Poetry: the Haiku

   A poem of a mere 17 syllables, what could possibly go wrong?

   Seems easy, but it requires a command of the English language: grammar and verbiage. It also requires one to be concise in one's thoughts.

   The haiku, at least the American variant, was originally popularized in the 19th century as a form of poetry to capture a specific scene, or moment, or concept. The 'concept' would frequently have to do with spiritual/philosophical implications.

   The haiku is derived from the hokku, which are the first three lines of the Japanese tanka, an art form especially popular in the 9th-12th centuries. The tanka consisted of a syllable pattern of 5-7-5-7-7 (sometimes 3-5-3-7-7). The first three lines are the hokku portion of the tanka. This portion of the tanka became a point of pride and of a poet's artistic propriety into the 1600s. Haiku masters like Basho, Buson and Issa perfected the hokku portion of the tanka creating a new Japanese form that was coined haiku in the 17th century. It is, relatively, the form we know today.
   The haiku, at least the variant most frequently practiced in the West, especially in the US of A, is broken down into three lines containing a total of 17 syllables. The first line contains five syllables, the second line, seven syllables, and the third line, five syllables.

   It will look thus:

5
   7
5

when written out. Here is an example from my catalogue of poems:

Pink-tinged cotton puffs
   painted on a blue sky wall:
a cartoonish scene.

   As you can see by the example above, Nature is the theme; but the end line, "a cartoonish scene", evokes a discrepancy to define a philosophical view of nature's/reality's perception. In this case, the view is that life is often perceived as a joke, a dream, a game, or the combination of all three, hence the use of the phrase "a cartoonish scene". When you think on it, what is considered more unrealistic than a cartoon? By its very "nature" it was, until recently, utilized to spoof real life people, places, things and situations.

   To continue the point, here is another haiku I have written:

Snapping, frigid winds
   tune telephone wires to sing
electric birdsongs.

   Here again, we have the use of an incongruity. The incongruous image being "electrical wires singing like birds." And yet, by the modern marvel of electricity and the wires that carry it, we are able to hear music---the songs of human "birds" if you will---from our radios or CD player/stereo systems at home or in our car. This quality of taking what is to define an esoteric/metaphysic "concept" has a long tradition.

   To prove this tradition, let's take a look at one of the most famous haiku of Basho, considered the "father" of this modern form. Note, however, that this is an English translation of the Japanese language, so there will be syllabic discrepencies:

The old pond;
   a frog jumps in---
The sound of the water.

   And, to prove that the form is in the oft required 5-7-5 pattern, here it is in the Japanese:

Furu ike ya
   kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto

   The poem captures the fleeting action of the frog that produced a lasting sound which clarified within the mind of the author, Basho, the marvel of "eternity". For western thinkers, this may seem a stretch, given the translation received in our language, but to the Buddhist influenced Basho, this was a most obvious transition of thought toward a "concept", in this instance, eternity. This, I believe, can also be perceived in the examples of my own haiku I have shared with you earlier.

    There is always a reason for anyone to share their knowledge. My reason is two-fold: 1) I love the form and the precision of grammar and thought/logic it demands, 2) I want to share it with all who would attempt the form, especially lyricist/songwriters. You see, we of Rexartrefkin, spent a lot of time rewriting the lyrics to our songs on our first EP to streamline the vocals, and yet, still be clear about the story/message.

    We wish there had been a lyric/songwriting school called "Haiku U." to teach this concept before we invested so much time in the original, ponderous lyrics it would take a 'circular breather' to be able to perform. Obviously, there isn't one, so call this post it: "Welcome to Haiku University", or, "Haiku U.", where "less is more"! We hope you refer to this blog's post as often as you need. I hope it becomes a resouce where you may perfect the haiku so as to get in the groove of "less is more" in your style of writing song lyrics.

   For more information on haiku, you can go to Wikipedia/haiku, or most any 'Poetry' site. However, maybe the best place to go first, in order to indulge your interest, is to go to www.haikusociety.com/learn . I don't think you'll be disappointed in the journey.

Rock On!

Wayne Van Stanley


   References: http://www.haikusociety.com/; The Road Less Traveled, by Anderie Poetry Press; Wikipedia/haiku.