Write Haiku Friends.


Here is something about it by way of helping you write Haiku.

I found the stuff in Japanese Airlins site where they focus on Children writing Haiku.
The matter may or may not be copyrighted to them- I post it for educational purposes for aspirants.. as I found it quite, quite instructive

Haiku is a way to re-connect to Nature, for it heightens an awareness of ecology (humans' relationship to nature/the environment), since it traditionally includes a reference to the seasons, known in Japanese as kigo, or 'season word' in English. 


When people got together for parties or for poetry contests, a seasonal theme for the poem was decided upon to start and guide the poem, such as the subject of 'snow', 'moon', or 'flower', as seen in the waka court poetry of the 8th, 12th century. From the 16th century, as haiku developed, season words or kigo such as 'cherry blossom', 'frog', 'typhoon' and 'dragonfly' were ordinarily included. However these season words are closely connected to the seasons and life in Japan, an island located in the Far East Asian monsoon area. Each country's poets must therefore find their own season words by observing the seasonal changes of their own particular climates. 


Sometimes it may be helpful to have students write more specifically about a theme of the season (given by the teacher), like writing about 'dragonflies' rather than just 'autumn'. 

The most important thing to remember is what Basho said about nature. Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), the most famous of all haiku poets, talked about the importance of feeling close to nature - he said "To write about the pine tree, become one with the pine tree" - so one should be this close to nature. Having to use a seasonal word in a haiku makes the poet connect to the natural world around her or him and relate to this moment, this time, this place. 


Having a kigo makes the haiku deeper and more universal. The following is an example of two poems, one without and one with a kigo, to make a comparison. 

everything is quiet
statue of grand old warrior
sits on a table 


blanketed by moss
in shady garden corner
grand old warrior
(Jackie Morrison, age 12, Australia) 

Note for teachers' information: The majority of poets use a kigo, but some poets write 'no season word' haiku, such as a reference to nature that could be any season like 'the sound of waves' or, as in this intimate children's haiku: 


returning from the mountain
father's clothes
smell of the forest
(Akira Taniguchi, grade 6, Japan) 


And some modern poets delete a reference to nature altogether (as seen in the first 'old warrior' haiku example above). However, for teaching haiku to children, it is better first to decide on some key words about nature, whether seasonal or not, such as 'forest', 'sea', 'sunflower', or 'Christmas day', for it will help them to write haiku more easily 
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II

Haiku is probably the world's shortest form of poetry. For beginners it is best to follow the traditional form of using a 17 syllable count of a 5-7-5 phrasing in Japanese, divided into three lines in English. 


Some Japanese and many non-Japanese writers of haiku, especially in English, write "free verse" haiku and do not adhere to a 17 syllable count because they feel it does not fit the English language well and tends to be restrictive and produce contrived poetry. Yet children need a beginning form to follow and so we highly recommend using the traditional form of 17 syllables; later when their haiku is good they can experiment and deviate from the form. 


However, sometimes a count of less or more syllables is acceptable if the poem is otherwise good. For even Basho and other haiku poets usually but did not always follow an exact syllable count. For example, in this fine children's haiku of 16 syllables (4-6-6): 

a strong wind blew
the roof right off my house
that night I counted stars
(Aree La-ongthong, age 11, Thailand) 

Of course, having good rhythm is one of the keys to good poetry in general, haiku included. But haiku does not use rhyme (although some early poets tried that method, unsuccessfully). The best approach is to try using a 17 syllable count that sounds natural and smooth, using the natural speech rhythms of one's native language. Haiku is usually one breath long. So students must listen with their ears, as well as their eyes and hearts to write good-sounding haiku.

Haiku is not only a way to connect to nature, but a way to see and describe the world clearly. And since haiku is so short, the reader must be able to experience in three short imagistic lines, the moment of clarity (of seeing those images) that stopped the poet's mind and made her/him write the haiku in the first place.
To write a good haiku, one must see the world clearly and write it down clearly, using specific and concrete images - the image simply being a word or groups of words which present an object(s) that appeal to the senses - that can be seen, touched, heard, smelled, tasted etc. For example, don't use a general word like 'flower', but rather 'purple iris', which is a vivid picture. The key idea is not to tell or explain to the reader what one saw, but to show it only through imagery. For example, if one looks up at the moon on an autumn night, do not use the words, 'I looked up and saw the beautiful moon', but rather describe the scene as in this children's haiku: 

the full moon conjures
a silvery street
in my room
(Franziska Stagneth, age 10, of Germany) 


