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Haiku (俳句, Haiku^?) listen (help· info) is a kind of Japanese poetry. Previously called hokku, it was given its current name by the Japanese writer Masaoka Shiki at the end of 19th century. Shiki suggested haiku as an abbreviation of the phrase "haikai no ku" meaning a verse of haikai^[1]. A hokku was the opening verse of a linked verse form, haikai no renga. In Japanese, hokku and haiku are traditionally printed in one vertical line (though in handwritten form they may be in any reasonable number of lines). In English, haiku are usually written in three lines to equate to the three parts of a haiku in Japanese that traditionally consist of five, seven, and then five on (the Japanese count sounds, not syllables; for example, the word "haiku" itself counts as three sounds in Japanese (ha-i-ku), but two syllables in English (hai-ku), and writing seventeen syllables in English produces a poem that is actually quite a bit longer, with more content, than a haiku in Japanese). Look up haiku in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File links Haiku. ... Grave of the Japanese poet Yosa Buson Waka and Kanshi, Chinese poetry written in Chinese, were the two great pillars of traditional Japanese poetry. ... Haiku by Shiki at Horyu-ji (temple): kaki kueba kane ga naru nari Hōryū-ji I bite into a persimmon and a bell resounds— Hōryūji —trans. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Haikai is a form of Japanese poetry. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... On is a Japanese word corresponding to a sound; onji corresponds to sound symbol. On (or onji) are the syllables that are counted in Japanese Haiku. ...

In Japanese haiku a kireji (i.e. a cutting word) appears at the end of one of the three lines. In Japanese, there are actual kireji words, which act as a sort of spoken punctuation (for example, the "ya" in Bashō's "furuike ya" poem is a kireji). In English, kireji has no direct equivalent. Instead, English-language poets often use commas, dashes, ellipses, or implied breaks to divide the three lines into two grammatical and imagistic parts. They are usually placed at the end of either the first or second line; very rarely they can be found in the middle of the second line. The purpose is to create a juxtaposition, which creates space for an implication as the reader intuits the relationship between the two parts. For other uses, see Word (disambiguation). ...

A haiku traditionally contains a kigo (season word) which symbolises or intimates the season in which the poem is set. Cherry trees from Japan around the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC. For other uses see Kigo disambiguation Kigo (season word(s), from the Japanese 季語, kigo) are words or phrases that are generally associated with a particular season. ...

Among most Japanese haiku writers, the kireji and kigo are both considered non negotiable requirements for the genre, yet kireji are not in use in English. Season words (kigo), although considered by many to be essential to haiku, are not always included by modern writers of Japanese "free-form" haiku and some non-Japanese haiku. In Japanese "free-form" haiku, this omission is deliberate.

Because Japanese nouns do not have different singular and plural forms, "haiku" is usually used as both a singular and plural noun in English as well. Practicing haiku poets and translators refer to "many haiku" rather than "haikus". The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Senryū is a similar poetry form that emphasizes irony, satire, humor, and human foibles instead of seasons, and may or may not contain a kigo or a kireji. SenryÅ« (川柳, literally river willow) is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 or fewer syllables in total. ...

Syllable or "On" in Haiku

While English verse is typically characterized by meter, which counts "beats", Japanese verse instead typically counts sound units, known in Japanese as "on". The word On is often translated loosely (and somewhat inaccurately) as "syllables", but there are subtle differences between an "on" and a "syllable". The traditional haiku consisted of a pattern of 5, 7, and 5 on. In poetry, the meter or metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse. ... On is a Japanese word corresponding to a sound; onji corresponds to sound symbol. On (or onji) are the syllables that are counted in Japanese Haiku. ...

The Japanese word on, literally "sound", corresponds to a mora, a phonetic unit similar but not identical to the syllable of languages such as English. (The word onji （音字; "sound symbol") is sometimes used in referring to the Japanese syllable units in English^[2] although this word is archaic and no longer current in Japanese.^[3]) In Japanese, the on corresponds very closely to the kana character count (closely enough that Moji (or "character symbol") is also sometimes used^[3] as the count unit). One on is counted for a short syllable, an additional one for an elongated vowel or a doubled consonant (i.e., a glottal stop), and one for an added "n" at the end of a syllable. Thus, the word "sign", though one syllable in English, would be counted as three sounds if said in Japanese (something like "sa-ee-na"). Mora (plural moras or morae) is a unit of sound used in phonology that determines syllable weight (which in turn determines stress or timing) in some languages. ... For the computer operating system, see Syllable (operating system). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Although it is possible to dissect the difference between counting on and counting syllables in great detail, in actual practice, for some classical Japanese haiku the count of on is very often identical to the count of syllables. However, because most Japanese words are polysyllabic, with very short sounds (like the three-syllable English word "radio", but unlike the one-syllable words "thought" or "stressed"), the seventeen sounds of a Japanese haiku carry less information than would seventeen syllables. Consequently, writing seventeen syllables in English typically produces a poem that is significantly "longer" than a traditional Japanese haiku. As a result, the great majority of literary haiku writers in English write their poems using about ten to fourteen syllables, with no formal pattern.

Examples

• Possibly the best known Japanese haiku is Bashō's "old pond" haiku:

古池や蛙飛込む水の音

This separates into on as:

furuike ya

(古池   や)

(fu/ru/i/ke ya): 5

kawazu tobikomu

(蛙       飛込む)

(ka/wa/zu to/bi/ko/mu): 7

mizu no oto

(水    の  音)

(mi/zu no o/to): 5

Roughly translated:^[4]

old pond

a frog jumps

the sound of water

• Another example of classic hokku by Matsuo Bashō:^[5]

富士の風や扇にのせて江戸土産

fuji no kaze ya oogi ni nosete Edo miyage

the wind of Mt. Fuji

I've brought on my fan!

a gift from Edo

• And yet another Bashō classic:

初しぐれ猿も小蓑をほしげ也

hatsu shigure saru mo komino wo hoshige nari

the first cold shower

even the monkey seems to want

a little coat of straw

(At that time, Japanese rain-gear consisted of a large, round cap and a shaggy straw cloak.) A statue of Bashō in Hiraizumi, Iwate. ... A cap is a form of headgear. ... Evening cloak or manteau, from Costume Parisien, 1823 A cloak is a type of loose garment that is worn over indoor clothing and serves the same purpose as an overcoat—it protects the wearer from the cold, rain or wind for example, or it may form part of a fashionable...

Origin and evolution

From renga to haikai

The exact origin of hokku is still subject to debate, but it is generally agreed that it originated from classical linked verse form called renga (連歌, renga^?). This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

The first 5–7–5 sound units of a short renga is called ‘maeku’ (and looks and sounds like a haiku) to which another person writes a response, a ‘tsukeku’ — added verse — which is linked to the previous one using the equivalent of 7–7 Japanese sound units written in two lines. A tan renga is basically a tanka written by two people.

• The long renga, chōrenga, consists of an alternating succession of chōku and tanku. Originally the renga consisted of 100, 1000, and even 10,000 links. During Basho's time he shortened the 100-verse renga down to 36 links. It was then called the "kasen" renga. The first verse of a long renga is a chōku (5–7–5) called hokku (発句, ‘the opening verse’), the second is a tanku (7–7) called waki, … and the last is a tanku called ageku.

In the 1400s a rising middle class led to the development of a less courtly linked verse called playful linked verse (俳諧の連歌, haikai no renga^?). The term haikai no renga first appears in the renga collection Tsukubashu. Haiku came into being when the opening verse of haikai no renga was made an independent poem at the middle of the 17th century. The middle class (or middle classes) comprises a social group once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry. ...

