Underrated Things - Haiku
Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 12:50AM 
Poetry has always been kind of a mystery to me. When I was a kid, it was cool because it needed to rhyme, but then when you get older you find out about ‘free verse’ poetry which to me is a bit like saying driving into a lake is ‘free steering’. Maybe I’m being callous, but going on and on with nary a rule or note on structure doesn’t strike me as being poetic. Maybe that’s why I always liked haiku poems, the traditional Japanese style of poetry that forces you to be creative by being so damn rigid.
If the fog of time has erased the memory of haiku lessons from your school days, here it is: a three line poem, wherein the first line must be five syllables; the second must be seven syllables; and the third must be five again. An example by famous Japanese poet Natsume Soseki:
Over the wintry
forest, winds howl in rage
with no leaves to blow.
As a general rule of thumb, a haiku is supposed to contain something about the seasons, but this is not always followed.
Originally, haiku started as hokku – merely the introductory stanza to a poem that fell into a genre called renga (not jenga, which is more fun at parties). By the mid-1600s, this opening stanza had evolved into an art form all its own, and in the mid-19th century, poet Masaoka Shiki decided he’d had enough, and told everyone to just call the thing a haiku and that was that.
Natsume Soseki. Probably no relation to Yul Brynner.The art form grew in popularity from there and is still widely practiced in Japan; those who master the art are considered to be quite refined and intelligent. In western countries though, haiku is usually relegated to being simply a quaint form of writing, and doesn't really get the respect it deserves. Often, the English translations of the original Japanese can’t retain the 5/7/5 structure, and you get slight deviations.
As with every art form, there are those considered geniuses, and there are no bigger rock stars in the haiku world than the unfortunately named Matsuo Basho, who wandered the length and breadth of Japan in the 1600s creating haiku masterpieces that were ornery:
By my new banana plant
the first sign of something I loathe
a miscanthus bud!
and funny:
Now then, let's go out
to enjoy the snow... until
I slip and fall!
Statue of Matsuo Basho. If you didn't like his poetry, he'd basho you with his stick there.They seem simple, but are actually quite challenging and fun to write. I used to write haiku movie reviews for my college newspaper – let’s see if I still have the skillz to write on random subjects:
On William Shatner:
Trekking through the stars
he barks commands at his crew
and shags aliens
On Bangkok:
Trucks, cars and tuk-tuks
vie for a piece of the road
skytrain beats them all
On Barack Obama:
First black president
has big shoes to fill. At least
they're not being thrown.
Still got it. Care to add your own in the comments section?
Reader Comments (6)
I've always been fascinated with the idea that one of the best ways to be creative is to give yourself restrictions. Doing photography assignments like "Only take picture of things that are blue." Or "Include something old and something new in your photograph" are good examples.
Haiku does just that. It gives us a set of rules and we must find a way to express ourselves around those rules.
At work we would take turns writing our meeting minutes and then would send them out to the Production group. I took it upon myself to send the entire thing out as stanzas of Haiku. I have to admit though I bent the rules slightly. Rather than having lines of 5-7-5, to make it a little easier I required that I must only have a total of 17 syllables. But please note that I believe that the rules should be adhered to quite strictly. Much like playing "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon". NO TV. It's about movies. And "No let's not do it to Carey Elwes because that's not the GAME!!". Sorry.
Below is a brief excerpt. Enjoy.
----------------------------------------
February 11th, two thousand and three
The meeting began.
Organizing for the Creative Mind -
today Shawn spoke of “Focus”
Four ways to organize your workload
Distractions can be a problem
We discussed how this related
to our workload
here in production
Liz gave us a handout
Two new products
for Digital ADventure
DVEplus and Pan and Scan
are now on the rate card
Thanks JJ
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How about this one I saw on a shirt:
Haikus are Easy
But Sometimes they Don't Make Sense
Refrigerator
That is quite an interesting idea. I wonder if one could get through the day only speaking in Haiku? Hmm... a project to dwell upon for the future...
Some haikuvian musings on life in the kingdom:
Pepsi or Coke, the
timeless question; both taste good
from a plastic bag
Hey you! Where you go?
My name is. The fruits of just
twelve years of schooling
Thais are so friendly
Smiling as I pass them by
Whoops my fly is down
Each rainy season
The unwanted guests move in
Nine billion roaches
Better selection
Of food than my whole home town
A short walk away
Hats off, sir. Very creative. The second one is classic.
Haikus are easy
But sometimes they dont make sense
Refrigerator