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Why Haiku: Not Just 5-7-5

By Christopher Patchel 18 Comments

why haiku

“Why haiku?” I muse yet again after a dozen years of immersion in the genre.

Haiku’s influence is widely seen in English literature, and many prominent writers have taken to it directly: Amy Lowell,  Richard Wright, Jack Kerouac, Alan Ginsburg, Gary Snyder, Billy Collins, not to mention last year’s Nobel prize laureate for literature, Thomas Tranströmer:

A cutting wind
moves through the house tonight—
the demons’ names

Yet, for every hundred people familiar with haiku, ninety-nine will cite the seventeen-syllable count as the main hallmark; ironically this is the least valid attribute. English syllables are not equivalent to Japanese on. And the 5-7-5 rhythm is only inherent to the Japanese language. Other languages call for their own rhythms. This has been evident in the haiku journals for some time, where 5-7-5 haiku seldom appear.

What made haiku a eureka discovery for me had nothing to do with syllable count but rather the poetic power of so few words, the alchemy of its techniques and aesthetics. The immediacy of sensory images (the ultimate in show, don’t tell), a sense of time and eternity with a focus on present experience against the backdrop of perennial seasons, the juxtaposition and disjunction of images (most haiku are split into two parts).

a stone, a leaf…
the quiet closing
of a door

-Peggy Willis Lyles

One aim of haiku’s approach is to capture a hard-to-define sense of ma, a Japanese concept that roughly translates as gap, space, or pause. Other far-flung words and phrases associated with ma include interval, silence, white space, atmosphere, nuance, savor, mystery, inexplicability, the forgotten recalled or missing found, a sense of betweenness… In Japan, a haiku can receive no greater compliment than “There is ma.”

In Kyoto,
hearing the cuckoo,
I long for Kyoto

–Basho, translation by Jane Hirshfield

Like all enduring art forms, haiku stays rooted in tradition but continues to evolve. What’s being done with monoku, the one-line form of English-language haiku, is a good example of ongoing experimentation:

the high fizz nerve the low boom blood dead silence

-Jim Kacian

Ironically, perhaps, these musings of mine have already become wordy for a haiku poet. I find myself wanting to return to the simplicity of few words…

a full sail
the sea and sky
one blue

-Christopher Patchel

Photo by Jan Maklak, Creative Commons License via Flickr. Post by Christopher Patchel. His first haiku collection Turn Turn is forthcoming from Red Moon Press.

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Christopher Patchel
Christopher Patchel
Christopher Patchel is an award-winning haikai poet who’s work has appeared in leading journals, contests, and anthologies over the past twenty years. His collection, Turn Turn, was a Touchstone Distinguished Book Award finalist. He has also served as the editor of Frogpond, the journal of the Haiku Society of America.
Christopher Patchel
Latest posts by Christopher Patchel (see all)
  • Why Haiku: Not Just 5-7-5 - December 17, 2012

Filed Under: Blog, Haiku, poetry

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About Christopher Patchel

Christopher Patchel is an award-winning haikai poet who’s work has appeared in leading journals, contests, and anthologies over the past twenty years. His collection, Turn Turn, was a Touchstone Distinguished Book Award finalist. He has also served as the editor of Frogpond, the journal of the Haiku Society of America.

Comments

  1. Maureen Doallas says

    December 17, 2012 at 2:21 pm

    Lovely post, Christopher. Looking forward to your collection.

    Reply
    • Christoper Patchel says

      November 25, 2023 at 5:21 pm

      Thanks Maureen.

      Reply
  2. Chris Yokel says

    December 17, 2012 at 4:20 pm

    Exactly. This is why most American haiku poets do not maintain the 5-7-5 form, but only the essential idea of haiku, which is capturing a moment.

    Reply
  3. marianne says

    December 17, 2012 at 6:37 pm

    love how the sea meets the sky and the horizon blends together.

    Reply
    • Christoper Patchel says

      November 25, 2023 at 5:20 pm

      Thanks Marianne.

      Reply
  4. Megan Willome says

    December 18, 2012 at 12:22 pm

    I have a friend who publishes haiku, and she says it has the longest, most complicated explanations of any poetic form, while yielding some of the shortest poems.

    Reply
  5. Ron says

    November 25, 2023 at 4:28 pm

    Just found your explanation for American haiku found in journals. Very helpful.

    Reply
    • Christoper Patchel says

      November 25, 2023 at 5:21 pm

      Thanks Ron.

      Reply

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