AN OLD SILENT POND...

A FROG JUMPS INTO THE POND,

SPLASH! SILENCE AGAIN.

By Basho (1644-1694)
HAIKU
Hokku
HAIKU
 Japanese verse form

 3 unrhymed lines of 5-7-5 syllables

 nature, a moment of beauty, or poignant experience

 features an image, or a pair of images, meant to depict the essence of a

specific moment in time
 traditionally contains a kigo, a word or phrase that symbolizes or implies the
season of the poem and which is drawn from a saijiki, an extensive but
prescriptive list of such words.
ORIGIN (9TH CENTURY)

 it is a way of looking at the physical world and seeing something deeper, like
the very nature of existence
 divided into 17 mora (a Japanese unit of syllable weight) and arranged in a
single vertical line.
 started out as a popular activity during the 9th to 12th centuries in Japan
called “tanka”
 originated from hokku, or the opening section of a longer renga sequence.
The hokku served to begin a longer poem by establishing a season, often with
a pair of seasonal images.
HISTORY

 popularized in Western literature on the early 1900s

 1905 in Europe

 Gradually adapted throughout WWI and II, the rise of modernism, by imagist
poets such as Ezra Pound, H.D., and T.E. Hulme
 linguistic and sensory economy
"THE GREAT FOUR"
 Matsuo Basho

 Kobayashi Issa

 Masaoka Shiki

 Yosa Buson

 “Their work is still the model for traditional haiku writing today. They were
poets who wandered the countryside, experiencing life and observing nature,
and spent years perfecting their craft.”
 AN OLD SILENT POND...
A FROG JUMPS INTO THE POND,
SPLASH! SILENCE AGAIN.

Basho Matsuo (1644-1694) considered the greatest

haiku poet
AUTUMN MOONLIGHT—
A WORM DIGS SILENTLY
INTO THE CHESTNUT.
 IN THE TWILIGHT RAIN
THESE BRILLIANT-HUED HIBISCUS -
A LOVELY SUNSET.
 A SUMMER RIVER BEING CROSSED
HOW PLEASING
WITH SANDALS IN MY HANDS!

Yosa Buson (1716-1784), a haiku master poet

and painter
 LIGHT OF THE MOON
MOVES WEST, FLOWERS' SHADOWS
CREEP EASTWARD.
 IN THE MOONLIGHT,
THE COLOR AND SCENT OF THE WISTERIA
SEEMS FAR AWAY.
 O SNAIL
CLIMB MOUNT FUJI,
BUT SLOWLY, SLOWLY!

Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828), a renowned haiku

poet:
TRUSTING THE BUDDHA, GOOD AND BAD,
I BID FAREWELL
TO THE DEPARTING YEAR.
 EVERYTHING I TOUCH
WITH TENDERNESS, ALAS,
PRICKS LIKE A BRAMBLE.
 I WANT TO SLEEP
SWAT THE FLIES
SOFTLY, PLEASE.

Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902), credited with reviving the

haiku and developing its modern format
 AFTER KILLING
A SPIDER, HOW LONELY I FEEL
IN THE COLD OF NIGHT!
 AFTER KILLING
A SPIDER, HOW LONELY I FEEL
IN THE COLD OF NIGHT!

FOR LOVE AND FOR HATE

I SWAT A FLY AND OFFER IT
TO AN ANT.

A MOUNTAIN VILLAGE
UNDER THE PILED-UP SNOW
THE SOUND OF WATER.
 NIGHT; AND ONCE AGAIN,
THE WHILE I WAIT FOR YOU, COLD WIND
TURNS INTO RAIN.

THE SUMMER RIVER:

ALTHOUGH THERE IS A BRIDGE, MY HORSE
GOES THROUGH THE WATER.

A LIGHTNING FLASH:
BETWEEN THE FOREST TREES
I HAVE SEEN WATER.
 THE LAMP ONCE OUT
COOL STARS ENTER
THE WINDOW FRAME.

Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) was a widely respected

novelist who also had many fairy tales and haiku
published. Here are three of examples of his haiku
 PLUM FLOWER TEMPLE:
VOICES RISE
FROM THE FOOTHILLS
THE CROW HAS FLOWN AWAY:
SWAYING IN THE EVENING SUN,
A LEAFLESS TREE.
MODERN HAIKU
 a haiku still focuses on one brief moment in time, employs provocative,
colorful imagery, and provides a sudden moment of illumination
 Here are seven examples of 20th century haiku poems:
 From across the lake,
Past the black winter trees,
Faint sounds of a flute.
- Richard Wright
 Lily:
out of the water
out of itself
- Nick Virgilio
 ground squirrel  A little boy sings
balancing its tomato on a terrace, eyes aglow.
on the garden fence Ridge spills upward.
- Don Eulert - Robert Yehling
 Nightfall,  meteor shower
Too dark to read the page a gentle wave
Too cold. wets our sandals
- Jack Kerouac - Michael Dylan Welch
 Just friends:
he watches my gauze dress
blowing on the line.
- Alexis Rotella
HOW TO WRITE A HAIKU
1. Go for a walk in nature.

2. Focus on a season or seasonal event.

3. Choose a person or object as your subject.

4. Read examples of a haiku by haikus by Japanese poet Matsuo Basho, Yosa

Buson, Tagami Kikusha and American poet Richard Wright.
WRITING THE HAIKU
1. Follow the line and syllable structure of a haiku.
2. Describe the subject with sensory detail.
3. Use concrete images and descriptions.
4. Write the poem in the present tense.
5. End with a surprising last line.
POLISHING THE HAIKU
 Read the haiku out loud.

 Show the haiku to others.

 Center the haiku on the page when it’s done.

 “A HAIKU REMAINS RESERVED FOR THOSE
SPECIAL MOMENTS IN LIFE WHEN YOU WANT
TO EXAMINE THE VERY NATURE OF
EXISTENCE, FROM A CHURCH BELL RINGING IN
THE NIGHT TO THE STAGGERING MOMENT
YOU REALIZE HE LOVES YOU.”
RESOURCES

 Creative writing copy for classes

 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/haiku-or-hokku

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku

 https://www.slideshare.net/charlitatrihapsari/teaching-haiku-poem

 http://www.edu.pe.ca/stjean/playing%20with%20poetry/Hennessey/exampl
esofHaiku.htm
THANK YOU!