Poetry Form - The Haibun
The haibun is prose (or a prose poem) interleaved with one or more haiku:
- The prose is not an explanation of the haiku.
- The haiku is not a linear continuation of the prose.
Make each word count in the prose text, as in a prose poem.
Compact micro-haibun limit the prose text, such as to 20-to-180 words.
Most commonly only one haiku is included, placed after the prose, and serving as a climax or epiphany to what came before.
Many haibun include more than one haiku and longer text than the above range, as long as
the resulting work is strong enough.
The juxtaposition of prose and haiku is important.
- The prose should add to the depth with which we experience the haiku.
- The haiku should add meaning to the prose.
You could think about getting some "air" (as the skate-boarders and snow-boarders say) between the prose and the haiku.
Robert D. Wilson, editor of the e-magazine Simply Haiku,
includes these features for a haibun:
- "a linked form. The link is between narrative, prose sections and
one or more haiku."
- wide range of styles and content.
- minimal repetition of words and phrases;
"what is written is tightly constructed".
- strong haiku that can stand alone as poetry.
- "Haiku ...
relate to previous prose sections yet not be an extension of the prose. The
oblique but relevant association between haiku and prose is the defining
moment of the haibun. ... The haiku link offers readers a springboard to multiple, and often
unexpected, meanings."
J. Zimmerman Essays on haibun:
Haibun Sample
by J. Zimmerman.
Missing Man
Mid-November after I rake the leaves I stand at Central and First,
holding the Stars and Bars. All of them died in Nam — my brother Joe,
my cousin Freddy, mom's youngest brother Jack. Sometimes I just have
to come out on the streets and stand with my flag. There's no parade.
The smell of burning
could be diesel
could be napalm
First published in
Frogpond 34:1 (Winter, 2011)
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Haibun Revision Checklist
by J. Zimmerman.
Is this a strong haibun, or:
- Would another form, such as
Haiku,
Rengay, or
Tanka,
be more suitable?
- Is there a meaningful contrast in prose style and poetic style, or has the prose
become too poetic or the haiku too prose-like?
- Does the prose or the poem alone conveys your meaning?
Does the poem simply reiterate some of the prose?
- Does the title extend your meaning?
Or does it simply reiterate some of the prose or poem?
- Can the piece be more concise? Or is more needed?
Other Books on Haiku.
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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:
- Matsuo Basho (1644-94), the ascetic and seeker,
- Yosa Buson (1716-83), the artist, and
- Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), the humanist.
He presents their lives, their prose, and 300 of their poems.
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The Haiku Seasons: Poetry of the Natural World
by William J. Higginson.
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Haiku World: An International Poetry Almanac
by William J. Higginson, Meagan Calogeras (Editor)
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The Japanese Haiku, by Kenneth Yasuda.
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Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku
by William J. Higginson, William S. Higginson.
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An Introduction to Haiku: An Anthology of Poems and Poets from Basho to Shiki
by Harold Gould Henderson (Editor).
First published in 1958, it analyzes the development of
Japanese haiku under the leadership of Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki.
Includes the Romanized ("Romaji")
transliteration of the original Japanese, indicating the sounds of the
original poem. Henderson translate mainly into 5-7-5 syllables
(heavy compared to the 5-7-5 of the quick Japanese onji)
and rhymes the first and last lines (sometimes feels a bit forced).
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