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Take Your Poet to Work: The Haiku Masters

By Will Willingham 28 Comments

Could your workplace use a little more poetry? Wouldn’t it be great if you could bring the world’s most beloved poets along with you to work? Imagine if one of the haiku masters joined you for the day. Basho could take your calls in 5-7-5. Buson could take a dip in the water cooler, offering cool three-liners to your coworkers in need of mid-morning refreshment.

Take Your Poet to Work Day is coming July 17.

To help you play and celebrate with us, we’re releasing poets each week in a compact, convenient format that you can tuck in your pocket, tool belt, or lunchbox. We’ve given you Sara Teasdale and Pablo Neruda. And this week, we release our first collection, The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa.

Is there a poet you’d like to see? Give us your suggestions in the comments. We’ll see what we can do.

Take Your Poet to Work: Haiku Masters

Take Your Poet to Work - Haiku Masters

Click here for a downloadable version of  Take Your Poet to Work Day – Haiku Masters that you can print and color.

Perhaps if you brought a haiku along, you could have one of the masters read it to your coworkers as they stop by for a refill on coffee.


matsuo bashoMatsuo Basho
(1644-1694) is known as the father of haiku. He was a beloved teacher and the most famous of the Edo Period Japanese poets. While he lived in Edo (modern Tokyo), he was prone to wandering, especially to the northern wilderness, for inspiration for his poetry. Upon his return from travel, he published a collection titled Account of a Weather-Beaten Skeleton.

Awake at night–
the sound of the water jar
cracking in the cold.

–Matsuo Basho

Yosa BusonYosa Buson (1716-1783) moved to Edo in 1737 to paint, but soon fell in love with the hokku (haiku) form. Basho was a great inspiration, and Buson traveled into the northern wilderness to follow in his steps.

Coolness–
the sound of the bell
as it leaves the bell

–Yosa Buson

kobayashi issa

Despite a life marked by tragedy, Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827) was known for humorous, playful poems, often portraying the life of Shinsho peasants. He was sent to Edo to study poetry at the age of 14 and later became a lay Buddhist priest. He went by the pen name Issa, “a cup of tea” and wrote over 20, 000 poems.

Having slept, the cat gets up,
yawns, goes out
to make love.

–Kobayashi Issa

Learn more about Take Your Poet to Work Day and our featured poets

Browse more haiku

Learn more about haiku with our Haiku Infographic

 Post and illustrations by Will Willingham.

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Will Willingham
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Will Willingham
Director of Many Things; Senior Editor, Designer and Illustrator at Tweetspeak Poetry
I used to be a claims adjuster, helping people and insurance companies make sense of loss. Now, I train other folks with ladders and tape measures to go and do likewise. Sometimes, when I’m not scaling small buildings or crunching numbers with my bare hands, I read Keats upside down. My first novel is Adjustments.
Will Willingham
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Latest posts by Will Willingham (see all)
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Filed Under: Attentiveness Poems, Blog, Cat Poems, Funny Poems, Haiku, Haiku Poems, Humorous Poems, Poems, poetry, Take Your Poet to Work Day

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About Will Willingham

I used to be a claims adjuster, helping people and insurance companies make sense of loss. Now, I train other folks with ladders and tape measures to go and do likewise. Sometimes, when I’m not scaling small buildings or crunching numbers with my bare hands, I read Keats upside down. My first novel is Adjustments.

Comments

  1. L. L. Barkat says

    June 15, 2013 at 10:41 pm

    Hmmm.