The inventors of haikai no renga (abbr. haikai) are generally considered to be Yamazaki Sokan (1465–1553) and Arakida Moritake (1473–1549). Later exponents of haikai were Matsunaga Teitoku (1571–1653), the founder of the Teimon school, and Nishiyama Sōin (1605–1682), the founder of the Danrin school. The Teimon school's deliberate colloquialism made haikai popular, but also made it depend on wordplay. To counter this dependence, the Danrin school explored people's daily life for other sources of playfulness, but often ended up with frivolity.^[clarify] Yamazaki Sōkan (山崎 å®—é‘‘, c. ... Events July 13 - Battle of Montlhéry Troops of King Louis XI of France fight inconclusively against an army of the great nobles organized as the League of the Public Weal. ... // Events June 26 - Christs Hospital in London gets a Royal Charter July 6 - Edward VI of England dies July 10 - Lady Jane Grey is proclaimed Queen of England - for the next nine days July 18 - Lord Mayor of London proclaims Queen Mary as the rightful Queen - Lady Jane Grey... Arakida Moritake (1473-1549) Arakida Moritake, the son of Negi Morihide, and a Shintoist. ... Events Ottoman sultan Mehmed II defeats the White Sheep Turkmens lead by Uzun Hasan at Otlukbeli Axayacatl, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan invades the territory of neighboring Aztec city of Tlatelolco. ... Events July - Ketts Rebellion Francis Xavier arrives in Japan. ... Events January 11 - Austrian nobility is granted Freedom of religion. ... Events February 2 - New Amsterdam (later renamed New York City) is incorporated. ... Nishiyama Soin (born Nishiyama Toyoichi in 1605, Higo Province, Japan, died May 5, 1682, Kyoto) was a haikai-no-renga poet of the early Tokugawa period. ... 1605 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1682 (MDCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ...

In the 1600s, two masters arose who elevated haikai and gave it a new popularity. They were Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) and Ueshima Onitsura (1661–1738). Hokku was only the first verse of haikai, but its position as the opening verse made it the most important, setting the tone for the whole composition. Even though hokku sometimes appeared individually, they were understood to always be in the context of haikai, as they were part of the verses of a renga. Bashō and Onitsura were thus writers of haikai of which hokku was only a part. Many more of these ‘stand-alone’ haikai verses were written and then used in renga. Basho also used his haiku as torque points for his short prose sketches and longer travel diaries which combined prose and haiku. This sub-genre of haikai is known as haibun (see Haibun Defined: Anthology of Haibun Definitions).His best-known book, Oku no Hosomichi, or Narrow Roads to the Far North, is one of the most famous literary works in Japan^{[citation needed]} and has been translated into English extensively. It even exists in play form as Banana Skies. [1] Many inventions and institutions are created, including Hans Lippershey with the telescope (1608, used by Galileo the next year), the newspaper Avisa Relation oder Zeitung in Augsburg, and Cornelius Drebbel with the thermostat (1609). ... A statue of Bashō in Hiraizumi, Iwate. ... // Events February to August - Explorer Abel Tasmans second expedition for the Dutch East India Company maps the north coast of Australia. ... Events February 6 - The colony Quilombo dos Palmares is destroyed. ... 1661 (MDCLXI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Events February 4 - Court Jew Joseph Suss Oppenheimer is executed in Württenberg April 15 - Premiere in London of Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel. ... Statue of Bashō at ChÅ«sonji, Hiraizumi, Iwate Prefecture Oku no Hosomichi (Japanese: 奥の細道, meaning Narrow Road to Oku [the Deep North]) is a major work by Matsuo Bashō. Oku no Hosomichi was written based on a journey taken by Bashō in the late spring of 1689. ...

Basho was deified by both the imperial government and Shinto religious headquarters one hundred years after his death because he raised the genre from a playful game of wit to sublime poetry. During his lifetime he was the most famous poet in Japan and still is today.^{[citation needed]}

The time of Buson

Grave of Yosa Buson

The next famous style of haikai to arise was that of Yosa Buson (1716–1783) and others such as Gyōdai, Chora, Rankō, Ryōta, Shōha, Taigi, and Kitō, called the Tenmei style after the Tenmei Era (1781–1789) in which it was created. Buson was better known in his day as a painter than as a writer of haikai, but today that is reversed.^{[citation needed]} His affection for painting can be seen in the painterly style of his hokku, and in his attempt to deliberately arrange scenes in words.^{[neutrality disputed]} Hokku was not so much a serious matter for Buson as it was for Bashō. The popularity and frequency of haikai gatherings in this period led to greater numbers of verses springing from imagination rather than from actual experience. Grave of Haiku Poet Yosa Buson Kyoto Japan I took this photograph and contribute it to the public domain. ... Grave of Haiku Poet Yosa Buson Kyoto Japan I took this photograph and contribute it to the public domain. ... Grave of Buson Yosa Buson, or Yosa no Buson (与謝蕪村, 1716 – December 25, 1784), was a Japanese poet and painter from the Edo period. ... // Events August 5 - In the Battle of Peterwardein 40. ... 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Tenmei (天明) was a Japanese era after Anei and before Kansei and spanned from 1781 to 1789. ... 1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1789 (MDCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ...

No new popular style followed Buson. A very individualistic approach to haikai appeared, however, in the writer Kobayashi Issa (1763–1827) whose miserable childhood, poverty, sad life, and devotion to the Pure Land sect of Buddhism are clearly present in his hokku. Kobayashi Issa (小林一茶 Kobayashi Issa) (June 15, 1763 - January 5, 1828) was a Japanese writer of haikai known for his hokku verses. ... 1763 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1827 (MDCCCXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... A boy from Jakarta, Indonesia shows his find. ... The Buddha Amitabha, 13th century, Kamakura, Japan. ... Buddhism is a variety of teachings, sometimes described as a religion[1] or way of life that attempts to identify the causes of human suffering and offer various ways that are claimed to end, or ease suffering. ...

The appearance of Shiki

After Issa, haikai entered a period of decline in which it reverted to frivolity and uninspired mediocrity.^{[citation needed]} The writers of this period in the 19th century are known by the deprecatory term tsukinami, meaning ‘monthly’, after the monthly or twice-monthly haikai gatherings of the end of the 18th century. But in regard to this period of haikai, it came to mean ‘trite’ and ‘hackneyed’.^{[citation needed]} (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...

This was the situation until the appearance of Masaoka Shiki (1867–1902), a reformer and revisionist who marks the end of hokku in a wider context. Shiki, a prolific writer even though chronically ill during a significant part of his life, not only disliked the tsukinami writers, but also criticized Bashō. Like the Japanese intellectual world in general at that time, Shiki was strongly impressed by Western culture. He favored the painterly style of Buson and particularly the European concept of plein-air painting, which he adapted to create a style of reformed hokku as a kind of nature sketch in words, an approach called shasei, literally ‘sketching from life’. He popularized his views by verse columns and essays in newspapers. Haiku by Shiki at Horyu-ji (temple): kaki kueba kane ga naru nari Hōryū-ji I bite into a persimmon and a bell resounds— Hōryūji —trans. ... Year 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Literati redirects here. ... For other uses , see Painting (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Essay (disambiguation). ...

All hokku up to the time of Shiki were written in the context of haikai, but Shiki completely separated his new style of verse from wider contexts. Being agnostic, he also separated it from the influence of Buddhism with which hokku had very often been tinged.^[clarify] And finally, he discarded the term "hokku" and called his revised verse form "haiku". Shiki thus became the first haiku poet. His revisionism dealt a severe blow to haikai, as well as to surviving haikai schools. The word hokku still is in use; it describes poems written before Shiki's time. Agnosticism (Greek: α- a-, without + γνώσις gnōsis, knowledge; after Gnosticism) is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims — particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of God, gods, deities, or even ultimate reality — is unknown or, depending on the form of agnosticism, inherently unknowable due to...

Haiga

Haiga, the combination of haiku and art, is nearly as old as haiku itself. Haiga began as haiku added to paintings, but included in Japan the calligraphic painting of haiku via brushstrokes, with the calligraphy adding to the power of the haiku. Earlier haiku poets added haiku to their paintings, but Bashō is noted for creating haiga paintings as simple as the haiku itself. Yosa Buson, a master painter, brought a more artistic approach to haiga. It was Buson who illustrated Basho's famous travel journal, Oku no Hosomichi - Narrow Road to the Far North. Categories: Possible copyright violations ...

Today, artists combine haiku with paintings, photographs and other art.

Kuhi

The carving of famous haiku on natural stone to create poem monuments known as kuhi (句碑) has been a popular practice for many centuries. The city of Matsuyama has more than two hundred kuhi. See Matsuyama (disambiguation) for other places having a name Matsuyama. ...

