Poetry and Writings of haiku teacher Patricia Donegan

Each section contains a poem by a poet (usually North American, Japanese, or European), men and women, living and from centuries ago. For each poem Donegan gives a page of thoughts on a theme inspired by the poem, and then a paragraph's biography on the poet.

Her comments on the teacher-student relationships among the poets is illuminating. In particular one can work out Donegan's lineage: she studied in Japan under Seishi Yamaguchi (1901-1994; Donegan p.101-102):

summer grasses —
the wheels of a locomotive
come up to a stop

who studied under Takahama Kiyoshi (1874-1959; Donegan p. 99-100):

he says a word
I say a word:
autumn deepens

who was one of the main students of the Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902; Donegan p. 59-60):

disgusting —
people arguing over
the price of orchids

Other Books on Haiku

The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson, and Issa edited by Robert Hass. The past-poet laureate of the U.S.A has compiled this enthralling collection of his own essays in which he summarizes the lives of three masters and inventors of the haiku tradition in Japan, and presents the lives, the prose, and 300 of the poems of:

Matsuo Basho (1644-94), the ascetic and seeker,
Yosa Buson (1716-83), the artist, and
Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), the humanist.

The Haiku Seasons: Poetry of the Natural World by William J. Higginson.

Books of Poetry Form.

Alphabetic list of poetry forms and related topics.

How to Write Poetry.

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