I love that so few words can make one feel so much. Though I write poetry, I've always been intimidated by the haiku and this makes me want to let go of my fear and try my hand at it
You are very welcome. Thanks so much for reading, and for the lovely comment on my poem, I really appreciate it! It's a favourite of mine, for being the first, and for still being one I enjoy reading haha. I really do encourage everyone to take up haiku - it is a wonderful practice with so much richness to offer, whatever you're after from it. My next post in this series is a beginners guide, which should be in about a week or so, which you might find useful. It will give step by step instructions on how to get started as an English-language haiku poet. :-)
Also if you're after a bit more to chew on in the meantime, you might enjoy my Haiku Thursdays series and especially this one which gives an introduction to the form for English-language poets (and has links to 3 more at the bottom which a little more depth on each of the main aspects): https://forgottenpoets.substack.com/p/haiku-thursdays-one-plum-slowly-ripens
Happy haiku writing, and may the spirits of haikai be with you!
"The institution" may have lacked appreciation, but this was one of the best reads I've enjoyed in a very long time. The details, connections and global perspectives captivated me and led me to research several of my own rhizomatic learning opportunities. Brilliant. Literally.
Oh wow - thanks so much for your kind words Kim. I really appreciate it, a lot. So glad you looked into the rhizome - it was a life-changing concept for me, and has gone on to influence almost everything I do, art and thought wise. If you're after the book it comes from its available here for free: https://files.libcom.org/files/A%20Thousand%20Plateaus.pdf The rhizome section is chapter 1, the introduction, starting on page 3 :-)
Haha - well, to be fair, the institution was mostly very supportive and I had excellent supervisors and one of the markers was amazing too! But yeah, I was sore on that one point haha, and though my supervisors liked the ending I originally did, they were just worried it would get a lower grade without a proper conclusion, and they were right in the end. Institutions are always a give and take huh - often more give than take. Probably should have put more nuance in the post, but I went for the joke instead haha - my tongue was a little bit in my cheek at the end there, but only a little bit ;-)
Oh wow - that is so cool! I really respect that big time. My nana and mother are both extremely talented gardeners. I am a very very very beginner gardener - and am just starting to try and grow some herbs in the back garden at my flat. I am very much enjoying getting my hands and fingernails dirty, and love spending time with the plants! I think all poets could learn a lot from growing a plant or two. You've inspired me to do some more reading about actual rhizomes!
I enjoy your Quantum Boxes and all the connections they comprise. Here’s to “begrudging conclusions” as a spotlight to illuminate just how afraid most academics are of blazing new thought trails. I’m glad you’re doing your own thing now, Dick.
Haha - thanks so much Ann. I am fond of the quantum boxes as well! I also made that comment with my tongue firmly in my cheek haha (I actually lol'd when I wrote it, out loud n all). Yeah, there is some fear in academia, for sure. And there are some wonderful people pushing the envelope and challenging shit everyday - unfortunately these are seldom the people in control of the universities as a whole. My supervisors were amazing, tbh, and I know that they only advised that because otherwise it would have gotten a much worse grade, so I was thankful for the advice in the end. :-) And yeah, I wouldn't have got through the difficult times without them - probably should have put that in the post too (lots of love Sean and Russell, if you happen to read this haha) - but I went for the sardonic joke instead of the more reasonable truth :-P
Nice - so happy for you :-) It's a wonderful practice to commit to, and I find it very enriching. One thing - while Henderson's writing about haiku is excellent, and it has some wonderful information about the four main movements of haiku, and lots of good thoughts, there are some problems with it as well. The biggest being his translations - they are very nice, and I enjoy them for what they are, but he writes them entirely in 5-7-5 which is not always advisable, especially in translation, and they are rhymed, which is really not advisable haha - like, if it's what you really want to do then by all means, but haiku customarily do not rhyme, either in Japanese or English. My next post in this series is a beginners guide to haiku, which you might enjoy, coming up in a week or so :-)
If you're after a quick introduction to haiku as an art with some translations and the basics of how to write it in English, you could check out my Haiku Thursdays series, and especially this one (which has 3 others linked at the end which go a bit deeper on each aspect): https://forgottenpoets.substack.com/p/haiku-thursdays-one-plum-slowly-ripens
Thanks so much for reading! May the haiku spirits be with you.
Excellent post, Dick. I love the notion of reader as participant in the poem and really co-creator of the experience and meaning they find in it. I’m not very practiced at haiku or tanka in the classic sense, but I look forward to learning more. Thank you.