Haiku in India

Indian languages that follow Indic (abugida) alphabetical system interpret 5,7,5 structures counting CV, CCV, CCCV or CCCCV clusters^[clarify], irrespective of length of syllables. In early 20th century Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore composed haiku in Bengali. He also translated some from Japanese. In Gujarati, Geena JOSEPH 'Sneharashmi' popularized haiku and remains the most popular haiku composer. In the traditional syncratic spirit of Gujarati literature, poets like Bhagavatikumar Sharma and Bhushit Joshipura have composed ghazals with shers formed as haiku. This type of poetry is called Haiku Ghazal. Urdu (which is written in abjad alphabetical system) interprets 5,7,5 structures counting long syllables. Dr. Rehmat Yusufzai has composed a number of haiku in Urdu. An inscription of Swampy Cree using Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics, an abugida developed by Christian missionaries for Aboriginal Canadian languages An abugida (from Ge‘ez አቡጊዳ ’äbugida) is a segmental writing system in which each letter (basic character) represents a consonant accompanied by a specific vowel; other vowels are indicated by modification... (Bengali: , IPA: ) (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941), also known by the sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali poet, Brahmo Samaj philosopher, visual artist, playwright, novelist, and composer whose works reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ... Bangla redirects here. ... Gujarati (ગુજરાતી GujÇŽrātÄ«; also known as Gujerati, Gujarathi, Guzratee, and Guujaratee[3]) is an Indo-Aryan language descending from Sanskrit, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. ... This article is about the poetic form. ... In Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Shaayaree, or poetry, essentially comprises of couplet, or Sher. ... Urdu ( , , trans. ...

Haiku in the West

Although there were attempts outside Japan to imitate the old hokku in the early 1900s, there was little genuine understanding of its principles. Early Western scholars such as Basil Hall Chamberlain (1850–1935) and William George Aston were mostly dismissive of hokku's poetic value. One of the first advocates of English-language hokku was the Japanese poet Yone Noguchi. In "A Proposal to American Poets," published in the Reader magazine in February 1904, Noguchi gave a brief outline of the hokku and some of his own English efforts, ending with the exhortation, "Pray, you try Japanese Hokku, my American poets!" At about the same time the poet Sadakichi Hartmann was publishing original English-language hokku, as well as other Japanese forms in both English and French. This article is about the decade starting in 1900 and ending in 1909. ... Basil Hall Chamberlain (18 October 1850–15 February 1935), was a professor of Tokyo Imperial University and one of the foremost British Japanologists active in Japan during the late 19th century. ... For the game, see: 1850 (board game) 1850 (MDCCCL) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday [1] of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... William George Aston (1841-1911) was a British consular official in Japan. ... Yone Noguchi Yone Noguchi, born (and known in Japan as) Yonejiro Noguchi (野口米次郎 Noguchi Yonejirō, 1875 - 1947), was an influential writer of poetry, fiction, essays, and criticism in both English and Japanese. ... Carl Sadakichi Hartmann (1867-1944) was a critic and poet of German and Japanese descent. ...

In France, hokku was introduced by Paul-Louis Couchoud around 1906. Couchoud's articles were read by early Imagist theoretician F. S. Flint, who passed on Couchoud's(somewhat idiosyncratic) ideas to other members of the proto-Imagist Poets' Club such as Ezra Pound. Amy Lowell made a trip to London just to meet Pound and find out about haiku. She returned to the United States where she worked to interest others in this "new" form. Haiku subsequently had a considerable influence on Imagists in the 1910s, notably Pound's "In a Station of the Metro" of 1913, but, notwithstanding several efforts by Yone Noguchi to explain "the hokku spirit," there was as yet little understanding of the form and its history. Paul-Louis Couchoud (1879-1959) was a philosopher and a versatile researcher. ... Ezra Pound, one of the prime movers of Imagism. ... Frank Stuart Flint (December 19, 1885 - February 28, 1960) was an English poet and translator who was a prominent member of the Imagist group. ... Ezra Pound, one of the prime movers of Imagism. ... The Poets Club was a group devoted to the discussion of poetry. ... Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (Hailey, Idaho Territory, United States, October 30, 1885 – Venice, Italy, November 1, 1972) was an American expatriate poet, critic and intellectual who was a major figure of the Modernist movement in early-to-mid 20th century poetry. ... Ezra Pound, one of the prime movers of Imagism. ... In a Station of the Metro (first published in 1913) is a poem by Ezra Pound, and one of his best-known works. ... Yone Noguchi Yone Noguchi, born (and known in Japan as) Yonejiro Noguchi (野口米次郎 Noguchi Yonejirō, 1875 - 1947), was an influential writer of poetry, fiction, essays, and criticism in both English and Japanese. ...

An early translation of a haiku book to a western language, in this case, to Spanish, was realized by the Mexican poet and Nobel Prize winner Octavio Paz with the collaboration of Eikichi Hayashiya. In 1956, they published "Sendas de Oku," the famous book by Matsuo Basho, "Oku no Hosomichi." Octavio Paz wrote an essay about this translation work, and published it in the book "El signo y el garabato." Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature. ...

Blyth

After early Imagist interest in haiku the genre drew less attention in English until after World War II, with the appearance of a number of influential volumes about Japanese haiku.

In 1949, with the publication in Japan of the first volume of Haiku, the four-volume work by R.H. Blyth, haiku was introduced to the post-war world. Blyth was an Englishman who lived in Japan. He produced a series of works on Zen, haiku, senryu, and on other forms of Japanese and Asian literature. Those most relevant here are his Zen in English Literature and Oriental Classics (1942); his four-volume Haiku series (1949-52) dealing mostly with pre-modern hokku, though including Shiki; and his two-volume History of Haiku (1964). Today he is best known as a major interpreter of haiku to English speakers. Reginald Horace Blyth (December 3, 1898 - October 28, 1964), English author and devotee of Japanese culture. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Official language None; English is de facto Capital London Capitals coordinates 51° 30 N, 0° 10 W Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831... For other uses, see Zen (disambiguation). ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ...

Present-day attitudes to Blyth's work vary. Many contemporary writers of haiku were introduced to the genre through his works. These include the San Francisco and Beat Generation writers, such as Jack Kerouac, Gary Snyder, and Allen Ginsberg.^[6] Many members of the international "haiku community" also got their first views of haiku from Blyth's books, including James W. Hackett, Eric Amann, William J. Higginson, Anita Virgil, Jane Reichhold, and Lee Gurga. In the late twentieth century, members of that community with direct knowledge of modern Japanese haiku often noted Blyth's distaste for haiku on more modern themes and his strong bias regarding a direct connection between haiku and Zen, a "connection" largely ignored by Japanese poets. (Bashō, in fact, felt that his devotion to haiku prevented him from realizing enlightenment^[7]) Blyth also did not view haiku by Japanese women favorably, downplaying their substantial contributions to the genre, especially during the Bashō era and the twentieth century. Beats redirects here. ... Jack Kerouac (pronounced ) (March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969) was an American novelist, writer, poet, and artist from Lowell, Massachusetts. ... Young Gary Snyder, on one of his early book covers Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet (originally, often associated with the Beat Generation), essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. ... Irwin Allen Ginsberg (IPA: ) (June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet. ...

Although Blyth did not foresee the appearance of original haiku in languages other than Japanese when he began writing on the topic, and although he founded no school of verse, his works stimulated the writing of haiku in English. At the end of the second volume of his History of Haiku (1964), he remarked that "The latest development in the history of haiku is one which nobody foresaw, ... the writing of haiku outside Japan, not in the Japanese language." He followed that comment with several original verses in English by the American James W. Hackett (b. 1929), with whom Blyth corresponded.

