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poetryrepairs #201 v14.06: 061 Sueku/Haiku: Mimimalist Poems by SUE LITTLETON SUE LITTLETON On Writing Classical Haiku 113 en : 113 es 114 en : 114 es: 115 en : 115 es |
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SUE LITTLETON On Writing Classical Haiku: The Disciplined Charm of Poetic Brevity To take control of one instant or flicker at its climax in our heart and express it immediately in a very brief and condensed way." --Shisuo Kasai Frankly, for many years I was not at all attracted by haiku, nor did I consider them poetry. Then, in 20I0 I had a revelation, without explanation, and began finding the delicate beauty that could be expressed in this verse form. The following haiku by one of the great Japanese masters, Moritake, is one of the loveliest poems I have ever read: fallen flower returns to bough a butterfly So few words, but the image is incredible The Haiku is a Japanese poetic form, a kind of poetry that is perhaps the most expressive with the least words or syllables. In accord with the original criteria established by the Japanese for writing haiku in other languages, a haiku consists of 17 syllables in three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables. In addition, a haiku in another language should not have a title, capital letters, punctuation, metaphors or rhyme; the first two lines are related, but the last line should stand alone without reference to the first two lines. It is tempting to find a needed syllable with an article; however, the Japanese language does not have articles, so try to avoid them. The idea is to express satiety with a minimum number of words. Originally created as the beginning of a longer poem, the haiku won distinction in the 17th century when the great poet Basho (1644-1694) elevated it to a refined art. A haiku is the shortest literary form accepted as poetry -- or not accepted, because there are those poets and critics who refuse to define the haiku as poetry. I have had several poets comment that English is not Japanese, therefore a poet writing haiku is not obliged to follow all of the above indications. There are other poets who write minimalist poems and refer to those poems as haiku. Jack Kerouac invented his own haiku form, titled it "American Haiku," and copyrighted the name. As a poet who enjoys writing haiku, I have found that the demands and discipline required to create haiku as the Japanese indicated over a hundred years ago satisfies me. Since I cling adamantly to the original form, and since there is so much discussion and debate about the whys and wherefores of haiku, and since "Sue" sounds oriental, I refer to my haiku as "Sueku." No copyright, if you follow the rules above you have composed a classical haiku, no matter what I call it! My first book of haiku is titled Sueku/Suku, referring to the haiku and their translations to Spanish ("Sueku") which are not haiku, but minimalist poems. May your cup of haiku runneth over! SUE LITTLETON Buenos Aires, 2014 poetryrepairs #201 v14.06: 061 |
All the fine arts are species of poetry--Samuel Taylor Coleridge
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poetryrepairs #201 v14.06: 061 |
Poetry endangers the established order
of the soul - Plato REPAIR: resort, frequent or habitual going; concourse or confluence of people at or in a place; making one's way; to go, betake oneself, to arrive; return to a place; to dwell; to recover, heal, or cure; to renew; to fix to original condition. -- Oxford English Dictionary TOP |
poetryrepairs #201 v14.06: 062 Sueku/Haiku: Mimimalist Poems by SUE LITTLETON SUE LITTLETON On Writing Classical Haiku 112 : 112 es : 113 : 113 [es] 114 : 114 es: 115 en : 115 es thank you for reading poetryrepairs please link to http://www.poetryrepairs.com/v14/061.html |