[Bards] Haiku

[John H Taylor]

fine with me.
willow
On Fri, 20 May 2005 15:04:52 -0500 "D. Vandever" <hlannes at ev1.net>
writes:
> Thank you, Your Grace, for posting this. I was going to print off 
> something
> from a book I have to use as a handout for the Steppes Bardic 
> competition
> but if I have your permission, I could just use this with only a 
> paragraph
> or two from the book I have.
> Annes
> >
> > HAIKU for PEOPLE
> > since 1995.
> >
> >
> >
> > What is Haiku?
> >
> > Haiku is one of the most important form of traditional japanese 
> poetry.
> Haiku is, today, a 17-syllable verse form consisting of three 
> metrical units
> of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Since early days, there has been confusion 
> between
> the three related terms Haiku, Hokku and Haikai. The term hokku 
> literally
> means "starting verse", and was the first starting link of a much 
> longer
> chain of verses known as haika. Because the hokku set the tone for 
> the rest
> of the poetic chain, it enjoyed a privileged position in haikai 
> poetry, and
> it was not uncommon for a poet to compose a hokku by itself without
> following up with the rest of the chain.
> > Largely through the efforts of Masaoka Shiki, this independence 
> was
> formally established in the 1890s through the creation of the term 
> haiku.
> This new form of poetry was to be written, read and understood as an
> independent poem, complete in itself, rather than part of a longer 
> chain.
> > Strictly speaking, then, the history of haiku begins only in the 
> last
> years of the 19th century. The famous verses of such Edo-period 
> (1600-1868)
> masters as Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa are properly 
> referred to as
> hokku and must be placed in the perspective of the history of haikai 
> even
> though they are now generally read as independent haiku. In HAIKU 
> for
> PEOPLE, both terms will be treated equally! The distinction between 
> hokku
> and haiku can be handled
> > by using the terms Classical Haiku and Modern Haiku.
> >
> > Modern Haiku.
> > The history of the modern haiku dates from Masaoka Shiki's reform, 
> begun
> in 1892, which established haiku as a new independent poetic form. 
> Shiki's
> reform did not change two traditional elements of haiku: the 
> division of 17
> syllables into three groups of 5, 7, and 5 syllables and the 
> inclusion of a
> seasonal theme.
> > Kawahigashi Hekigoto carried Shiki's reform further with two 
> proposals:
> >
> >
> > Haiku would be truer to reality if there were no center of 
> interest in it.
> > The importance of the poet's first impression, just as it was, of 
> subjects
> taken
> > from daily life, and of local colour to create freshness.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> >
> > How to write Haiku
> >
> > In japanese, the rules for how to write Haiku are clear, and will 
> not be
> discussed here. In foreign languages, there exist NO consensus in 
> how to
> write Haiku-poems. Anyway, let's take a look at the basic knowledge:
> >
> >
> > What to write about?
> >
> > Haiku-poems can describe almost anything, but you seldom find 
> themes which
> are too complicated for normal PEOPLE's recognition and 
> understanding. Some
> of the most thrilling Haiku-poems describe daily situations in a way 
> that
> gives the reader a brand new experience of a well-known situation.
> >
> >
> > The metrical pattern of Haiku
> >
> > Haiku-poems consist of respectively 5, 7 and 5 syllables in three 
> units.
> In japanese, this convention is a must, but in english, which has 
> variation
> in the length of syllables, this can sometimes be difficult.
> >
> >
> > The technique of cutting
> >
> > The cutting divides the Haiku into two parts, with a certain 
> imaginative
> distance between the two sections, but the two sections must remain, 
> to a
> degree, independent of each other. Both sections must enrich the
> understanding of the other.
> > To make this cutting in english, either the first or the second 
> line ends
> normally with a colon, long dash or ellipsis.
> >
> >
> > The seasonal theme.
> >
> > Each Haiku must contain a kigo, a season word, which indicate in 
> which
> season the Haiku is set. For example, cherry blossoms indicate 
> spring, snow
> indicate winter, and mosquitoes indicate summer, but the season word 
> isn't
> always that obvious.
> >
> > Please notice that Haiku-poems are written under different rules 
> and in
> many languages. For translated Haiku-poems, the translator must 
> decide
> whether he should obey the rules strictly, or if he should present 
> the exact
> essence of the Haiku. For Haiku-poems originally written in english, 
> the
> poet should be more careful. These are the difficulties, and the 
> pleasure of
> Haiku.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> >
> > Akutagawa, Ryunosuke. (1892-1927).
> > Akutagawa wrote "Rashomon", "The Nose", "The Handkerchief", "Hell 
> Screen
> ", "Flatcar" and "Kappa". He didn't start writing Haiku before 1919, 
> under
> the pseudonym Gaki.
> > Akutagawa biography
> > Akutagawa books at amazon
> >
> > Green frog,
> > Is your body also
> > freshly painted?
> >
> >
> > Sick and feverish
> > Glimpse of cherry blossoms
> > Still shivering.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
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-
> ------
> > Anonymous.