Yasuda

In 1957, the Charles E. Tuttle Co., with offices in both Japan and the U.S., published The Japanese Haiku: Its Essential Nature, History, and Possibilities in English, with Selected Examples by the Japanese-American scholar and translator Kenneth Yasuda. The book consists mainly of material from Yasuda's doctoral dissertation at Tokyo University (1955), and includes both translations from Japanese and original poems of his own in English which had previously appeared in his book A Pepper-Pod: Classic Japanese Poems together with Original Haiku (Alfred A. Knopf, 1947). In The Japanese Haiku, Yasuda presented some Japanese critical theory about haiku, especially featuring comments by early twentieth-century poets and critics. His translations apply a 5–7–5 syllable count in English, with the first and third lines end-rhymed. Yasuda's theory includes the concept of a "haiku moment," which he said is based in personal experience and provides the motive for writing a haiku. While the rest of his theoretical writing on haiku is not widely discussed, his notion of the haiku moment has resonated with haiku writers in North America, even though the notion is not widely promoted in Japanese haiku.

The impulse to write haiku in English in North America was probably given more of a push by two books that appeared in 1958 than by Blyth's books directly. His indirect influence was felt through the Beat writers; Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums appeared in 1958, with one of its main characters, Japhy Ryder (based on Gary Snyder), writing haiku. Jack Kerouac (pronounced ) (March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969) was an American novelist, writer, poet, and artist from Lowell, Massachusetts. ... Young Gary Snyder, on one of his early book covers Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet (originally, often associated with the Beat Generation), essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. ...

Henderson

Also in 1958, An Introduction to Haiku: An Anthology of Poems and Poets from Bashô to Shiki by Harold G. Henderson, came from the American publisher Doubleday Anchor Books. This was a careful revision of Henderson's earlier book The Bamboo Broom (Houghton Mifflin, 1934), which apparently drew little notice as the world spiralled into militarist dictatorships before World War II. (After the war, Henderson and Blyth worked for the American Occupation in Japan and for the Imperial Household, respectively, and their mutual appreciation of haiku helped form a bond between the two, even as they collaborated on communications between their respective employers.^[8])

Henderson translated every hokku and haiku into a rhymed tercet (a-b-a), whereas the Japanese originals never used rhyme. Unlike Yasuda, however, he recognized that seventeen syllables in English are generally longer than the seventeen morae of a traditional Japanese haiku. Because the normal modes of English poetry depend on accentual meter rather than on syllabics, Henderson chose to emphasize the order of events and images in the originals. Nevertheless, many of Henderson's translations were still in the five-seven-five pattern. A rhyme is a repetition of identical or similar sounds in two or more different words and is most often used in poetry. ... A tercet is three lines of poetry forming a stanza or complete poem. ... Mora (plural moras or morae) is a unit of sound used in phonology that determines syllable weight (which in turn determines stress or timing) in some languages. ...

Henderson also welcomed correspondence, and when North Americans began publishing magazines devoted to haiku in English, he encouraged them. Not as dogmatic as Blyth, Henderson insisted only that a haiku must be a poem, and that the development of haiku in English would be determined by the poets.

The budding of American haiku

Precisely who qualifies as the first American haiku poet depends on one's definition of haiku. During the Imagist period, a number of mainstream poets wrote what they called "hokku," usually in the five-seven-five pattern. Amy Lowell published several "hokku" in her book "What's O'Clock" (1925; winner of the Pulitzer Prize), and even e. e. cummings wrote hokku a little earlier, among other poets. Individualistic "haiku-like" verses by the innovative Buddhist poet and artist Paul Reps (1895–1990) appeared in print as early as 1939 (More Power to You--Poems everyone Can Make, Preview Publications, Montrose CA.). Other Westerners inspired by Blyth's translations attempted original haiku in English, though again generally failing to understand the principles behind the verse form, which in Blyth is predominantly the more challenging hokku rather than the later and more free-form haiku. The resulting verses, including those of the Beat period, were often little more than the brevity of the haiku form, combined with current ideas of poetic content, or uninformed attempts at "Zen" poetry; however, a few by Kerouac and Richard Wright, in particular, remain striking early examples of the genre and adumbrate the concision of contemporary practice. Amy Lowell Amy Lawrence Lowell (February 9, 1874 – May 12, 1925) was an American poet of the imagist school who posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1926. ... Edward Estlin Cummings (October 14, 1894 – September 3, 1962), popularly known as E. E. Cummings, was an American poet, painter, essayist, and playwright. ... Paul Reps is an American poet and author. ... The term beat generation was introduced by Jack Kerouac in approximately 1948 to describe his social circle to the novelist John Clellon Holmes (who published an early novel about the beat generation, titled Go, in 1952, along with a manifesto of sorts in the New York Times Magazine: This is...

Snow in my shoe

Abandoned

Sparrow's nest

--Jack Kerouac (collected in Book of Haikus, Penguin Books, 2003)

The African-American novelist Richard Wright, in his final years, composed some 4,000 haiku, but only 817 of which are collected in the volume Haiku: This Other World. Wright hewed to a 5-7-5 syllabic structure for about three-quarters of these verses, and frequently employed surreal imagery and implicit political themes. His content and style (even down to his indentation of lines) was heavily influenced by R. H. Blyth's translations (Blyth's books were Wright's main influence, and perhaps even his only influence). Poets Gerald Vizenor, Gordon Henry, Jr., and Kimberley Blaeser have connected the haiku form to the tradition of the Native American/First Nations Peoples of the Anishinaabe tribe, stressing, as Wright often did also, the essential interconnectedness of humans and the natural world. For other persons named Richard Wright, see Richard Wright (disambiguation). ... Gerald Vizenor (born 1934) is a Native American (Chippewa) writer. ... Kimberly Blaeser is a Native American (Chippewa) writer of mixed German and Anishinaabe descent. ... This article is about the people indigenous to the United States. ... First Nations is a term of ethnicity that refers to the indigenous peoples in what is now Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis people. ... Anishinaabe or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek (which is the plural form of the word) is a self-description often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonkin peoples, who all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages. ...

Whitecaps on the bay:

A broken signboard banging

In the April wind.

Coming from the woods,

A bull has a lilac sprig

Dangling from a horn.

--Richard Wright (collected in Haiku: This Other World, Arcade Publishing, 1998)

An early anthology of American haiku, Borrowed Water (Tuttle:1966) of work by the Los Altos (California) Roundtable was compiled by Helen Stiles Chenoweth. Haiku at that time were bound by the rule of using seventeen English syllables.

The experimental work of Beat and minority haiku poets expanded the popularity of haiku in English. Despite claims that haiku has not had much of an impact on the literary scene, a number of "mainstream" poets, such as Richard Wilbur, James Merrill, Etheridge Knight, William Stafford, W. S. Merwin, John Ashbery, Donald Hall, Seamus Heaney, Wendy Cope, Ruth Stone, Sonia Sanchez, Paul Muldoon, Billy Collins, and others have tried their hand at haiku. Often, though, they have approached it in a relatively uninformed manner, more as a fixed form than as the complex, nuanced genre it is. Their work has frequently demonstrated no awareness of the tenets of the season word, cutting word, objective imagery, or other dominant characteristics of the genre. Haiku has also proven very popular as a way of introducing students to poetry in elementary schools and as a hobby for numerous amateur writers. Richard Purdy Wilbur (born March 1, 1921), is a United States poet. ... poet James Merrill, age 30, in a 1957 publicity photograph for The Seraglio James Ingram Merrill (March 3, 1926 - February 6, 1995) was a Pulitzer Prize winning American writer, increasingly regarded as one of the most important 20th century poets in the English language. ... Etheridge Knight (born April 19, 1931, Corinth, Mississippi - died March 10, 1991, Indianapolis, Indiana) was an African-American poet who became a notable poet in 1968 with his debut volume, Poems from Prison. ... William Stafford. ... William Stanley (W.S.) Merwin was born on September 30, 1927 in New York City and grew up in Union City, New Jersey, and Scranton, Pennsylvania. ... John Ashbery John Ashbery (born July 28, 1927) is an American poet. ... Donald Hall (born September 20, 1928) is an American poet and the U.S. Poet Laureate. ... Seamus Justin Heaney (IPA: ) (born 13 April 1939) is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995. ... Wendy Cope (born July 21, 1945) is a contemporary English poet. ... Ruth Stone Ruth Stone (born June 8, 1915, in Roanoke, Virginia) is an American poet, recipient of the 2002 National Book Award for poetry. ... Sonia Sanchez is an African American poet most often associated with the Black Arts Movement. ... Paul Muldoon (b. ... William A. (Billy) Collins (born March 22, 1941) is an American poet. ... Primary or elementary education is the first years of formal, structured education that occurs during childhood. ... A hobby is a spare-time recreational pursuit. ... For the 1994 film, see Amateur (film). ...

