RF haiku poetry

Frank, 5-7-5 is a Western phonetic interpretation. And Haiku's have had variations in structure in its history - in Japan. The structure is not the sole criterion. Here's one - a reference to the season.
 
Allen Gilman said:
Frank, 5-7-5 is a Western phonetic interpretation. And Haiku's have had variations in structure in its history - in Japan. The structure is not the sole criterion. Here's one - a reference to the season.
Where's the reference, Allen? I'd like to learn more. I've always suspected that the "meter" is something more that's been decanted and shoehorned into a "western phonetic" spoon-fed formula. If I only knew Japanese...
 
Gabriel,

I'm no expert on Haiku. However, in Haiku (traditional Japanese that is - whatever that means), there is usually a reference to the season - fall, winter, spring, or summer.

The meter has a "standard format" but there have been variations. I've read one Haiku from several hundred years ago that was 9 lines and the meter was unrecognizable to my virgin ears.

I think the success of it depends on many factors - ie. if the subject and meter are intrinsic to each other, then it works.
 
"If the subject and meter are intrinsic to each other, then it works."

Kinda like the subject and form in photography.

Daido Moriyama, somewhere and at some time, mentioned that the photographs that work the most for him are when the subject and form contest each other. That's one interpretation of "intrinsic."
 
I like it. I like it a lot. Thanks Allen. Now, to go uphill against local preconceived notions (like the mispronunciation of "Feng Shui" and "bokeh", and ideas like chocolate being invented in Switzerland)

Thanks!!
 
gabrielma said:
Where's the reference, Allen? I'd like to learn more. I've always suspected that the "meter" is something more that's been decanted and shoehorned into a "western phonetic" spoon-fed formula. If I only knew Japanese...

I have always understood Haiku to be structured 5, 7, 5 syllables with the requirement that reference is made to the season during which the Haiku was written.
As others have said there are variations, but I have always thought the above definition to be 'pure' Haiku.
 
From the Foreword to "The Haiku Anthology" 3rd edition...
"The Haiku Society of America has called haiku a "poem in which Nature is linked to human nature.".......

.... A haiku is not just a pretty picture in three lines of 5-7-5 syllables each. In fact, most haiku in English are not written in 5-7-5 syllables at all- many are not even written in three lines. What distinguished a haiku is concision**, perception and awareness- not a set number of syllables. A haiku is a short poem recording the essence of a moment keenly perceived .... "

[And more in similar vein]
Cor van den Heuvel, 1998
A former past president of the American Haiku Society


** I would have used "conciseness"
David
 
The Japanese view of Haiku.

'The history of the modern haiku dates from Masaoka Shiki's reform, begun in 1892, which established haiku as a new independent poetic form. Shiki's reform did not change two traditional elements of haiku: the division of 17 syllables into three groups of 5, 7, and 5 syllables and the inclusion of a seasonal theme.'
 
Great idea for a thread, Frank!

Film dino said:
What distinguished a haiku is concision, perception and awareness [...] the essence of a moment keenly perceived
Sounds like a definition of rangefinder photography to me. 🙂


Good old knob advance!
Forget about rapid-fire;
You've only one chance.
 
The history of the modern haiku dates from Masaoka Shiki's reform, begun in 1892, which established haiku as a new independent poetic form. Shiki's reform did not change two traditional elements of haiku: the division of 17 syllables into three groups of 5, 7, and 5 syllables and the inclusion of a seasonal theme.'

Who wrote this book? And when?


While there is a standard rhythm, I wouldn't go so far to talk about this as the "purity of Haiku." The purity lies in its invocation of the moment which called the Haiku into being in the first place, and it's faithfullness to that.
 
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