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Features > > Got Haiku? - the Regular Column
Haiku and Selflessness - the Conundrum
Posted by mamta on Saturday, February 28, 2009 (17:27:55)
It's probably safe to say that the simplest and most universal haiku are purely observational.
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haiku from the street - Wall Street
Posted by mamta on Sunday, January 04, 2009 (18:23:28)
While most haiku concern themselves with nature, taking their subject matter from the changes of season, the rise and fall of the stock market has its own cyclical attributes that can be readily observed. Having worked in the financial services industry for the past 11 years, I've had a first-class seat on the runaway train that is the American economy, and have found it to be a never-ending source of inspiration.
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I often write of trains
Posted by chameleon on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 (08:00:00)
Many think of haiku as a short poetic form whose subject matter typically pertains to nature. Urban drone that I am, I confess to being nature-impaired: I really wouldn't know a hawk from a handsaw. Fortunately I've made the decision to write about what I experience on a daily basis instead - the jaded angst of commuting to and from work by train.
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my four-legged muse
Posted by John on Monday, July 21, 2008 (00:39:46)
Shakespeare had Ann Hathaway; Emily Dickinson had Thomas Wentworth Higginson. My muse chases birds and digs for chipmunks in the backyard.
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drunk-ass haiku
Posted by John on Thursday, April 10, 2008 (18:06:32)
In the mid-nineties I spent many a night in brewpubs, cozying up to a quiet place at the bar and opening up my notebook to write. I never had a particular agenda or subject matter in mind - I merely wrote what I saw, heard or felt at the time. Much of what I wrote was dark and reflective; some of it cynical observation; all of it was haiku. It seemed a perfectly natural tool for recording snapshots and sound bites:
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Unquestionably haiku
Posted by John on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 (17:34:03)
I've been a very naughty poet. It's been over a year since I've written my "regular column". Please forgive me. Or better yet, treat me with your ultimate contempt - it might inspire a new sub-genre of "angst-ku".
Seriously, my thanks to John and my fellow poets for their patience with this forever-wayward soul...
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writer's block - mining the vacuum
Posted by John on Friday, April 20, 2007 (14:57:03)
I like to think of myself as a poet who moonlights in IT to pay the bills. Imagine my angst when I find myself sleeping on the train instead of trying to capture the day's observations in words, or killing time even less productively:
missing my stop
I lose another
game of solitaire
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The Ex-Factor
Posted by John on Monday, March 05, 2007 (01:19:06)
Truer words were never spoken: love may fade, but an ex is forever. The end of a relationship has inspired many a poetic pity party, and more than a few haiku. Speaking for myself, I've been mining this particular topic for nearly 13 years, starting with a haiku I wrote while trying to adjust to my suddenly single status:
recently separated --
still reaching
for the ring
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Writer's Block - The Ultimate Inspiration
Posted by John on Friday, October 20, 2006 (15:30:26)
Have you ever set aside a precious block of leisure time for writing, only to find that the Word Well has run dry? Speaking for myself, this phenomenon is at least as common as its opposite: experiencing a "haiku moment" without a means of capturing it in words. The latter often happens when I'm on the train: I see something that jars my imagination but circumstances make it impossible to write. The former usually occurs when I suddenly find myself with a few unclaimed minutes. I tell myself to write, but I draw a blank. I'm sure I've experienced something worth sharing, but nothing comes to mind.
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Show - Don't Tell
Posted by John on Monday, September 04, 2006 (00:01:35)
One maxim that is repeated over and over again in the haiku world is that one should never name an emotion, but should instead describe an action or an image that demonstrates that emotion. A few years ago I purchased a book entitled "May Sky: There is Always Tomorrow", compiled by Violet Kazue de Cristoforo. It is an anthology of haiku written in Japanese-American concentration camps during World War II.
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don't just do something - stand there!
Posted by John on Tuesday, May 09, 2006 (10:20:00)
Perhaps more so than any other poetic genre, haiku insists upon pure observation on the part of its authors. Ideally, the end result is a candid photograph composed of words, completely free of human imprint. Suffice to say, this is more easily said than done.
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Haikuness Part Three - Juxtaposition
Posted by John on Tuesday, January 17, 2006 (10:35:00)
This will be my final article on the subject of haikuness. After all, isn't it more fun to write haiku than to talk about it? Be that as it may, I can't help but feel compelled to extol the virtues of haiku as a legitimate genre of poetry, hence my three attempts to identify unique attributes of a good haiku, also known (perhaps only to me) as haikuness.
