bholdr
09-30-2005, 09:48 AM
Okay... apologies in advance, but I'm gonna be a poetry nit for just one litle post here, since there seems to be haiku posts on this forum once in a while, and i think most of us are getting it all wrong, and, more to the point, could do a lot better... (god, i'm a dork... sorry)
I'm going somewhere with this, so bear with me, i know it's a long looking post. If poetry bores the hell out of you, just scroll to the bottom and do the poll, if you don't mind.
one little rant and i'll come to the point: The posters that are poking at the non-5-7-5 haikus gotta STFU and get some help pulling their feet out of their mouths. The 5-7-5 structure is not (even close to being) mandatory, it's a general guideline for haiku noobs and non-poets that provides a hint of a clue of an inkling as to what a good haiku's pacing and rhythm should sound and feel like when read or spoken. It's also a terribly limiting creative cul-de-sac, which bugs the hell out of me, if you couldn't tell that already... It's not all bad, of course, and many haikus ARE written in that structure (including most that i've written- but mine are generally crap, so, there). But, even if the point is just to have fun or be funny, to be a human thesarus or to recklessly cram one's inspiration into a rigid template for the sake of a grammatical convention is just plain wrong, people. c'mon. leave that garbage to limericks and such.
haiku, in breif
The greater idea behind, and the reason to write, a Haiku is to express a signifigant, momentary point of experience and/or inspiration in the life of the author. A haiku is not unlike an artist's black and white photo, it's a moment captured on film- the mind of the author- and then written down. Like a photograph is printed in the darkroom, the finished print is not exactly the negitive, but proceeds from it through the lens of the poet. the moment is captured and translated, but still remains true to the original exposure.
According to haiku enthusiasts and traditionalists in particular, a real Haiku can only come from such a transitory moment of inspiration (or, to some, enlightenment). It's a split second perception of the writer kinda trapped, frozen in the metaphorical amber of the poem. Some will go as far as to say that one cannot TRY to write a haiku, that such effort is ananthema to the whole idea of haiku... the photograph metaphor is really the best way i can explain it.
not being a poet (I am enthusastic, though ham-fisted amatur), I'm not claiming to be any kind of athourity on the subject, so here's a link (http://www.ahapoetry.com/haiartjr.htm) to someone who is. it's a pretty nice little explanation, with some great, classic examples, and some tips and techniques.
here are some examples, from the haiku society of america (http://www.hsa-haiku.org/haiku-mhl-award.htm#2002):
Mark Alan Osterhaus:
January thaw
the narrow path
fading away
Lenard D. Moore:
a pile of rocks
shifting in spring rain
the stiff old man
There were a lot in the other thread that i really liked... some of jakethebake's were fun and really inspired, imho, but i'm passing out here and can't dig them all out. here:
Jakethebake:
Your beautiful soul.
I can give it what it needs.
You won't take from me.
i like the give/take dichotomy a lot in that one.
and from me:
Haiku: i don't really care
late became early again
and i still cannot sleep
i'm crashing
does anyone here even give
a flying [censored]?
Don't bother to answer that.
Okay, here's the point of this whole dumb post:
If i were to offer a worthwhile prize would you participate in a (serious) haiku contest? The haikus themselves wouldn't have to be serious, I'd just like to see what this fairly intelligent and creative group that makes up OOT could come up with, given a little incentive and effort....
I'm going somewhere with this, so bear with me, i know it's a long looking post. If poetry bores the hell out of you, just scroll to the bottom and do the poll, if you don't mind.
one little rant and i'll come to the point: The posters that are poking at the non-5-7-5 haikus gotta STFU and get some help pulling their feet out of their mouths. The 5-7-5 structure is not (even close to being) mandatory, it's a general guideline for haiku noobs and non-poets that provides a hint of a clue of an inkling as to what a good haiku's pacing and rhythm should sound and feel like when read or spoken. It's also a terribly limiting creative cul-de-sac, which bugs the hell out of me, if you couldn't tell that already... It's not all bad, of course, and many haikus ARE written in that structure (including most that i've written- but mine are generally crap, so, there). But, even if the point is just to have fun or be funny, to be a human thesarus or to recklessly cram one's inspiration into a rigid template for the sake of a grammatical convention is just plain wrong, people. c'mon. leave that garbage to limericks and such.
haiku, in breif
The greater idea behind, and the reason to write, a Haiku is to express a signifigant, momentary point of experience and/or inspiration in the life of the author. A haiku is not unlike an artist's black and white photo, it's a moment captured on film- the mind of the author- and then written down. Like a photograph is printed in the darkroom, the finished print is not exactly the negitive, but proceeds from it through the lens of the poet. the moment is captured and translated, but still remains true to the original exposure.
According to haiku enthusiasts and traditionalists in particular, a real Haiku can only come from such a transitory moment of inspiration (or, to some, enlightenment). It's a split second perception of the writer kinda trapped, frozen in the metaphorical amber of the poem. Some will go as far as to say that one cannot TRY to write a haiku, that such effort is ananthema to the whole idea of haiku... the photograph metaphor is really the best way i can explain it.
not being a poet (I am enthusastic, though ham-fisted amatur), I'm not claiming to be any kind of athourity on the subject, so here's a link (http://www.ahapoetry.com/haiartjr.htm) to someone who is. it's a pretty nice little explanation, with some great, classic examples, and some tips and techniques.
here are some examples, from the haiku society of america (http://www.hsa-haiku.org/haiku-mhl-award.htm#2002):
Mark Alan Osterhaus:
January thaw
the narrow path
fading away
Lenard D. Moore:
a pile of rocks
shifting in spring rain
the stiff old man
There were a lot in the other thread that i really liked... some of jakethebake's were fun and really inspired, imho, but i'm passing out here and can't dig them all out. here:
Jakethebake:
Your beautiful soul.
I can give it what it needs.
You won't take from me.
i like the give/take dichotomy a lot in that one.
and from me:
Haiku: i don't really care
late became early again
and i still cannot sleep
i'm crashing
does anyone here even give
a flying [censored]?
Don't bother to answer that.
Okay, here's the point of this whole dumb post:
If i were to offer a worthwhile prize would you participate in a (serious) haiku contest? The haikus themselves wouldn't have to be serious, I'd just like to see what this fairly intelligent and creative group that makes up OOT could come up with, given a little incentive and effort....