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Everything You Need To Know About Haiku

Book Haiku
Every April, the world celebrates International Haiku Poetry Day, a wonderful holiday that's part of National Poetry Month. Poet Sari Grandstaff started the tradition in 2007, and the Haiku Foundation turned it into an international celebration.For this special holiday during this special month, we challenged Fable readers to write their own poems following the Japanese haiku format. They did not disappoint!

What is a haiku poem example?

I discovered the haiku master Matsuo Bashō through the marvelous collection "Love and Barley." In the introduction, we learn about the life of the famous poet and monk who traveled through Japan in the 1600s, writing some of the greatest Japanese haiku.

"Throughout his life as a wanderer Basho sought to celebrate: whether his eyes turned to mountain or gorge, whether his ears heard thunder or bird-song, whether his foot brushed flower or mud, he was intensely alive to the preciousness of all that shared the world with him."

The book includes some beautiful examples of haiku, as well as the final haiku ever written by Basho,

Sick on a journey – over parched fields dreams wander on.

How to write haiku

Some people have bad memories of being forced to write haiku poems in school. Anyone can write a haiku but don't treat it like a homework assignment. The Poetry Foundation has a simple definition for writing haiku, probably familiar to many readers from school projects:

“A traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Often focusing on images from nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression.”

I like to break haiku writing into five simple steps. Don't focus on form right away, start with observation and exploration!
  1. Go out and explore the world around you. Take a walk, a bike ride, or just lay in the grass.
  2. Write down all your thoughts, feelings, impressions, and images you see.
  3. Underline the words that were most vivid to you.
  4. Stitch these vivid images together as a three-line poem
  5. Count the syllables on each line, trying to have five syllables on the first line, seven syllables on the second line, and five syllables on the third line.
Don't stress too much about the count, the images and language are most important!

What are the two parts of a haiku?

Once you've drafted your haiku, you can think a bit more about structure. Most haiku are divided into two parts: the initial image and the insight from that image. For instance, in my haiku, I tried to start with two lines about the images that Matsuo Bashō saw in his travels: "Birds and brooks sing truth / Basho heard their fleeting songs —"Then, I ended with "We carry his dreams," referring to the insight I gained from reading his poetry and thinking about what it means to write a haiku in the 21st Century.Want a more visual explanation? Try "Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop." It is one of my favorite anime movies of all time.The movie celebrates the power of haiku, showing how it helps a very shy kid participate in the world. This scene always makes me emotional. It also illustrates how the first part of Japanese haiku establishes the image, while the ending gives us a flash of beautiful insight.

What should you not do in a haiku?

As I noted above, don't treat haiku like a homework assignment. It is a new way of seeing the world around you. If you spend all your time obsessing over syllable count or trying to make things rhyme, your haiku poem will lose all the joy of the format. To illustrate, I just grabbed a few of my favorite books and wrote some examples of haiku I could write about the stories around me. That's all Basho ever did, traveling around Japan. He wrote about what he saw.To celebrate the holiday, I simply grabbed three books off my bookshelf. I wrote a single image for each book and paired it with an insight I gained.Haiku about “Long Division” by Kiese LaymonTwo books connected Bridge of pages across time — History unmasked.Haiku about “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” by Ottessa Moshfegh Sleeping is hiding Find nothing and everything — From pills into peace.

What is a haiku poem example?

I'm not the only haiku writer on Fable. Tons of readers made their own poems, and I'm proud to share them.

A Haiku by JacquelineA quirky woman Seems to have an intense past What will happen next? (Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine)

A Haiku by ShockbunnieFood critic gone rogue The finest cuisine and sex Don't satiate her ("A Certain Hunger" by Chelsea G. Summers)

A Haiku by Ellie DoudLimberlost calls me The swamp gives it’s gifts for free Nature’s joy is mine. “A Girl of the Limberlost” by Gene Stratton-Porter

A Haiku by PiSisPeggyStrange storytelling Fantastical masterpiece Lightning struck journeys (Kafka On The Shore by Haruki Murakami)

A Haiku by SilverwingMedusa is Lore Old gods wish for time of yore Can’t wait to read more (Lore)

A Haiku by SarahBooks reel in magic. Stories within a story. Wishing it were real. (The Starless Sea)

A Haiku by FairyellePlayers take caution To not forget what they say Its only a game (Caraval series by Stephanie Garber)

A Haiku by Sofia ChudaevaHealing hands glowing gold Half truths spoken at night Bleeding heart (Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni)

A Haiku by Amelie PelletierMother and daughter A true tale of toxic love I’m glad in death, truth. (I’m Glad My Mother Died by Jennette McCurdy)

A Haiku by TyrenYou became plant food? Cared too much what people thought? That fear made you blind. ("The Ruins" by Scott Smith)

A Haiku by EeeVeeLonely Hobbit, dwarves, a dragon hoard, and courage revealed on the road. ("The Hobbit" by Tolkien)

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