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Performance Renku in the Boston Area
Posted by John on Monday, December 12, 2005 (10:35:00)
What do Japanese poetry, Delta Blues, and Jack Kerouac have in common?
They'll all be part of the program in the December performances of the Metro West Renku Association, a trio of poets featuring Brett Peruzzi of Saxonville, Raffael DeGruttola of Natick, and Paul David Mena of Wayland. And you'll have TWO chances to catch this show, one on a weekday evening and the other on a Saturday morning.
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Haikuness - Part Two: Gimme a Break!
Posted by John on Tuesday, November 01, 2005 (10:40:00)
If resonance is one of the most important attributes of haikuness, then the most recognizable characteristic of haikuness must be that of a clearly defined break, whether explicit, in the form of a dash, ellipsis or other punctuation, or implicit, in the form of a pause. The haiku poet uses this break as a tool with which to compare or contrast a primary image with another, more secondary image, usually to bring the first into sharper focus.
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Haikuness - Part One
Posted by John on Tuesday, September 27, 2005 (19:11:38)
Yes, I know it’s not a real word. I’m using it to try to identify the essential elements of haiku: something less restrictive than a definition, while at the same time strangely elusive – just like all good poetry.
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Inversion and its Discontents
Posted by John on Thursday, August 25, 2005 (22:41:07)
For such a small poetic subgenre, haiku has more than its fair share of poetic "tricks", practiced shortcuts that often cajole reader and author alike into believing that one has created a unique work of poetry. One of the most pervasive of these tricks is inversion: the simple act of rearranging the word order of a generic observation in an attempt to achieve emphasis, surprise, irony, or some other conscious effect.
Read More... | 6 comments | Features |
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Of Fathers and Daughters
Posted by John on Friday, June 17, 2005 (18:06:00)
I’m obsessing over my daughter’s upcoming wedding. Far from micromanaging the decision-making process, I’m pretty much on the sidelines—just me and my stress—perplexed that my wisdom and clairvoyance are being scorned in favor of blind exhuberance.
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Time and a Season
Posted by John on Friday, April 29, 2005 (08:00:00)
Traditional haiku are written in the context of a particular season. The primary subject that represents the body of the haiku is imbued with the rich imagery associated with that season, creating a natural setting in which the haiku can resonate with the reader.
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How to Critique Your Boss's Haiku Attempt
Posted by John on Monday, April 04, 2005 (06:05:00)
I have changed the real name of my boss to "Bossman", but the rest of this article is a real email exchange that we had over the weekend. I may be updating my resume soon...
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Nice Guys Write Haiku
Posted by John on Tuesday, March 08, 2005 (21:25:00)
The Scene: blind date, circa early 1997. As usual, I’m a few minutes early, therefore I conspire to ease my nerves with a beer at the bar. Tonight’s victim is about ten minutes late. By mass transit standards this would be an on-time arrival. By my standards it’s just late enough to permit me to order a second beer. She is attractive but cheerless—evidently determined not to enjoy herself. She never removes her jacket. Before I can settle up my bar tab and request a table, she stops me cold: “I have to tell you something—nothing personal—but you’re really not my type.�
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the birth of a haiku
Posted by John on Thursday, December 30, 2004 (11:49:55)
Let's follow the life of a haiku from thought to first draft to revision and beyond. Tuesday, December 28th was a bitterly cold day in ‘burbs of Boston. Add to this the fact that the train was late and you have some painful haiku inspiration. Instead of poetry, however, I busied myself with the futile ritual of staring at the blank space where the train should be.
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Why do I haiku?
Posted by Tony on Thursday, September 30, 2004 (23:21:27)
Fast Forward to the Present. I‘ll ask myself the same question others have asked me before: why do I haiku?
I can flippantly blame it on Attention Deficit Disorder – my brain seems wired to handle only one or two images at a time. Imagine how tough it is for me to keep track of the characters in a Russian novel, the mood swings of a Red Sox fan, or the names of my own five kids! But seriously…
Read More... | 3 comments | Features |
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Got Haiku: Is Haiku for You (Part Two)?
Posted by John on Monday, August 16, 2004 (13:43:14)
Rewind to 1991: I wander into a book store in Albany, New York and instinctively find the poetry section. For no particular reason, I pick up The Haiku Anthology and look for a familiar name. There are 4 haiku credited to Jack Kerouac, but one in particular grabs my attention:
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Got Haiku: Is Haiku for You?
Posted by John on Saturday, July 31, 2004 (20:22:55)
Let me dispel a myth right off the bat: I didn't start out as a haiku poet. I was the author of the Next Great American Novel, one that I kept writing and rewriting until it disappeared into a wormhole called adolescence.
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