    I might need to get a water cooler just so I can do this 😉

    Love these. And the poems you chose are terrific. The cat one made me laugh. (Are cat poems mostly destined to do that? 🙂

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Take Your Poet to Work: T.S. Eliot - Tweetspeak Poetry says:
    June 22, 2013 at 3:02 pm

    […] To help you play and celebrate with us, we’re releasing poets each week in a compact, convenient format that you can tuck in your pocket, tool belt, or lunchbox. We’ve given you Sara Teasdale and Pablo Neruda. Last week, we released our first collection, The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. […]

    Reply
  2. July 1: Standing O Edition | New Religion and Culture Daily says:
    July 1, 2013 at 1:23 am

    […] + Take Basho to work […]

    Reply
  3. This Week's Top Ten Poetic Picks - Tweetspeak Poetry says:
    July 4, 2013 at 11:06 am

    […] and cut-outs that you can take along with you. (Take your pick: Sara Teasdale, Pablo Neruda, Haiku Masters, and T.S. Eliot for starters.) Get yours, and take a picture or video of your poet at work with […]

    Reply
  4. Take Your Poet to Work Day | says:
    July 16, 2013 at 12:56 pm

    […] Take the Haiku masters to work […]

    Reply
  5. Take Your Poet to Work Day is July 17 (Infographic) | says:
    July 17, 2013 at 12:39 pm

    […] Take the Haiku masters to work […]

    Reply
  6. Cat Poetry: The Cat's Meow Playlist & Prompt | says:
    November 8, 2013 at 4:16 pm

    […] –Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827) […]

    Reply
  7. Top Ten Tweets (and a thousand other things) from Poetry at Work Day | says:
    January 16, 2014 at 8:18 am

    […] Kassel of the New York Observer had plans with Issa (throwing back to Take Your Poet to Work Day). We never did hear details of those plans, but we are still ready to listen if Issa has something […]

    Reply
  8. Take Your Poet to Work: Langston Hughes | says:
    June 4, 2014 at 8:01 am

    […] To help you play and celebrate with us, we’re releasing poets each week in a compact, convenient format you can tuck in your pocket, tool belt, or lunchbox. Last year, we gave you Sara Teasdale, Pablo Neruda, T. S. Eliot, Rumi, Edgar Allan Poe, and the reclusive Emily Dickinson (for folks who work at home). We even released a full collection, The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. […]

    Reply
  9. Take Your Poet to Work: Adrienne Rich | says:
    June 11, 2014 at 8:53 am

    […] To help you play and celebrate with us, we’re releasing poets each week in a compact, convenient format you can tuck in your pocket, tool belt, or lunchbox. Last year, we gave you Sara Teasdale, Pablo Neruda, T. S. Eliot, Rumi, Edgar Allan Poe, and the reclusive Emily Dickinson (for folks who work at home). We even released a full collection, The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. […]

    Reply
  10. Take Your Poet to Work: John Keats | says:
    June 18, 2014 at 8:00 am

    […] To help you play and celebrate with us, we’re releasing poets each week in a compact, convenient format you can tuck in your pocket, tool belt, or lunchbox. Last year, we gave you Sara Teasdale, Pablo Neruda, T. S. Eliot, Rumi, Edgar Allan Poe, and the reclusive Emily Dickinson (for folks who work at home). We even released a full collection, The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. […]

    Reply
  11. Take Your Poet to Work: W. B. Yeats | says:
    June 25, 2014 at 8:17 am

    […] To help you play and celebrate with us, we’re releasing poets each week in a compact, convenient format you can tuck in your pocket, tool belt, or lunchbox. Last year, we gave you Sara Teasdale, Pablo Neruda, T. S. Eliot, Rumi, Edgar Allan Poe, and the reclusive Emily Dickinson (for folks who work at home). We even released a full collection, The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. […]

    Reply
  12. Take Your Poet to Work: Christina Rossetti | says:
    July 2, 2014 at 8:38 am

    […] To help you play and celebrate with us, we’re releasing poets each week in a compact, convenient format you can tuck in your pocket, tool belt, or lunchbox. Last year, we gave you Sara Teasdale, Pablo Neruda, T. S. Eliot, Rumi, Edgar Allan Poe, and the reclusive Emily Dickinson (for folks who work at home). We even released a full collection, The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. […]

    Reply
  13. Take Your Poet to Work: Sylvia Plath | says:
    July 9, 2014 at 9:04 am

    […] To help you play and celebrate with us, we’re releasing poets each week in a compact, convenient format you can tuck in your pocket, tool belt, or lunchbox. Last year, we gave you Sara Teasdale, Pablo Neruda, T. S. Eliot, Rumi, Edgar Allan Poe, and the reclusive Emily Dickinson (for folks who work at home). We even released a full collection, The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. […]

