Haiku Form

This classic book is a collection and analysis of Japanese haiku in the English language. The Haiku is a brief poetic form expressing a moment of insight. No foreign form since the sonnet has so fascinated and challenged the poets of the English-speaking world. Yet no scholar or critic, until now, has undertaken a definitive study of the problems of writing haiku in English. This book, the first of its kind, examines English language haiku in the light of Japanese form. Author Joan Giroux explicates the meaning and history of the Japanese haiku, its cultural background the creative process which gives it birth and the technical devices developed by Japanese poets over the centuries. Examples by classic and contemporary poets, including Basho and Buson, Shiki and Hastutaro, are given Romanized Japanese and in English translation. Poems, in English, from early efforts by Ezra Pound and Wallace Stevens to work of contemporaries like James Hackett, are discussed and evaluated. Wherever possible, comparisons are made, contrast indicated and suggestions given, with a rare sensitivity to the poetic possibilities of both languages and keen appreciation of the unique qualities of both cultures.

Everything you want to know about haiku written by one of the foremost experts in the field and the “finest translator of contemporary Japanese poetry into American English” (Gary Snyder) Who doesn’t love haiku? It is not only America’s most popular cultural import from Japan but also our most popular poetic form: instantly recognizable, more mobile than a sonnet, loved for its simplicity and compression, as well as its ease of composition. Haiku is an ancient literary form seemingly made for the Twittersphere—Jack Kerouac and Langston Hughes wrote them, Ezra Pound and the Imagists were inspired by them, Hallmark’s made millions off them, first-grade students across the country still learn to write them. But what really is a haiku? Where does the form originate? Who were the original Japanese poets who wrote them? And how has their work been translated into English over the years? The haiku form comes down to us today as a cliché: a three-line poem of 5-7-5 syllables. And yet its story is actually much more colorful and multifaceted. And of course to write a good one can be as difficult as writing a Homeric epic—or it can materialize in an instant of epic inspiration. In On Haiku, Hiroaki Sato explores the many styles and genres of haiku on both sides of the Pacific, from the classical haiku of Basho, Issa, and Zen monks, to modern haiku about swimsuits and atomic bombs, to the haiku of famous American writers such as J. D. Salinger and Allen Ginsburg. As if conversing over beers in your favorite pub, Sato explains everything you wanted to know about the haiku in this endearing and pleasurable book, destined to be a classic in the field.

A fascinating little illustrated series of 118 haiku about the Periodic Table of Elements, one for each element, plus a closing haiku for element 119 (not yet synthesized). Originally appearing in Science magazine, this gifty collection of haiku inspired by the periodic table of elements features all-new poems paired with original and imaginative line illustrations drawn from the natural world. Packed with wit, whimsy, and real science cred, each haiku celebrates the cosmic poetry behind each element, while accompanying notes reveal the fascinating facts that inform it. Award-winning poet Mary Soon Lee's haiku encompass astronomy, biology, chemistry, history, and physics, such as "Nickel, Ni: Forged in fusion's fire,/flung out from supernovae./Demoted to coins." Line by line, Elemental Haiku makes the mysteries of the universe's elements accessible to all.

This is the most authoritative and concise book on Japanese haiku available: what it is, how it developed, and how it is practiced in both Japanese and English. While many haiku collections are available to Western readers, few books combine both translated haiku with haiku written originally in English, along with an analysis of individual poems and of the haiku form itself. Written by a leading scholar in the field—Kenneth Yasuda was the first American to receive a doctorate in Japanese literature from Tokyo University—Japanese Haiku has been widely acclaimed. This edition is completely repackaged for a digital format, and is the perfect book for lovers of poetry who do not have a solid background in haiku.

**Chosen for 2020 NCTE Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels List** **Winner of 2020 Northern Lights Book Award for Poetry** **Winner of 2019 Skipping Stones Honor Awards** My First Book of Haiku Poems introduces children to inspirational works of poetry and art that speak of our connection to the natural world, and that enhance their ability to see an entire universe in the tiniest parts of it. Each of these 20 classic poems by Issa, Shiki, Basho, and other great haiku masters is paired with a stunning original painting that opens a door to the world of a child's imagination. A fully bilingual children's book, My First Book of Haiku Poems includes the original versions of the Japanese poems (in Japanese script and Romanized form) on each page alongside the English translation to form a complete cultural experience. Each haiku poem is accompanied by a "dreamscape" painting by award-winning artist Tracy Gallup that will be admired by children and adults alike. Commentaries offer parents and teachers ready-made "food for thought" to share with young readers and stimulate a conversation about each work.

This collection of ten critical essays is the first scholarly criticism of haiku by Sonia Sanchez. Her haiku, full of power and emotional voice for people, love, human nature, and African American experience, redefine haiku in English and African American poetic expression with her unique individuality.

Many lovers of poetry consider haiku to be literaturea??s most subtle art form. The whole of life seems effortlessly expressed in only a few words and images. The book presents readers with sixty of the more famous classical haiku in the original romanized Japanese along with their interlinear transliterations. This unique combination becomes a great help in understanding how they were made.An introductory essay tells how haiku can just as easily be written in English and as a help to readers creating their own haiku, it explains to them the elegant but rigorous structure of what appears to be an easy art form. This charming and informative book is tastefully illustrated with the authora??s own lovely ink drawings.

The first Penguin anthology of Japanese haiku, in vivid new translations by Adam L. Kern. Now a global poetry, the haiku was originally a Japanese verse form that flourished from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. Although renowned for its brevity, usually running three lines long in seventeen syllables, and by its use of natural imagery to make Zen-like observations about reality, in fact the haiku is much more: it can be erotic, funny, crude and mischievous. Presenting over a thousand exemplars in vivid and engaging translations, this anthology offers an illuminating introduction to this widely celebrated, if misunderstood, art form. Adam L. Kern's new translations are accompanied here by the original Japanese and short commentaries on the poems, as well as an introduction and illustrations from the period.