Interview

Ms Z: 1. Introduce yourself to everyone!

John: Once I was a musician and then became a potter and then became a shop keeper. Nowadays writing and photography are my main concerns.

Ms Z: 2. Tell us how to write a haiku.

John: There's more to haiku than meets the eye. That would be the first thing to always remember. After that its all about deciding to use all of your senses and forgetting yourself. A good way to do this is to go for a haiku walk! After a while you will notice that you are enjoying the outdoor adventure and that cares are receding as you come to your senses.

Now. Ask yourself: "What is happening here?" Keep asking this to yourself, especially when you catch a glimpse of something interesting. For example:

paw print

on the ice

just one

In this haiku nothing has been explained, other than what has been noticed. And yet... The longer we consider the words the more they seem to slip away as a dream unfurls. It is this dream which a haiku evokes that does the work of revelation. The less the words do to achieve that effect the better.

In our example haiku you will reckon that it is probably wintertime. Placing haiku in their seasonal setting is the way to go. With such a brief text the time of year will greatly enhance your haiku's scenario. You will also notice that the example haiku is free form. Outside of Japan, where haiku originated, counting beats is not so formal. You will find that your haiku will flow with its own rhythm quite naturally.

Haiku can be found everywhere, any time. You may find that you never look back once you begin. There is much more to learn about haiku but this will get you started. Good luck!

Ms Z: 3. (I will try to follow the instruction and write one, then you can point out the right and wrongs of the poem, does that sound fun?)

John: Over to you. . .

Ms Z: Ok, here it comes:

Red leaves

on wet grass

scattered

John: Well done - you've broken the ice with haiku! And it may well be rainy autumn day for there are red leaves on the wet grass.

Let's wonder about form. Because haiku is so succinct most of the protocols of written text can be usefully omitted. To present haiku text all in lowercase reserving uppercase for proper nouns (out of respect) is a popular solution to the intrusion of superfluous grammatical distractions:

red leaves

on wet grass

scattered

Dropping the capital convention leaves a tactical ambiguity at the perceived beginning of haiku (for the same reason a full stop rarely finalises the end of a haiku). Haiku is not a sentence snipped into three lines, is the idea.

However, punctuation is an important part of the haiku tool-kit It is by using punctuation that we may split contrasting sections of a haiku for emphasis. Also, at these splits, pauses occur which allow our all-important haiku dream to assemble beyond the text's verbal delivery system. Notice the difference (for the sake of demonstration) if we add punctuation:

red leaves

on wet grass -

scattered

red leaves

on wet grass...

scattered

The use of 'scattered' puzzles the reader. For scattering is often an intention and we expect leaves to be unintentionally deployed - a random caprice of the wayward wind. Have children been playing? Is there an environmental artist at work? Or, it may simply be the allusion of careless nature reminding us that all things come to pass. Certainly the scene is shiny and colourful. But, with punctuation added more options of interpretation are sanctioned in your haiku's dream.

—

just good friends

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