Here the poet is letting image speak for itself and embody the beautiful moon.
Some examples of haiku using sharp imagery: 

the shiny river
ate up the whiteness
of the heron
(Koji Nakano, age 12, Japan) 

in the evening twilight
only the mushrooms
are illuminated
(Keiji Beta, age 12, Japan) 

Also, some tips on things that should be avoided:
a)Avoid teaching metaphor comparisons for it weakens the image, for example, 'falling cherry petals are dancing ballerinas'. 

b)Avoid simile comparisons for it also weakens the power of the image, for example, using the word 'like' or 'as' in a comparison - 'winter branches like icy fingers'. However, if it is an unusual comparison is may be okay, for example, 'black crows like ninjas flew over the roof-tops'. 

c)Avoid repetition of the same types of words like 'bright sunny'. 

d)Avoid judgemental words like 'sad', 'beautiful'. 

e)Avoid explanation - show, don't tell; for example, use 'the still pond' to convey 'it is quiet'.

Haiku have a reputation for being objective descriptions for the most part, yet a good haiku moves the reader, evokes some emotion. It could be a big emotion like sorrow or a subtle feeling of a sense of beauty, or of humour, or of the transience of life. Yet the feeling is evoked indirectly. It is never explained, but rather conveyed through the image. Do not say 'it is lonely', but show the feeling through the use of imagery. For example, don't say, 'the lonely frog', or 'the frog looks lonely', but rather describe the frog so it seems lonely, as in 'a tiny frog sits in the cold rain'. 

Some examples of letting the image say the feeling indirectly or subtly, as in these children's haiku: 

loneliness/ sadness: 

sitting on the beach
a hermit crab
stuck in a bottle
(Christopher Andrews, age 12, Australia) 

wonder: 

for a second a butterfly
settles on my cheek
I must not breathe
(Myriam Suchet, age 15, France)

humour: 

moonlit night
the cats watch the moon
hunting mice
(Henrique Neves Fragoso, age 12, Brazil) 

warm feeling: 

inside my pocket
there is still a piece of
summer vacation
(Shinji Ikeda, grade 4, Japan)

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III

Haiku is a way to slow down in our modern speedy world and therefore relax and appreciate our lives more. Basho said, "Haiku is what is happening in this moment, this time, this place." The best haiku are usually written from one's real experience in the moment, in the here and now. Although some people write haiku from memory or imagination, the haiku that seem to be most genuine are those coming from one's immediate experience or at least partially from one's real experience. If one has an open mind, the eyes of a child and can slow down for a moment, one can catch the 'haikus' around us. It is just appreciating what is already there. Observe and discover what is there/here, as in this poignant children's haiku about suffering and compassion: 

after a hard rain
on a white orchid petal
a red ant in pain
(Nerissa B. Abrazaldo, age 11, Philippines)

To write a haiku one must be awake to the world. For when the mind is present and not asleep or crowded by thoughts, one can see clearly what is really there.Sometimes this discovery seems like a surprise, although it was there all the time. This 'clear seeing' becomes the surprise or fresh moment. This in turn makes one appreciate everyday life much more. One doesn't try for a surprise or to shock, but one just is still and notices what is there like the 'sunlight on one's plate at breakfast'. For if one sees what is there and writes what is there, the haiku will take care of itself - of course one has to practice the form of haiku to do this.
Sometimes a helpful technique for practice is to give the students the first two lines of a haiku, and have them provide the last line, often one of surprise or freshness. For example, it could be a famous or a made-up haiku like this: 

children throw coke cans
down the canyon --- 

Sharing the last lines of surprise can be very illuminating, like 'a hawk flies overhead', or 'the canyon echoes back', or 'then the silence', or 'a bear scares them away' etc. 

Seeing the world with "haiku eyes" is always surprising, as in these children's haiku: 

I went to the forest
to pick berries
but found mushrooms
(Rabukhina Elisaveta, age 8, Russia) 

while our teacher reads
a pigeon hoots out loud
sitting on her nest
(Harriet Scheck, age 9, U.K.) 

sitting low on the grass
red bug crawls across my hand
I am his whole world
(Nancy Perez, age 10, U.S.A.)

So if the teacher follows these suggestions students should be able to write a fairly good haiku in any language. Not only that, but through the writing of haiku, students' hearts are gladdened and sensitized by connecting with and learning more about nature, students' observation skills are sharpened and students' creativity expands. And although children can see what adults cannot, they need guidance, they need a form to express their 'seeing', and their feelings behind the seeing. Haiku can be one of these forms, magical glasses for seeing our world as it is the beautiful, the ugly, the happy, the sad - all of our experiences. And haiku can be a meeting place for humans and nature, as seen through 'haiku eyes'!