Haiku Writing
In an attempt to hone up my haiku writing skills, I started contributing to a haiku website. The experts ripped my efforts apart, leaving me devastated. I could not digest all the rules, I am generally non-conformist. When it comes to poetry writing, I like to experiment – flout rules etc., what the haiku purists term sacrilegious!
This is a fun write on the subject…using the tanka format
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link and shift-
the haiku writing mantra
had me stumped
until I hit upon
that versatile gem – moon
crescent moon
or chrysanthemum moon
or just half moon
they all seem to work fine
no expert will question you
you can be writing
about Mom’s shepherd’s pie
or crossing a lake
if you’re looking for a shift
in line three – the moon will do
Hi Miel! An intersting muse but the penultimate line should be a ‘you’re’. Haikus are not easy though they appear deceptively simple!
Thank you Mitch for taking time to read my piece and for pointing out the typo.. You are right haiku-writing is not as simple as it appears!
I suppose you were not ‘over the moon’ about the criticisms?
It is not only the haiku purists that will jump on you for flouting the rules. I have been taken to task by ‘experts’ for using too many or too few syllables and many have actually re-written my poems to show the error of my ways.
You can’t win, you have to conform.
Best, Luigi
You can write anything you like in poetry or prose, but I think if you claim something is a known, defined form, it should be correct. Otherwise what’s the point? Most haikus are not classical haikus, and terms like ‘western haiku’ or ‘modern haiku’ can be used . .The problem with taking the original haiku form in Japanese is the difference in syllables/words, where English needs more syllables than Japanese to express the same thing. They also have a season word and a turning point. After all, if you say ‘Ive done a painting of a dog’ and you’ve painted… Read more »