International/Haiku Day Next Week /April 17

A How To of Haiku

There seems to be an International (or National) Day for everything now,* and Haiku Day will have its moment in the sun next week. When my phone pinged its yearly reminder to warn me of the impending date, I knew you’d all be desperately wanting tips for how to prepare for the day.

Traditionally, haiku are short nature-themed poems, often with a seasonal focus, capturing a moment in time. With modern haiku you have some leeway to experiment.

First things first
Put your rhymes away; you won’t be needing those today.

Count yer syllables: 5, 7, 5
You know the drill, right?
Line 1: five syllables.
Line 2: seven syllables.
Line 3: five syllables. 

So, this is how haiku is often taught in English-speaking countries. It’s one way of writing haiku but it’s not a make-or-break rule. Outside the classroom, some writers go for a ‘poem with 17 syllables’ approach and aren’t concerned about how many syllables are in each line. Others go for a short poem that can be said in one breath. Still others don’t even stick to the (again, English-speaking) convention of three lines. When I write haiku, I quite like three short lines and I don’t worry too much about the number of syllables in those lines. Though I do find 5, 7, 5 a great puzzle to play with.

Editing your haiku

Simplify. Look for words you can take out – anything unnecessary can go. You likely won’t need an, the, that, but etc. Do you need that adjective? You almost certainly don’t need that adverb.

Don't tie yourself in knots following the rules

Write what you feel like writing. Syllable counts, nature-only themes, no rhymes … fling all that out the window and give us your two-line, thirteen syllable rhyming haiku about your mobile phone. Who’s gonna stop you?

Read some haiku

This is always a good starting point for writing anything. Plus, it’s not a big commitment: a haiku can be read in a moment and carried in your heart for the rest of the day, like a glowing talisman against the world’s news headlines right now.

*To take this theory to its limits I googled ‘International Rebecca Day’ and sure enough google served me up two sites confirming such a day exists. Though the two sites couldn’t agree on the date. So now I shall be celebrating International Rebecca Day on July 4 and August 9. Mark your diaries, people.

Recommended poetry from my own shelves

H is for Haiku: A Treasury of Haiku from A to Z by Sydell Rosenberg, illustrated by Sawsan Chalabi. (Penny Candy Books, ISBN 9780998799971)

This is a collection of haiku for children – poems about everyday moments, one haiku for each letter of the alphabet. Every page is brightly illustrated with interesting graphic-design-style lettering.

I bought my small hardback copy years ago and read it on the train home in one gulp. (I savoured individual haiku in later reads.) It doesn’t tend to be readily available in Australian bookshops anymore but you can order it in if you ask at your favourite bookshop, or order online.

Over to you (things to do to mark International Haiku Day on April 17)

Read a haiku An easy place to start: google ‘Basho haiku’. (An aside: When I used to run a choral speaking club in a primary school, we compiled and read aloud as many English translations of Basho’s frog/old pond haiku as we could find – a different translation of that same poem each week. It was an interesting study of haiku, translation, and the many ways a haiku can be presented on a page. Would recommend!)

Go looking for haiku and haikuists

Try your local library or school library (usually in nonfiction with the poetry books, somewhere between Dewey 811 to 896 – ask your friendly librarian.)

Read a mini mini mini book review

Do you know about the Instagrammer who writes book reviews in haiku? @_haiku.review_

Write a haiku

You knew I was going to say that. Level up: Share it with somebody.

Until next week!
Rebecca