A haiku for a weeping willow in Norwich?
If you need focus, get haiku’d. The Japanese know how to appreciate the moment: tea ceremonies where the design and the feel of the cup is lauded, the colour of the drink discussed, the scent, the very feel of the beverage dissected and praised.
Not surprising, therefore, the land of the rising sun gave us the haiku. Haiku is a poetic form that, traditionally, aims to capture a moment in nature, like a snapshot with words.
Most typically achieved using seventeen syllables arranged in three unrhymed lines of five, seven and five syllables, the practice of writing haikus is particularly useful if you are engaged in a word-limited literary arena such as writing songs. In such instances, words should be chosen carefully so that they can convey the specific mood, meaning and impact you require and haikus can help you build up that muscle. Haikus encourage you to pick up every word and study it closely for its sound, meaning, feel and impact.
Here are some examples of the haiku:
O’er the wintry wood,
winds howl in an empty rage
with no leaves to blow.
Soseki (1275-1351)
This haiku by the ‘punk poet, John Cooper Clarke, comes via recommendation of Westown Girl :
Writing a poem
In seventeen syllables
Is very diffic.
(John Cooper Clarke, 1979)
Cool, innit?
Happy Haikuing
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About suehealy
From Ireland, Sue Healy is Literary Manager at the Finborough Theatre, London, a full-time Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Lincoln. Her book on theatre literary management is published by Routledge, December 2022.
Sue is an award-winning writer for stage, TV, and prose writer.
TV
Her current project, a 6x60minute TV series, is under option. She is under commission with Lone Wolf Media, producers behind PBS’ “Mercy Street”, to co-write the pilot and treatment for a six-part TV series.
Stage
Her most recent stage-play, Imaginationship (2018), enjoyed a sold out, extended run at the Finborough and later showed at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. Her previous stage productions include Cow (Etcetera Theatre, 2017) and Brazen (King’s Head Theatre, 2016), funded by Arts Council England. Sue’s short plays have been performed at the Criterion (Criterion New Writing Showcase), Arcola (The Miniaturists) and Hackney Attic (Fizzy Sherbet Shorts).
Radio
Her radio work includes nine plays broadcast on BBC Radio 4 (Opening Lines winner), WLRfm and KCLR96fm.
Prose
Sue has won The Molly Keane Award, HISSAC Prize, Escalator Award, Meridian Prize and has been published in nine literary journals and anthologies including: The Moth, Flight, Tainted Innocence, New Writer, Duality, HISSAC, New European Writers. She has been writer-in-residence on Inis Oírr, Aran Islands, and at the Heinrich Boll Cottage on Achill Island. She has also benefitted from annual artist residencies at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, and at Ginestrelle, Assisi in Italy.
An academic with a PhD in modern theatre history, specifically the Royal Court Theatre, Sue has presented her research internationally. She spent eleven years in Budapest, editing Hungary A.M. She has a PhD in modern theatre history (Royal Court Theatre) and is a UEA Creative Writing MA alumnus.
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suehealy 
March 28th, 2012 at 22:41
those are great, Sue 🙂 My friend in India loves Haikus 🙂 He tried to get me to write one, but I chickened out lol
the tree is soooo beautiful!
love,
Denise
March 28th, 2012 at 22:43
Hey, I liked this post even before I saw I was in it!Thanks Sue. Great post, yet again, like Haiku itself, short, crisp and to the point. Love Haiku. Lord there’s a T-Shirt in there somewhere:)
March 28th, 2012 at 23:08
Interesting post
Sue Healy makes it easy
to procrastinate
Sherry Isaac, 2012
March 28th, 2012 at 23:08
Snort!
March 28th, 2012 at 23:36
succinct!
March 29th, 2012 at 05:34
I think poetry is hard to write, and haikus are even harder. But it sure makes you think about the impact of each word.
March 29th, 2012 at 06:53
Nice post Sue – are you going to give us one of yours?
Here’s the last double-haiku stanza from my poem ‘Kingfisher’…
The kingfisher gives
A glimpse of eternity
In a flash of blue;
Holds for a moment,
In perfect iridescence,
The essence of you.
March 30th, 2012 at 06:55
Your post has inspired me to persevere with Haiku. Like one of the other commenters I had thought of composing a Haiku but chickened out… and found a limerick much easier. 🙂 EllaDee
March 31st, 2012 at 09:41
John Cooper Clarke. That is amusi-. I dabble in haiku here and there. It’s a fun exercise. And not that easy.
March 31st, 2012 at 20:25
This is a very beautiful blog. I love it so much, especially how you are able to connect with so many readers out there. Mine is http://www.joylax.wordpress.com
April 4th, 2012 at 16:30
‘Haikus encourage you to pick up every word and study it closely for its sound, meaning, feel and impact.’
I believe this is a good ‘exercise’ for prose writing too…
Thanks for sharing, Sue!
April 5th, 2012 at 05:39
Many are familiar with the lantern poem (four verses of one, two, three, four, one syllables) that has the form a hanging lantern. A long time ago a friend introduced me to the di-lantern, a peculiar form of two lanterns side by side that read individually are two separate poems but read together form a third poem. Given its Asian implication, I came up with a variation of my own, two haikus side by side. Here’s the first one I wrote (using periods in lieu of center justification):
……………….her hips in the wind…..wrapped in velvet green
she sways beneath deep red veils,….as if Spring gave us more than
……………her name, simply Rose,….gift of scented light.
April 25th, 2012 at 05:15
I am a sucker for haiku. Glad to have clicked upon your blog.