The North American "haiku movement" really begins in 1963 with the founding of the journal American Haiku in Platteville, Wisconsin edited by James Bull and Donald Eulert. Among contributors to the first issue were poets J. W. Hackett, O Mabson Southard (1911-2000), Nick Virgilio (1928-1989), and Virginia Brady Young. Whereas Hackett represented an experiential/existential/Zen approach to haiku, Virgilio exemplified a more aesthetic conception that incorporated "found" and imaginary elements. In the second issue of American Haiku Virgilio published his "lily" and "bass" haiku, which became models of brevity, breaking down the traditional 5-7-5 syllabic form, approximating the actual duration of Japanese haiku, and pointing toward the leaner conception of haiku that would take hold in subsequent decades. Nicholas Anthony Virgilio was an internationally recognized haiku poet who is credited with helping to popularize the Japanese style of poetry in the United States. ...

lily:

out of the water

out of itself

--Nick Virgilio (Selected Haiku, Burnt Lake Press/Black Moss Press, 1988)

bass

picking bugs

off the moon

--Nick Virgilio (Selected Haiku, Burnt Lake Press/Black Moss Press, 1988)

American Haiku ended publication in 1968 and was succeeded by Modern Haiku in 1969, which remains the premiere haiku journal in English. Other early English-language haiku journals included Haiku Highlights (founded 1965 by Jean Calkins and later taken over by Lorraine Ellis Haar who changed the name to Dragonfly), Eric Amann's Haiku (founded 1967), and Haiku West (founded 1967).

The Haiku Society of America was founded in 1968 and began publishing its journal Frogpond in 1978. In 1991, the biennial Haiku North America conference (www.haikunorthamerica.com) was first held in California, and it continues to be the primary meeting ground for leading haiku poets, scholars, and translators on the continent. The Haiku Society of America is a non-profit organization composed of haiku poets, editors, critics, publishers and enthusiasts that promotes the composition and appreciation of haiku in English. ...

Some key issues that American haiku practitioners continue to debate include: appropriate length and structure of haiku, the use and importance of kigo (including in regions with little seasonal variation), the relation of haiku to Zen, the use of natural and urban imagery, the distinction between haiku and the related senryu genre, haiku grammar, and the incorporation of subjective elements, including personal pronouns. For some haiku poets, these issues are settled, but serious poets new to the genre continue to raise these issues, so they continue to persist. Resources for poets and scholars attempting to understand English-language haiku aesthetics and history are William J. Higginson's Haiku Handbook (McGraw-Hill, 1985), Cor van den Heuvel's The Haiku Anthology (third edition, Norton, 1999), and Lee Gurga's Haiku: A Poet's Guide (Modern Haiku Press, 2003). Cherry trees from Japan around the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC. For other uses see Kigo disambiguation Kigo (season word(s), from the Japanese 季語, kigo) are words or phrases that are generally associated with a particular season. ...

Although the English-language "haiku movement" is a collective enterprise with many significant contributors, one can single out particularly outstanding individual achievements by poets such as Hackett, Virgilio, Charles B. Dickson (1915-1991), Elizabeth Searle Lamb (1917-2005), Raymond Roseliep (1917-1983), Robert Spiess (1921-2002), and John Wills (1921-1993). Dickson, Spiess, and Wills are all exemplars of a nature-oriented approach to haiku, while Roseliep (a Catholic priest) adopted an adventurous metaphysical style that makes him the John Donne or George Herbert of American haiku. Raymond Roseliep (August 11, 1917 – December 6, 1983) was a poet and contemporary master of the English haiku and Catholic priest. ... For the Welsh courtier and diplomat, see Sir John Donne. ... For other persons named George Herbert, see George Herbert (disambiguation). ...

an aging willow--

its image unsteady

in the flowing stream

--Robert Spiess (Red Moon Anthology, Red Moon Press, 1996)

downpour:

my "I-Thou"

T-shirt

--Raymond Roseliep (Rabbit in the Moon, Alembic Press, 1983)

Particularly noteworthy figures still active in the haiku community include: Jane Reichhold (b.1937), Peggy Willis Lyles (b. 1939), Marlene Mountain (b. 1939), George Swede (b. 1940), vincent tripi (b. 1941), Alexis Rotella (b. 1947), Christopher Herold (b. 1948), John Stevenson (b. 1948), Lee Gurga (b. 1949), Gary Hotham (b. 1950), Alan Pizzarelli (b. 1950), Jim Kacian (b. 1953), and Michael Dylan Welch (b. 1962). Their work exemplifies many important trends. For instance, Swede, Rotella, Pizzarelli, and Stevenson often blur the line between haiku and senryu. This article lacks information on the importance of the subject matter. ...

Just friends:

he watches my gauze dress

blowing on the line.

--Alexis Rotella (After an Affair, Merging Media, 1984)

meteor shower . . .

a gentle wave

wets our sandals

--Michael Dylan Welch (HSA Newsletter XV:4, Autumn 2000)

one fly

everywhere

the heat

--Marlene Mountain (Cicada 2.1, 1978)

Marlene Mountain was one of the first or more persistent English-language haiku poets to write haiku in a single horizontal line, a less-favored form in English, but one that has gained increasing prominence. This form was first introduced to a wider audience by Hiroaki Sato's translations of Ozaki Hosai and other 20th Century Japanese Haiku Poets in the 1970s (see From the Country of Eight Islands co-edited with Burton Watson). The single-line haiku was practiced quite successfully by John Ashbery, Allen Ginsberg, Marlene Mountain, John Wills, and Matsuo Allard, and has been used more recently by poets such as M. Kettner, Chris Gordon, Scott Metz, Jim Kacian, and Charles Trumbull, to name a few (see Haiku: A Poet's Guide by Lee Gurga). Haiku of four lines or longer are also written, some of them vertical poems with only a word or two on a line. The vertical poem has been adopted by prolific poet and bookmaker John Martone, whose work calls to mind Gary Snyder, Robert Creeley, and Jack Kerouac's best work.

Another pioneering haiku poet, Cor van den Heuvel (b. 1931), has edited the standard Haiku Anthology (1st ed., 1974; 2nd ed., 1986; 3rd ed. 1999). The third edition, published by W. W. Norton, remains the best introduction to the achievement of English-language haiku poetry up to 1999, although it has already become a little dated in its selections because of the rise of the Internet. Since its publication, another generation of haiku poets has come to prominence in the new millennium and the era of the Internet. Among the most widely published and honored of these poets are Fay Aoyagi, Connie Donleycott, Carolyn Hall, Paul M., Scott Metz, Christopher Patchel, Chris Gordon, Chad Lee Robinson, and Billie Wilson ( see the loose thread: The Red Moon Anthology of English-Language Haiku 2001, Jim Kacian Editor-in-Chief: Red Moon Press 2002). But the total number of significant poets seems to be increasing, and a host of other names should be adduced (see Echoes: The New Resonance Poets edited by Jim Kacian and Alice Frampton: Red Moon Press 2007). Consequently, the need for a fourth edition of van den Heuvel's anthology, or a prominent new anthology compiled by another editor, would seem to be greatly in order. However, van den Heuvel has recently published Baseball Haiku (Norton, 2007), a very popular book that represents some more recent writers, albeit confined to a particular subject.