    Reply
  14. Take Your Poet to Work: Robert Frost - says:
    June 29, 2015 at 6:38 pm

    […] the reclusive Emily Dickinson (for folks who work at home). We even released a full collection, The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. And last year, we added Langston Hughes, Adrienne Rich,  John Keats, William Butler […]

    Reply
  15. Take Your Poet to Work: Wisława Szymborska - says:
    July 2, 2015 at 8:00 am

    […] the reclusive Emily Dickinson (for folks who work at home). We even released a full collection, The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. And last year, we added Langston Hughes, Adrienne Rich,  John Keats, William Butler […]

    Reply
  16. Take Your Poet to Work - Emily Dickinson says:
    May 16, 2016 at 12:08 pm

    […] To help you play and celebrate with us, we’re releasing poets each week in a compact, convenient format that you can tuck in your pocket, tool belt, or lunchbox. We’ve given you Sara Teasdale, Pablo Neruda, and T. S. Eliot. We even released a full collection, The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. […]

    Reply
  17. Take Your Poet to Work: William Wordsworth - says:
    June 9, 2016 at 11:36 am

    […] the reclusive Emily Dickinson (for folks who work at home). We even released a full collection, The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. In 2014, we added Langston Hughes, Adrienne Rich,  John Keats, William Butler […]

    Reply
  18. Take Your Poet to Work: Elizabeth Barrett Browning - says:
    June 15, 2016 at 8:01 am

    […] the reclusive Emily Dickinson (for folks who work at home). We even released a full collection, The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. In 2014, we added Langston Hughes, Adrienne Rich,  John Keats, William Butler […]

    Reply
  19. Take Your Poet to Work: Seamus Heaney - says:
    June 22, 2016 at 8:01 am

    […] the reclusive Emily Dickinson (for folks who work at home). We even released a full collection, The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. In 2014, we added Langston Hughes, Adrienne Rich,  John Keats, William Butler […]

    Reply
  20. Take Your Poet to Work: Emily Brontë - says:
    June 29, 2016 at 8:49 am

    […] the reclusive Emily Dickinson (for folks who work at home). We even released a full collection, The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. In 2014, we added Langston Hughes, Adrienne Rich,  John Keats, William Butler […]

    Reply
  21. TAKE YOUR POET TO WORK DAY: ON LOCATION | ELA in the middle says:
    July 23, 2016 at 11:49 am

    […] Wadsworth Longfellow and Elizabeth Barrett Browning over for an evening at the Sydney Opera House. Matsuo Basho and Kobayashi Issa went to London to give Big Ben a hand. And wouldn’t you know it, Emily […]

    Reply
  22. Poetry Prompt: Haiku Picture Books - says:
    May 28, 2018 at 8:00 am

    […] also has a delightful collection of Haiku Master puppets! The pdfs include even more haiku waiting for the tanka turn. Consider brewing a pot of tea or […]

    Reply
  23. Take Your Poet to Work Day: Jorge Luis Borges - says:
    July 4, 2018 at 8:38 am

    […] We even released a full collection, The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. […]

    Reply
  24. Take Your Poet to Work Day: Rosario Castellanos - says:
    July 12, 2018 at 8:27 am

    […] We even released a full collection,  The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. […]

    Reply
  25. Take Your Poet to Work Day: C. D. Wright | says:
    June 19, 2019 at 1:56 pm

    […] We even released a full collection,  The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. […]

    Reply
  26. Take Your Poet to Work Day: W. S. Merwin | says:
    July 10, 2019 at 8:02 am

    […] We even released a full collection,  The Haiku Masters: Matsuo Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa. […]

    Reply
  27. Robert Hudson Explains the House Fly — and Poetry | says:
    October 27, 2020 at 8:09 am

    […] and artist William Blake (1757-1827) used the fly as a symbol of imagination, while Japanese poet Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828) explored the fly as a symbol of compassion. He didn’t just write one haiku poem about […]

    Reply

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