What Is Haiku and Why Does One Write it?

Haiku, as you probably know, is that little poetic form of three lines, often thought of as also incorporating a 5-7-5 syllable count per the lines. That's basically right. Haiku is an ancient Japanese poetic form growing out of the early Japanese courts and their love of poetry. In the 17th Century Basho, one of the three early haiku masters, pulled that three line form from longer poetic forms in vogue then and made it its own form. 

I've already mentioned three of the "Rules" of haiku, that it is three lines of five syllables in the first and third lines and seven in the middle line. But the syllable count is based on a fallacious equating of Japanese sound units with English syllables. The Japanese haiku has the 5-7-5 structure so when people started to write haiku in English, they decided it should be by syllable count. But sound units in Japanese are not equal to syllables in English. Even the word Haiku, give the lie to that equality. In Japanese sound units, Haiku has three sound units, but only two in English. 

I only mention that because as the Haiku has become more popular the original "Rules" laid out by the early writers of the English Haiku have been relaxed. Jane Reichold, in her book Writing and Enjoying Haiku, lists several pages of "Rules" for writing haiku, many of which contradict other rules. She lists six basic rules and then says "break the rules." And that's where modern English Haiku is today. Traditionally, Japanese Haiku referred to Nature and had some reference to the season the poem takes place in, but even those "Rules" are relaxed today. 

Many of my haiku are written in three lines with a 4-6-4 syllable count, but that is not a given, my ear for the haiku seems to select that as natural for me. But often my haiku are 3-6-4, or some other variant. My one restriction to myself is not to use more than 17 syllables, but that's just my quirk. My friend Jo Balistreri is an accomplished haikuist and she often writes in a single line, if that form fits her observation, and sometimes she'll write a haiku in 2 lines, so you see, the modern haiku form is pretty wide open. 

The most basic idea of writing a haiku is that it should represent a "haiku moment" some brief observation or feeling of the poet. The form itself limits how much and what can be said, so it must be the observation of some short period of time. That time can be longer than a brief moment, of course. It could be, for instance, the observation of the waves as the tide comes in or goes out. The observation of a child and its mother dancing in a coffee shop, exuding joy and love. The sadness in the eyes of a woman who's partner is angry with her. The poet's first sighting of the rising of Orion in early winter. The "smile" of a crescent of a moon just past the new moon phase. 

Advantages accrue to a poet who writes haiku frequently. I write at least one a day, publishing it on my Facebook page and sharing it with other poets and people I know. A daily haiku might seem like too much to start with and that is fine. Try a two or three a week. The advantages are a sharpening of the observational skills of the poet. Those sharpened skills mean more things to write longer poetry about. And it satisfies the need for completing something each day or several days a week. Often, for me at least, a single poem can be a two or three week adventure, first draft and then many revisions. The haiku is short, concise, and can be finished quickly. It does take revision, but since it's short the revision process is quick. 

And you'll have a small poem you can share with your family and friends. And the pleasure of having written it.