Haiku Publications

The work of recently rising haiku poets and their predecessors belongs to the small press movement and figures prominently in long-established publications such as Modern Haiku and Frogpond. Other important contemporary haiku journals include Mayfly (founded by Randy and Shirley Brooks in 1986), Acorn (founded by A. C. Missias in 1998), Bottle Rockets (founded by Stanford M. Forrester), and The Heron's Nest (founded by Christopher Herold in 1999, an Internet-based publication with a print annual). Previously, Brussels Sprout (edited from 1988 to 1995 by Francine Porad), Woodnotes (edited from 1989 to 1997 by Michael Dylan Welch), and Hal Roth's Wind Chimes made a significant impact. Also being published are the Australian journal Paper Wasp and newer North American publications such as Wisteria, Moonset, White Lotus, and the Internet-based Simply Haiku. Many haiku journals have come and gone over the last five decades; the staying power of Modern Haiku (currently edited by Charles Trumbull) and Frogpond (currently edited by George Swede) is the exception rather than the rule--but it testifies to the continuity and continued vibrancy of English-language haiku. Raw Nervz Haiku, edited by prominent Canadian haiku poet Dorothy Howard, was a bastion of experimental haiku for most of the 1990s and only recently ceased publication. ant ant ant ant ant, edited by Chris Gordon, has published contemporary and experimental haiku since 1994, with an emphasis on innovation while remaining rooted the core aesthetics of the form. Scott Metz and Jason Sanford Brown's online haiku journal Roadrunner offers one of the Internet's best venues for a variety of quality haiku poets. In the UK, two long-established magazines are being published: Blythe Spirit (the journal of the British Haiku Society) and Presence (formerly Haiku Presence) edited by Martin Lucas. In Ireland, Shamrock, the online journal of the Irish Haiku Society edited by Anatoly Kudryavitsky, publishes quarterly thematic issues on the haiku movements in various countries. Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... Events of 2008: (EMILY) Me Lesley and MIley are going to China! This article is about the year. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...

Among significant contemporary publishers of haiku books are Jim Kacian's Red Moon Press, Randy Brooks's Brooks Books, Michael Dylan Welch's Press Here, Jane Reichhold's AHA Books, and John Barlow's Snapshot Press in the U.K. All have produced high-quality anthologies and single-author collections.

mourning dove

answers mourning dove--

coolness after the rain

--Wally Swist (The Silence Between Us, Brooks Books, 2005)

so suddenly winter

baby teeth at the bottom

of the button jar

--Carolyn Hall (Water Lines, Snapshot Press, 2006)

Haiku Archives

Another significant development in English-language haiku was the founding, in 1996, of the American Haiku Archives, which is the largest public archives of haiku-related material outside Japan. It is housed at the California State Library in Sacramento, and includes the official archives of the Haiku Society of America, along with significant donations from the libraries of Elizabeth Searle Lamb, cofounder Jerry Kilbride, Jane Reichhold, Lorraine Ellis Harr, Francine Porad, and many others. The archives has a Web site at www.americanhaikuarchives.org. Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ...

Contemporary English-language haiku

Today, haiku are written in many languages, but most poets are still concentrated in Japan and in English-speaking countries. Haiku has already had a significant influence on western poetics, but the extent to which the "haiku movement" will become integrated into existing literary canons remains to be seen.

While traditional hokku/haiku focused on nature and the place of humans in nature, modern haiku poets often consider any subject matter suitable, whether related to nature, an urban setting, or even a technological context. While old hokku avoided some topics such as romance, sex, and overt violence, contemporary haiku often deal specifically with such themes. This article is about the physical universe. ... This article is about modern humans. ... The city of Los Angeles is an example of urbanisation Urbanization or Urbanisation means the removal of the rural characteristics of a town or area, a process associated with the development of civilization. ... By the mid 20th century humans had achieved a mastery of technology sufficient to leave the surface of the Earth for the first time and explore space. ... This article primarily discusses philosophical ideologies in relation to the subject of romantic love. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Violence (disambiguation). ...

Traditional hokku/haiku required a long period of learning and maturing, but contemporary haiku is often (and mistakenly) regarded as an "instant" form of brief verse that can be written by anyone, from schoolchildren to professionals. Many writers of modern haiku stay faithful to the standards of old hokku, however some other contemporary haiku poets have dropped such standards, emphasizing personal freedom and pursuing ongoing exploration in both form and subject matter. This article is about people called professionals. ...

Due to the various views and practices today, it is impossible to single out any current style or format or subject matter as definitive "haiku." Nonetheless, some of the more common practices in English are:

• Use of three (or fewer) lines of about 17 or fewer syllables
• Use of a season word (kigo)
• Use of a cut or caesura (sometimes indicated by a punctuation mark) to contrast and compare, implicitly, two events, images, or situations

This gradual loosening of traditional standards, encouraged by such poet-critics as Bob Grumman,^[9] has resulted in the word "haiku" being applied to brief, mathematical "poems," ("mathemaku") and to visual poetry by Scott Helms. This attempt at stretching definitions of haiku can be considered excessive, but Grumman attempts to defend his position by pointing to an alleged blurring of definitional boundaries in Japan. Those cognizant of Japanese and the haiku scene in Japan dispute this claim. Cherry trees from Japan around the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC. For other uses see Kigo disambiguation Kigo (season word(s), from the Japanese 季語, kigo) are words or phrases that are generally associated with a particular season. ... A caesura, in poetry, is an audible pause that breaks up a line of verse. ...

In the early 21st century, there is a thriving community of haiku poets worldwide, mainly communicating through national societies and journals in Japan, English-speaking countries, in Northern Europe (mainly Sweden, Germany, France, and in the Netherlands), in the Balkans (mainly Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania), and in Russia. Motto: Je Maintiendrai (Dutch: Ik zal handhaven, English: I Shall Uphold) Anthem: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe Capital Amsterdam1 Largest city Amsterdam Official language(s) Dutch2 Government Parliamentary democracy Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Beatrix  - Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende Independence Eighty Years War   - Declared July 26, 1581   - Recognised January 30, 1648 (by Spain... Anthem:  Serbia() on the European continent()  —  [] Capital (and largest city) Belgrade Official languages Serbian Recognised regional languages Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, Rusyn 1 Albanian 2 Demonym Serbian Government Parliamentary Democracy  -  President Boris Tadić  -  Prime Minister Vojislav KoÅ¡tunica    -  First state 7th century   -  Serbian Kingdom3 1217   -  Serbian Empire 1345   -  Independence lost...

Modern media

Internet

Both haiku writers and verses, as well as huge volumes of pseudo-haiku (also known as zappai), can be found online. A search will lead to many forums where both new and experienced poets learn, share, discuss, and freely criticize.

In the early days of the Internet, much of the development of haiku online stemmed from the Shiki Internet Haiku Salon. This site began as an email list for haiku poets in 1994, which continues to operate in 2007. This development enabled haiku poets from across the world to communicate more easily, an important development for those haiku poets (or haijin) who are geographically isolated from like-minded poets.

Inspired by her work with the Shiki Internet Haiku Salon, in 1995 Jane Reichhold launched the huge AHApoetry.com site. She revived Basho's educational device [Shell Game]http://www.ahapoetry.com/shelgame.htm, in which poems are matched, discussed and judged. In 1995, the scifaiku (science fiction haiku) form was invented by Tom Brinck. In early 1998, Salon.com published the results of a haiku contest on the topic of computer error messages. The winning verses were not haiku but(senryu. Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... SciFaiku (science fiction haiku) is a form of poetry invented by Tom Brinck in 1995 and inspired by the Japanese haiku. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Salon. ... This article is about the machine. ... Senryū (川柳, literally river willow) is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 or fewer syllables in total. ...

There are online computerized systems for generating random haiku-like verse; there are "Spamku" (verses about SPAM--a brand of tinned meat), and many other variations on the brevity of the haiku form. This article is about the canned meat product. ...

Random Haiku on the Internet

Displaying a random haiku on a website, fan site, or profile page has become a popular Internet fad among members of Myspace, Facebook, and the blogosphere. Random haiku generally come in two kinds: they are either randomly chosen poems from a collection of pre-versed poetry, or they are algorithmically generated. The best algorithmic random haiku generators use advanced techniques employing Markov chains and sophisticated grammar engines to produce near-genuine haiku. Yet because they are created algorithmically according to grammar and statistical rules, they are usually meaningless and often humorous. An internet fad is fad spread over the internet. ... MySpace is a social networking website offering an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music, and videos. ... Facebook is a social networking website that was launched on February 4, 2004. ... Blogosphere is a collective term encompassing all blogs and their interconnections. ... In mathematics, a Markov chain, named after Andrey Markov, is a discrete-time stochastic process with the Markov property. ... For the rules of the English language, see English grammar. ...

