What is Haiku Poetry? What is Hokku Poetry?
Haiku is a Japanes Style Of Poetry. It dates back past the 19th century and is a poetry writing which has form and definitions for different Techniques. Traditionally hokku, which came before Haiku was made up of a specific pattern which had a 5-7-5 on rule where the on in japanese was the sound symbol or sound(on) and the 5-7-5 was the beat count for the Hokku way prior to Haiku.
Haiku combines in most cases three different phrase groups, with a unique grammatical break separating the phrases.These breaks as far as I know are called Kireji, and Kireji is often placed at the end of either the first five or second seven or last five morae. A morae is a sound that decides the syllable weight. Often the Morae will determine the timing and how it is stressed. In English, kireji is often replaced with commas, hyphens, or some kind of break in the haiku poem. So these sections or elements of the older style of Haiku are considered by many writers and readers absolutely essential.There is today a style of Haiku that is called "Free Form Haiku" and in my opinion are not Haiku at all but that depends on the individual. Japanese haiku is most often wrote or written in a single line and the english language haiku is most often separated into three lines.
Nouns do not have different singular and plural forms in Japanese, with that said Haiku is usually used in both singular and plural nouns.
Haiku is a higher technique of writing poetry where there is a great amount of disipline forming and thinking of what the outcome of the poem will mean. Haiku is more then just writing, it is a state of mind,feeling, and a spirituality which is brought to paper that not only gets the Haiku reader thinking but emotionally involved into the poem one way or another.
Ive read many articles on Haiku and the one thing I have noticed is the differing opinions of what Haiku really is. In allot of articles youll find just an overflowing amount of relentless jibber jabber and still you come out with the question, "What is Haiku Poetry"?
Can it be you just have to have a spiritual moment and then write about it to have a Haiku poem created. Then maybe you have to have a member of the Haiku community come out and point to your work and say, "that is a wonderful Haiku Poem"! I dont think so, with enough interset and a little investigation you will start to get a certain direction to lead you to a higher state of mind and be the Haiku Poet youve dreamed of. Well maybe that sounds a little ridiculious to you or maybe it doesnt. The fact is that many poets are looking for a new spark and there looking at different styles to write in. Haiku without a doubt has a certain mystique and holiness that surrounds it leading the writer to reach what I call the "Enlightened Scribe".
What are your takes on Haiku and where do you want to take your writing ability? As a writer I need to reach as many writers need to do for a more meaningful scribe. Haiku to me looks like the style that may open up my creativity and set my ability free. Its not just enough to be creative, to be quick witted and emotional. One must become one with their poem and with their vision of the meaning of the Haiku Poem.
To write good Haiku one must first align themselves with their openness and their ability to clear their mind and find themself. To write form not just all the jumble of words that are in ones head but by the subconcious which seems to be enlightened more then the outer shell that most of us live in. I mean lets take a look at where Haiku really came from and see if we can figure out what Haiku truly is.
There have been translations from Japanese masters who were fluent in Haiku poetry. There dedication to the writing style and their disipline is what helped Haiku Poetry to be taken serious. Art with words, words with spirituality, and a devotion to their writing as an art is what propelled it to be highly read and sought after. "Haiku writing is an experience", writing that is felt and brings out emotions as if it is occuring to ones self. If you dont feel the words as if your experiencing the picture or moment then you are not writing Haiku. Use your senses, taste the fruit your writing about and bring it to life, climb the unclimbable cliffs and feel the pain of the rocks of the mountainside as they scrape your knees.
We know that Haiku is being written by many poets that dont even know they are writing in the haiku style. They have naturally reached this level with their own ability or spirituality.
Now there are many techniques to my knowledge about Haiku and many that should be discovered and uncovered. What I would love to do is find a true expert to help the poets on my poetry site grow and learn. So if you want to run or write a column on POETRY SCRIBER about haiku poetry and want to share the knowledge you have aquired to aid those in wanting to find an understanding and a Haiku moment in their writing then please email me and let me know. I'm not looking for someone to copy article Im looking for someone to write and teach from their own experience with Haiku.
