direct.
Minimal use of simile, metaphor or other figurative, abstract, or
ornamental language is expected. Cleverness or direct comment by the
poet is generally not a plus. Haiku try to be comparatively
“transparent” and avoid calling attention to the poet or the poem
itself, especially when this draws attention away from the image(s)
contained within the poem.
* Haiku arise from an experience of real things and inspire a sense of
larger significance, primarily through intuition rather than thought.
The most effective haiku don't tell the reader what things mean. They
take the reader to places or things that inspired the poet and let the
reader discover them. The fact that the poet points them out implies,
without further verbiage, that these images (of real things) have been
discovered to be deeply resonant.
There's much more to it than this, of course, but this would be a good
place to start if you’d like to write haiku for Frogpond. If you
haven’t already done so, I urge you to visit the Haiku Society of
America’s web site (http://www.hsa-haiku.org). This will give you a
good sense of the kind of work we are hoping to use. If you visit the
site, please be sure, in particular, to read the poems in the Henderson
Award and Museum of Haiku Literature Award archives.
With best wishes,
John