Television

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2007)

Haiku-like (or rather senryu-like) poems, often satirizing the form itself, have appeared in popular TV programs such as Beavis and Butt-Head, South Park, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Charmed, and That 70's Show. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Senryū (川柳, literally river willow) is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 or fewer syllables in total. ... Beavis and Butt-head is a American animated television series created by Mike Judge. ... This article is about the TV series. ... For other uses, see Charm. ... That 70s Show logo That 70s Show is a Fox Network television sitcom centered around the lives of a group of teenagers living in the fictional suburb of Point Place, near Green Bay, during the late 1970s. ...

Manchester poet John Cooper Clarke recited the following self-composed senryu on Irish television in 1986: This article is about the City of Manchester in England. ... At Bedford Rhythm Festival, 2006. ... Senryū (川柳, literally river willow) is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 or fewer syllables in total. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ...

To express oneself

in seventeen syllables

is very diffic

Film

Haiku competitions are featured in the movie "Koi wa Go Shichi Go".
The film Wayne's World features a dialogue about a supposed haiku. This article is about the SNL sketch. ...

Novels

Neal Stephenson's novel Cryptonomicon opens with a "haiku" narrated by Bobby Shaftoe, one of the main characters. Throughout the course of the novel, Bobby Shaftoe writes many "haiku" describing his experiences in World War II. Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer, known primarily for his science fiction works in the postcyberpunk genre with a penchant for explorations of society, mathematics, currency, and the history of science. ... Cryptonomicon is a 1999 novel by Neal Stephenson. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

In Dean Koontz's False Memory (novel), The nemesis: Dr. Mark Ahriman use haiku to put his hypnotized subjects into their "chapel". He chooses a "haiku" based on the subject's personality and the local environment that he works in. Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9, 1945 in Everett, Pennsylvania) is an American writer. ... The introduction of this article does not provide enough context for readers unfamiliar with the subject. ... Look up nemesis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In Chuck Palahniuk's novel Fight Club the unnamed protagonist utilizes haiku poems to illustrate his beliefs on modern consumerism and his own zen-ness which he disseminates to his co-workers through the use of intra-office email. Charles Michael Chuck Palahniuk (pronounced )[1] (born February 21, 1962) is an American satirical novelist and freelance journalist of Ukrainian ancestry born in Pasco, Washington. ... Fight Club[1] (1996) is the first published novel by American author Chuck Palahniuk. ...

In Stephen King's It, Ben Hanscomb writes a "haiku" to Beverly Marsh. For other persons named Stephen King, see Stephen King (disambiguation). ... Look up It in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Ian Fleming's James Bond novel You Only Live Twice is titled after a "haiku" composed by 007 in the story. Mr Fleming credits the haiku in the novel's dedication page as being based on or in the style of Basho. This article is about the author. ...

Startide Rising by David Brin features a haiku-esque language as a medium between the advanced humans and evolved dolphins. Startide Rising is a 1983 science fiction novel by David Brin and the second book of six set in his Uplift Universe (preceded by Sundiver and followed by The Uplift War). ... Glen David Brin, Ph. ...

In Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse, the god, Apollo, creates a "haiku". Rick Riordan is an American author from Texas famous for his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, and The Titans Curse). ...

Bill Watterson 's popular comic Calvin and Hobbes included a strip in which Calvin approached Hobbes with the following "alliterative haiku": Twitching tufted tail, a toasty, tawny tummy: a tired tiger. William B. Bill Watterson II (born July 5, 1958) is the author of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes and a few poems (which are mostly embedded in his works). ... Listen to this article (3 parts) (info) Part 1ʉۢ Part 2ʉۢ Part 3 This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2006-01-29, and may not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ...

Video games

The character Bowser in the game Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, for the Super Nintendo, had his own Haiku. Bowser, full name being Bowser Koopa sometimes referred to as King Koopa and known in Japan and Norway as simply Koopa ), is a video game character in Nintendos Mario series. ... Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (スーパーマリオRPG) was the last Mario game made and released for the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and was the last Square-produced game for a Nintendo video game console until 2003, with the debut of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles for the... The Super Nintendo Entertainment System or Super NES (also called SNES and Super Nintendo) was a 16-bit video game console released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia, and Brazil between 1990 and 1993. ...

Characters located in one level of Spyro: Year of the Dragon, for the Sony PlayStation, speak exclusively in freestyle haiku. Sony Corporation ) is a Japanese multinational corporation and one of the worlds largest media conglomerates with revenue of $66. ... For other uses, see PlayStation (disambiguation). ...

Slayer from Guilty Gear says that he enjoys haiku; even in his Instant Kill he'll say a haiku. Slayer ) is a character in the Guilty Gear fighting game series, making his first appearance in Guilty Gear XX: The Midnight Carnival. ... The Guilty Gear series is known for its unique graphics. ...

In "Destroy All Humans 2" there are ninjas in the game who speak in haiku. When questioned "Why are there ninjas in the game?" most characters usually answer "Everyone loves ninjas!"

In the online game Kingdom of Loathing, there is a chat channel which requires that players communicate exclusively in haiku form. Entry privileges can be won by completing the Ultimate Haiku Challenge event in-game. Kingdom of Loathing (KoL) is a humorous, browser-based, multiplayer role playing game designed and operated by Asymmetric Publications, including creator Zack Jick Johnson and writer Josh Mr. ...

In the end credits of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Deadpool can be heard reading a haiku "by my good friend, Oz" ("Oz" being Mike Schulenberg, a designer at Raven Software). For other uses, see Dead pool (disambiguation). ... Raven Software is a computer game software developer based in Madison, Wisconsin. ...

In Final Fantasy VII, the music heard while traveling via the airship is titled "Haiku" - The notes follow a 5-7-5(-7-5, etc.) pattern through a majority of the piece (title seen when the MIDI file is ripped from a game disc).

The character Frost Tiger from Viewtiful Joe 2 speaks entirely in Haiku. Viewtiful Joe 2 is a video game and sequel to Viewtiful Joe. ...

Music and Dance

Ed Bennett and Ryland Angel composed a song based on Bashō's haiku 五月雨をあつめて早し最上川 (samidare o atsumete hayashi mogamigawa: with all the summer rain/ it flows along so swiftly--/ the River Mogami). Sung by Ryland Angel, the song accompanied the dance choreographed by Kayoko Sakoh; in 2007, she danced in it with Jamal Green (see Ed Bennett's video clip of Samidare Wo).^[10]

The lyrics of the 1945 hit song Moonlight in Vermont consist of haiku in the A sections. Moonlight in Vermont is a popular song. ...

The American band Tally Hall wrote a song about writing a haiku.[2]. Most of the verses are actually written in 5-7-6, except the actual "haiku" the song is about, which is a 5-7-5 haiku. Tally Hall is a rock band formed in December of 2002 based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, now under the Atlantic Records recording label. ...

Famous writers

Pre-Shiki period

• Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694)
• Onitsura (1661–1738)
• Yosa Buson (1716–1783)
• Kobayashi Issa (1763–1827)

A statue of Bashō in Hiraizumi, Iwate. ... // Events February to August - Explorer Abel Tasmans second expedition for the Dutch East India Company maps the north coast of Australia. ... Events February 6 - The colony Quilombo dos Palmares is destroyed. ... 1661 (MDCLXI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Events February 4 - Court Jew Joseph Suss Oppenheimer is executed in Württenberg April 15 - Premiere in London of Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel. ... Grave of Buson Yosa Buson, or Yosa no Buson (与謝蕪村, 1716 – December 25, 1784), was a Japanese poet and painter from the Edo period. ... // Events August 5 - In the Battle of Peterwardein 40. ... 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Kobayashi Issa (小林一茶 Kobayashi Issa) (June 15, 1763 - January 5, 1828) was a Japanese writer of haikai known for his hokku verses. ... 1763 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1827 (MDCCCXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Shiki and later

(see Modern Japanese Haiku: An Anthology, compiled and translated by Makoto Ueda: University of Toronto Press 1976) Haiku by Shiki at Horyu-ji (temple): kaki kueba kane ga naru nari Hōryū-ji I bite into a persimmon and a bell resounds— Hōryūji —trans. ... Year 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1873 (MDCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Takahama Kyoshi (高浜虚子 Takahama Kyoshi; 1874 - 1959) was a Japanese poet, one of the best disciples of Masaoka Shiki. ... Year 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link with display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Taneda Santoka (種田山頭火, December 3, 1882 - October 11, 1940) is a Japanese author and haiku poet. ... Year 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... For the Jimi Hendrix song, see 1983. ... Ozaki Hōsai (Japanese: 尾崎放哉, Ozaki Hōsai, 20 January 1885–7 April 1926) was the haigo (haikai pen name) of a Japanese poet of the late Showa period and Taisho period. ... This is a Japanese name; the family name is Ogiwara Seisensui Ogiwara , 16 June 1884— 11 May 1976) was the pen-name of a Japanese haiku poet active in Taisho and Showa period Japan. ... Natsume Soseki on the former 1000 yen note. ... A commemoration of Akutagawa and Rashōmon Akutagawa RyÅ«nosuke (芥川 龍之介, March 1, 1892 - July 24, 1927) was a Japanese poet and writer. ...

