Haiku Musings

You know, I look around at my fellow haiku poets websites and I see a lot of haiku that really misses the point of haiku. What I mean is the subject of many contemporary haiku focuses on people and events. But I'm missing something. I'm missing the wabi/sabi aspect that I feel is important to the art form.

For example, take a look at this haiku by one of my favorite poets Bruce Ross:

spring wind --
a sparrow pecks
in the dust

What I like about this haiku is its simplicity. It doesn't try to be sophisticated and its subject matter is also simple. Plus it has that undefinable quality - that air of indifference that allows you to see the impermanence of things.

Some people just learn better in a class environment. When it comes to learning haiku, taking a haiku class may be a great way to learn how to write this shortest of poems.

But what if you can't make it to class? Now there's another way to learn and that's online! For instance, if you were to take a haiku class online you might be exposed to a 4-week course where you get all your information and instruction from email or from a website. In the case of my own haiku class or workshop, all you need to learn the art of haiku is available online.

Here's a breakdown of what an online haiku class might look like: Click here to read more!

I just finalized the date of our online haiku workshop. It begins January 5, 2007! If you're interested in learning how to write haiku, this is a great place to start. Click here for more information and to sign up!

Many people who write haiku think they are creating haiku when in fact, they are making senryu. What's senryu you ask? It's exactly like haiku except its subject matter has to do with anything besides nature. Mostly, it has to do with what goes on in the human realm. Here's an example of a senryu:

Spring morning --
a strand of her hair
between the kiss

At first glance, this seems to be a haiku poem. It looks like haiku and has something to do with nature (spring morning) but the main subject of this senryu is about two people kissing. It has nothing to with something occurring strictly in nature. Here's another example:

Click here to read more!

One of my favorite haiku poets, Bruce Ross, has an entire chapbook of poems online!

I like Ross because of the Zen like quality of his haiku. His subjects are everyday nature observations, yet, when written in his unique haiku style, they become something more! This was a PDF file that was converted into html. Enjoy!

Click here to read "Among Floating Duckweed"