> >
> > Without flowing wine
> > How to enjoy lovely
> > Cherry blossoms?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
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-
> ------
> > Basho, Matsuo. (1644-1694).
> > The name Bashó (banana tree) is a sobriquet he adopted around 1681 
> after
> moving into a hut with a banana tree alongside. He was called 
> Kinsaku in
> childhood and Matsuo Munefusa in his later days.
> > Basho's father was a low-ranking samurai from the Iga Province. To 
> be a
> samurai, Basho serviced for the local lord Todo Yoshitada (Sengin). 
> Since
> Yoshitada was fond of writing haikai, Basho began writing poetry 
> under the
> name Sobo.
> > During the years, Basho made many travels through Japan, and one 
> of the
> most famous went to the north, where he wrote Oku No Hosomichi 
> (1694). On
> his last trip, he died in Osaka, and his last haiku indicates that 
> he was
> still thinking of traveling and writing poetry as he lay dying:
> > Fallen sick on a journey,
> > In dreams I run wildly
> > Over a withered moor.
> >
> > At the time of his death, Basho had more than 2000 students.
> >
> >
> >
> > An old pond!
> > A frog jumps in-
> > The sound of water.
> >
> >
> > The first soft snow!
> > Enough to bend the leaves
> > Of the jonquil low.
> >
> >
> > In the cicada's cry
> > No sign can foretell
> > How soon it must die.
> >
> >
> > No one travels
> > Along this way but I,
> > This autumn evening.
> >
> >
> > In all the rains of May
> > there is one thing not hidden -
> > the bridge at Seta Bay.
> >
> >
> > The years first day
> > thoughts and loneliness;
> > the autumn dusk is here.
> >
> >
> > Clouds appear
> > and bring to men a chance to rest
> > from looking at the moon.
> >
> >
> > Harvest moon:
> > around the pond I wander
> > and the night is gone.
> >
> >
> > Poverty's child -
> > he starts to grind the rice,
> > and gazes at the moon.
> >
> >
> > No blossoms and no moon,
> > and he is drinking sake
> > all alone!
> >
> >
> > Won't you come and see
> > loneliness? Just one leaf
> > from the kiri tree.
> >
> >
> > Temple bells die out.
> > The fragrant blossoms remain.
> > A perfect evening!
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> > Buson, Yosa. (1716-84).
> >
> > At the over-matured sushi,
> > The Master
> > Is full of regret.
> >
> >
> > Pressing Sushi;
> > After a while,
> > A lonely feeling
> >
> >
> > A whale!
> > Down it goes, and more and more
> > up goes its tail!
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> > Etsujin.
> >
> >
> >
> > Covered with the flowers,
> > Instantly I'd like to die
> > In this dream of ours!
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> > Hashin
> >
> >
> > No sky
> > no earth - but still
> > snowflakes fall
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> > Issa. (1762-1826).
> > Yoshi Mikami's Issa's Haiku Home Page
> > Issa books at Amazon
> >
> > In my old home
> > which I forsook, the cherries
> > are in bloom.
> >
> >
> > A giant firefly:
> > that way, this way, that way, this -
> > and it passes by.
> >
> >
> > Right at my feet -
> > and when did you get here,
> > snail?
> >
> >
> > My grumbling wife -
> > if only she were here!
> > This moon tonight...
> >
> >
> > A lovely thing to see:
> > through the paper window's hole,
> > the Galaxy.
> >
> >
> > A man, just one -
> > also a fly, just one -
> > in the huge drawing room.
> >
> >
> > A sudden shower falls -
> > and naked I am riding
> > on a naked horse!
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> > Kato, Shuson
> >
> >
> > I kill an ant
> > and realize my three children
> > have been watching.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> > Kawahigashi, Hekigodo. (1873-1937).
> >
> >
> > >From a bathing tub
> > I throw water into the lake -
> > slight muddiness appears.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> > Kójó
> >
> >
> > Night, and the moon!
> > My neighbor, playing on his flute -
> > out of tune!
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> > Murakami, Kijo. (1865-1938).
> >
> >
> > First autumn morning:
> > the mirror I stare into
> > shows my father's face.
> >
> >
> > The moment two bubbles
> > are united, they both vanish.
> > A lotus blooms.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> > Natsume, Soseki. (1867-1916)
> > Soseki's debut came in 1905 with "I Am a Cat ". In 1907 he 
> resigned his
> post at
> > Tokyo University as Professor in English, to devote his entire 
> time to the
> writing of
> > novels. His writings include "The Three-Cornered World" (1906), 
> "The
> Wayfarer" (1912-13)
> > "Kokoro " (1914), and "The Grass on the Wayside" (1915).
> >
> >
> > On New Year's Day
> > I long to meet my parents
> > as they were before my birth.
> >
> >
> > The crow has flown away:
> > swaying in the evening sun,
> > a leafless tree.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> > Raizan.
> >
> >
> > You rice-field maidens!
> > The only things not muddy
> > Are the songs you sing.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> > Ryusui. (1691-1758).
> >
> >
> > In all this cool
> > is the moon also sleeping?
> > There, in the pool?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> > Shiki, Masaoka. (1867-1902).