Non-Japanese poets

Although all of the poets below have some haiku in print, only Virgilio--and perhaps Roseliep and Swede--are known primarily for haiku. The others wrote more or less haiku-like poems. Amiri Baraka recently authored a collection of what he calls "low coup," his own variant of the haiku form. Poet Sonia Sanchez is also known for her unconventional blending of haiku and the blues musical genre.

John Ashbery John Ashbery (born July 28, 1927) is an American poet. ... Wystan Hugh Auden (21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) IPA: ;[1], who signed his works W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet, regarded by many as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. ... Amiri Baraka was born Everett LeRoi Jones on October 7, 1934 in Newark, New Jersey. ... Borges redirects here. ... Mario Benedetti (born September 14, 1920) is an Uruguayan journalist, novelist, and poet. ... John Brandi (born November 5, 1943)) is an American poet and artist associated with the Beat Generation. ... William A. (Billy) Collins (born March 22, 1941) is an American poet. ... Cid Corman (1924 - March 12, 2004) was an American poet, translator and editor who was a key figure in the history of American poetry in the second half of the 20th century. ... Charles Henri Ford (February 10, 1913 - September 27, 2002) was an American novelist, poet, filmmaker, photographer, and collage artist best known for his brilliant editorship of the Surrealist magazine View in New York City in the 1940s, and as the partner of the artist Pavel Tchelitchew. ... Irwin Allen Ginsberg (IPA: ) (June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet. ... Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld ( ) (July 29, 1905 – September 18, 1961) was a Swedish diplomat and the second Secretary-General of the United Nations. ... Michael Hartnett (September 18, 1941 - October 13, 1999) was an Irish poet who wrote in both English and Irish. ... Jack Kerouac (pronounced ) (March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969) was an American novelist, writer, poet, and artist from Lowell, Massachusetts. ... DezsÅ‘ Kosztolányi (March 29, 1885 – November 3, 1936) was a famous Hungarian poet and prose-writer. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Lenard D. Moore Photo credit: Curtis Dunlap Lenard D. Moore has been writing and publishing haiku for 25 years. ... Paul Muldoon (b. ... Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature. ... Raymond Roseliep (August 11, 1917 – December 6, 1983) was a poet and contemporary master of the English haiku and Catholic priest. ... Gabriel Rosenstock is an Irish poet and haiku writer. ... Kenneth Rexroth (December 22, 1905 – June 6, 1982) was an American poet, translator and critical essayist. ... Sonia Sanchez is an African American poet most often associated with the Black Arts Movement. ... Young Gary Snyder, on one of his early book covers Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet (originally, often associated with the Beat Generation), essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. ... This article lacks information on the importance of the subject matter. ... José Juan Tablada (April 3, 1871-August 2, 1945) was a Mexican poet, art critic, and diplomat. ... Tomas Tranströmer (b. ... Nicholas Anthony Virgilio was an internationally recognized haiku poet who is credited with helping to popularize the Japanese style of poetry in the United States. ... Gerald Vizenor (born 1934) is a Native American (Chippewa) writer. ... For other persons of the same name, see Richard Wright. ...

See also

• Culture of Japan
• Kigo – season words used in haiku and renga writing
• Renga – collaborative linked verse
• Haikai no renga – popular renga, from the opening verse of which, hokku, haiku originates.
• Haibun – prose written in haikai style, usually including one or more haiku
• Senryu – humorous short verse similar in form to haiku
• Monoku – English-language haiku or senryu presented in a single line
• Waka – Japanese poetry, especially tanka
• Scifaiku – science fiction haiku (pseudohaiku)
• Jewish haiku – haiku with traditional Jewish noodging
• Fixed Verse Poetry Form

The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over the years, from the countrys original Jomon culture to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America. ... Cherry trees from Japan around the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC. For other uses see Kigo disambiguation Kigo (season word(s), from the Japanese 季語, kigo) are words or phrases that are generally associated with a particular season. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Haiku ) is a mode of Japanese poetry, the late 19th century revision by Masaoka Shiki of the older hokku ), the opening verse of a linked verse form, haikai no renga. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Senryū (川柳, literally river willow) is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 or fewer syllables in total. ... Waka (和歌) or Yamato uta is a genre of Japanese poetry. ... SciFaiku (science fiction haiku) is a form of poetry invented by Tom Brinck in 1995 and inspired by the Japanese haiku. ... Jewish haiku are poetic parodies combining the style and conventions of ancient Japanese haiku with traditional Jewish noodging. ...

Notes

References

• Blyth, R. H. A History of Haiku. Vol. 1, From the Beginnings up to Issa. Tokyo: Hokuseido Press, 1963. ISBN 0-89346-066-4
• Suiter, John. Poets on the Peaks. Counterpoint, 2002. ISBN 1582431485; ISBN 1-58243-294-5 (pbk)
• Shirane, Haruo. Traces of Dreams, Landscape, Cultural Memory, and the poetry of Bashō. Stanford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8047-3099-7 (pbk)
• Sato, Hiroaki. One Hundred Frogs, from renga to haiku to English. Weatherhill, 1983. ISBN 0-8348-0176-0
• Higginson, William J. and Harter, Penny. The Haiku Handbook, How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku. Kodansha, 1989. ISBN 4-7700-1430-9
• Ueda, Makoto. The Master Haiku Poet, Matsuo Bashō. Kodansha, 1982. ISBN 0-87011-553-7

External links

Haiku

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Haiku

• "Aha! poetry": Website with essays on and examples of haiku and related forms
• Haiku Society of America
• Wonder Haiku Worlds: A community portal for haiku and related forms
• "With Words": This website gives a simple and useful overview of haiku
• Millikin University Haiku, a web site of undergraduate research on contemporary haiku
• In the moonlight a worm…: Ideas for teaching haiku writing that go beyond the syllable rule
• A web site containing definitions and examples of haiku, haibun, and haiga
• Haiku for People – Haiku definitions and samples, online since 1995
• Shiki Haikusphere and NOBO list
• Young Leaves Website of the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society showing the use of Japanese traditions in English-language haiku
• Versions International community of haiku and tanka translators (a Russian-language site)
• The Yone Noguchi Web Project A site about Yone Noguchi, an early English translator of classical Japanese hokku and the author of classical essays on haiku; maintained by Ehime University, Japan

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ...

Haibun

• Haibun Today

Haiku journals

• Modern Haiku magazine
• The Heron's Nest – An online journal of contemporary English-language haiku
• Simply Haiku: – An online literary journal showcasing Japanese short form poetry
• tinywords – An online English-language haiku journal that publishes one haiku per day
• Bottle Rockets Haiku Magazine
• Roadrunner Haiku Journal – An international online English-language haiku journal, which also includes gendai haiku translations and The Scorpion Prize.
• Frogpond – Frogpond, the Journal of the Haiku Society of America
• Shamrock – Shamrock, the Haiku Journal of the Irish Haiku Society
• DailyHaiku – Publishes one contemporary English-language haiku online each day, and puts out a yearly print collection of contributed work