Haiku Exercise 3 notes on writing a brief 3-line senryu:
the 'human nature' poem

The Haiku Seasons: Poetry of the Natural World by William J. Higginson. A classic introduction to Haiku. Haiku Mind: 108 Poems to Cultivate Awareness and Open Your Heart (2008) by Patricia Donegan. 108 remarkable haiku by Japanese and Western poets, with small essays to show how such brief poems can show us how we can approach our lives.

Haiku exercises

Your first three haiku:

• Exercise 1: brief 3-line nature poem with two juxtaposed images.
• Exercise 2: brief 3-line nature poem with two juxtaposed images using '5-7-5' syllable count.
• Exercise 3: brief 3-line senryu: the 'human nature' poem.

Notes:

• Exercise 1 notes; comments and books on writing haiku.
• Exercise 2 notes; comments and books on the history of haiku.
• Exercise 3 notes; comments and timeline on the history of haiku.

Exercise 3: notes

Comparison of haiku and senryu:

Core attributes:	Season word (kigo).	Three phrases.	Juxtaposed images.
Classical Haiku (nature poem)	Required	Classical Japanese: 1 vertical line of 5-7-5 morae. Modern Western: short-long-short; maybe 2-3-2 stresses; many variations. Usually written in 3 lines but may be written in 1 or 2.	Required
Senryu (people poem)	Optional	Same as above. Western senryu are of variable but basically "breath-like" length.	Optional

Time line for haiku:

Haiku originated as solo verses that could be used in linked verse. Accordingly it is necessary to include information about linked verse in considering the development of haiku:

• 987: tan-renga: short linked poem by 2 collaborating authors. Single-link poetry.

• 1127: renga: multi-link poetry first given its own section in Imperial Anthology.

• Early 1200s: haikai renga (linked verse with 3-plus collaborating authors) are lightweight.

• 1320-1388: Nijo Yoshimoto: the first to compile renga and their rules. The leading poet of the group composes the renga's starting verse (the hokku).

• 1500s: Rise of middle (merchant) class participation in renga: increase of vulgarity in content (like bawdy limericks); loss of poetic standards and creativity in using renga rules. Poets also write stand-alone hokku.

• 1644-1694: Matsuo Basho (the ascetic and traveler), 1st master of the stand-alone hokku (later haiku) tradition in Japan: the hokku is a nature poem that includes a kigo (season word) and two images separated by a kireji (cutting word). 36-link kasen renga. Prose-plus-hokku = haibun.

• 1688-1704: Genroku Era of literary creativity (the Japanese Literary Renaissance).

• 1716-1783: Yosa Buson (the artist), 2nd master. Painting-plus-hokku = haiga.

• 1718-1790: Senryu ('river willow') Karai popularizes the senryu poem; form like a hokku but senryu tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature; senryu are often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are more serious.

• 1763-1827: Kobayashi Issa (the humanist), 3rd master of the haiku tradition in Japan.

• 1890's: Masaoka Shiki introduces haiku ("good words") for stand-alone hokku; promotes Shasei (simple nature sketch); attacks Basho's style of renga (and calls it renku).

• 1949: First volume of Blyth's Haiku published in Japan; introduced haiku to the West.

• 1992: Rengay: 6-stanza, 2-or-3 authors, single season and topic linked verse.

Jump-start your poetry with ideas from our writing exercises.

Other exercises: Index. "Alien". Haiku. Spell casting. Write a poem like Billy Collins.

Writing and Enjoying Haiku: A Hands-On Guide (2003) by Jane Reichhold, whose many skills include a keen sense for the writing and appreciation of haiku. This book includes useful guidelines on writing haiku and related forms. In the Palm of Your Hand, Steve Kowit. Highly recommended. Brimming with clear and practical exercises, Kowit's book is the best 'How to' book to help you start writing poetry. My favorite chapter is about Awful Poems, where Kowit leads us cheerily through the frequent mistakes that appear in our poems, with exercises to correct them. The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms, Edited by Mark Strand and Eavan Boland.

Books of Poetry Form. Highlights of Poetry. Index of poetry. How to Write Your Poetry. How to Listen to Poetry. Recommended books on Reading Poetry.

Log of books read.

Poetry exercises with poetry forms: Forms of skaldic verse. Haibun. Haiku. Hay(na)ku. Rengay. Tanka. Concrete. Ghazal. Lai. Pantoum. Rondeau. Rubáiyát. Sestina. Sonnet. Terza rima. Triolet. Tritina. Villanelle.

Other poets: Billy Collins and exercise. Franz Wright. J. Zimmerman. J. Zimmerman (haiku). J. Zimmerman (tanka). Jack Gilbert. Jorie Graham. Karen Braucher. Len Anderson. Li-Young Lee. Linda Pastan. Nordic Skalds. Richard Hugo's Triggering Town. W.S. Merwin. Adam Zagajewski.

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