> >
> >
> > I want to sleep
> > Swat the flies
> > Softly, please.
> >
> >
> > 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 pilled-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.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> > Takahama, Kyoshi
> >
> >
> > A dead chrysanthemum
> > and yet - isn't there still something
> > remaining in it?
> >
> >
> > He says a word,
> > and I say a word - autumn
> > is deepening.
> >
> >
> > The winds that blows -
> > ask them, which leaf on the tree
> > will be next to go.
> >
> >
> > A gold bug -
> > I hurl into the darkness
> > and feel the depth of night.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> > Morten Paulsen (MOPA95AB at prelux.cbs.dk):
> >
> >
> > An island song
> > Like a floating river
> > Rain Rain Fall Fall
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> >
> > Christmas
> >
> >
> > Ron Loeffler
> >
> >
> > Glass balls and glowing lights.
> > Dead tree in living room.
> > Killed to honor birth.
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> >
> > Computers.
> >
> >
> > Andeyev, Alexey V. (alexey at cerc.wvu.edu):
> >
> >
> >
> > Spring backup in CS lab:
> > time to fall in love with
> > certain humanware.
> > Ed \"Darts Vapor\" Button
> >
> >
> > alone, on the web,
> > drops of sensitivity
> > embrace an eyelash
> > Chris Spruck
> >
> >
> > Faceless, just numbered.
> > Lone pixel in the bitmap-
> > I, anonymous.
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> >
> > Flowers.
> >
> >
> > Dave McCroskey. (mccroskeyd at hal.hahnemann.edu):
> >
> >
> >
> > on the Chinese vase
> > flowers retain brightness
> > - - pouring out water.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> >
> > Food
> >
> >
> > Paulsen, Morten:
> >
> >
> > Sushi and Soya
> > The Spring comes
> > When the day is over
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> > Thomas Grieg
> >
> > Pond with ice
> > tadpoles
> > summer
> >
> > Looking at the clouds
> > blue in the ice-wind
> > space flows
> >
> > Quiet around the point: ducks;
> > up down birches
> > helicopter
> > Vince
> >
> >
> > Darkended dreams
> > become modern grapes of wrath
> > reaping a bitter wine.
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> >
> > Summer.
> >
> >
> > Dhugal Lindsay. (dhugal at ori.u-tokyo.ac.jp):
> >
> >
> >
> > they've gone...
> > where the beach umbrella was
> > the sand not quite so hot
> >
> > Paul Mena:
> >
> >
> > through the fingerprints
> > on my window-
> > cloudless blue sky.
> > John. (JThomp7102 at aol.com):
> >
> > Deserted steel-mill.
> > Along the Ohio River,
> > Chromatic butterfly.
> >
> > James Dolan. (james.dolan at mindspring.com):
> >
> > Dallas summer song:
> > cicadas whir, the
> > sirens call
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> >
> > Time
> >
> >
> > Phil Wahl
> >
> >
> > The flap of a bat,
> > drip drip of monsoon waters.
> > Ancient image stares.
> > Noel Kaufmann
> >
> >
> > Behold the ego
> > Set in glowing emptiness
> > On the edge of time
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> >
> > Urban Haiku
> >
> >
> > Michael R. Collings mcolling at pepperdine.edu):
> >
> >
> >
> > Silence--a strangled
> > Telephone has forgotten
> > That it should ring
> >
> >
> > Freeway overpass--
> > Blossoms in grafitti on
> > fog-wrapped June mornings
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> >
> > World.
> >
> >
> > Dave McCroskey. (mccroskeyd at hal.hahnemann.edu):
> >
> >
> >
> > the morning paper
> > harbinger of good and ill
> > - - I step over it
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
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-
> ------
> >
> > Links to other Haiku-pages:
> >
> >
> >
> > Haiku books at Amazon
> > Dogwood Blossoms: Online Journal of Haiku
> > The art of Haiku-Poetry.
> > The SPAM haiku archive
> > AHA!POETRY's Haiku-page
> > Bob Zimmerman's own haiku-poems
> > Le site-anthologie haïku
> > CAQUI uma revista de haicai (in portuguese)
> > Yoshi Mikami's Issa's Haiku Home Page
> >
> >
> > 
>
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-
> ------
> >
> > 
>
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> ------
> >
> > References:
> >
> > - Makoto Ueda ( Modern Japanese Haiku -An Anthology: 1976).
> > - Kodansha (Encyclopedia of Japan: 1983).
> > - Kenneth Yasuda (The JAPANESE HAIKU: 1957).
> > - Harold G. Henderson (An introduction to HAIKU: 1958).
> > - Daniel C. Buchanan (One hundred Famous HAIKU: 1973).
> > - Other haiku books
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>
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-
> ------
> > Feel free to use anything from this page as long as you make 
> references to
> HAIKU for PEOPLE
> > Last updated: Jan 10th. 2001. Editor: Kei Grieg Toyomasu 
> kei at toyomasu.com
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
> ___________________________________________________________________
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> > _______________________________________________
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> >
> 
> _______________________________________________
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