Thanks so much Paul - I really appreciate it! Yeah, that notion has always fascinated me too, and has been central to my own development as a poet. Ah awesome - I hope that the things i have planned are useful. Hopefully, next week some time :-)
As someone more or less completely uninitiated in haiku, this was great and very eye-opening! You put the beauty of the form into perspective for me. Thanks for that!
Thank you for this wonderful post.
' still grave stones remain
still grave stone remains
still grave stones—'
I love that so few words can make one feel so much. Though I write poetry, I've always been intimidated by the haiku and this makes me want to let go of my fear and try my hand at it
You are very welcome. Thanks so much for reading, and for the lovely comment on my poem, I really appreciate it! It's a favourite of mine, for being the first, and for still being one I enjoy reading haha. I really do encourage everyone to take up haiku - it is a wonderful practice with so much richness to offer, whatever you're after from it. My next post in this series is a beginners guide, which should be in about a week or so, which you might find useful. It will give step by step instructions on how to get started as an English-language haiku poet. :-)
Also if you're after a bit more to chew on in the meantime, you might enjoy my Haiku Thursdays series and especially this one which gives an introduction to the form for English-language poets (and has links to 3 more at the bottom which a little more depth on each of the main aspects): https://forgottenpoets.substack.com/p/haiku-thursdays-one-plum-slowly-ripens
Happy haiku writing, and may the spirits of haikai be with you!
That's amazing, I'm looking forward to the guide, I'll really need it. Have a great weekend!
Nice :-) you too!
"The institution" may have lacked appreciation, but this was one of the best reads I've enjoyed in a very long time. The details, connections and global perspectives captivated me and led me to research several of my own rhizomatic learning opportunities. Brilliant. Literally.
Oh wow - thanks so much for your kind words Kim. I really appreciate it, a lot. So glad you looked into the rhizome - it was a life-changing concept for me, and has gone on to influence almost everything I do, art and thought wise. If you're after the book it comes from its available here for free: https://files.libcom.org/files/A%20Thousand%20Plateaus.pdf The rhizome section is chapter 1, the introduction, starting on page 3 :-)
Haha - well, to be fair, the institution was mostly very supportive and I had excellent supervisors and one of the markers was amazing too! But yeah, I was sore on that one point haha, and though my supervisors liked the ending I originally did, they were just worried it would get a lower grade without a proper conclusion, and they were right in the end. Institutions are always a give and take huh - often more give than take. Probably should have put more nuance in the post, but I went for the joke instead haha - my tongue was a little bit in my cheek at the end there, but only a little bit ;-)
As a Certified Master Gardener, I’ve always been fascinated by reproduction via rhizomes; so transferring the concept to other realms intrigues me.
Oh wow - that is so cool! I really respect that big time. My nana and mother are both extremely talented gardeners. I am a very very very beginner gardener - and am just starting to try and grow some herbs in the back garden at my flat. I am very much enjoying getting my hands and fingernails dirty, and love spending time with the plants! I think all poets could learn a lot from growing a plant or two. You've inspired me to do some more reading about actual rhizomes!
I enjoy your Quantum Boxes and all the connections they comprise. Here’s to “begrudging conclusions” as a spotlight to illuminate just how afraid most academics are of blazing new thought trails. I’m glad you’re doing your own thing now, Dick.
Haha - thanks so much Ann. I am fond of the quantum boxes as well! I also made that comment with my tongue firmly in my cheek haha (I actually lol'd when I wrote it, out loud n all). Yeah, there is some fear in academia, for sure. And there are some wonderful people pushing the envelope and challenging shit everyday - unfortunately these are seldom the people in control of the universities as a whole. My supervisors were amazing, tbh, and I know that they only advised that because otherwise it would have gotten a much worse grade, so I was thankful for the advice in the end. :-) And yeah, I wouldn't have got through the difficult times without them - probably should have put that in the post too (lots of love Sean and Russell, if you happen to read this haha) - but I went for the sardonic joke instead of the more reasonable truth :-P
snagging Henderson's book right now - I've returned to writing haiku and tanka just this year and am absolutely in love with it. thank you!
Nice - so happy for you :-) It's a wonderful practice to commit to, and I find it very enriching. One thing - while Henderson's writing about haiku is excellent, and it has some wonderful information about the four main movements of haiku, and lots of good thoughts, there are some problems with it as well. The biggest being his translations - they are very nice, and I enjoy them for what they are, but he writes them entirely in 5-7-5 which is not always advisable, especially in translation, and they are rhymed, which is really not advisable haha - like, if it's what you really want to do then by all means, but haiku customarily do not rhyme, either in Japanese or English. My next post in this series is a beginners guide to haiku, which you might enjoy, coming up in a week or so :-)
If you're after a quick introduction to haiku as an art with some translations and the basics of how to write it in English, you could check out my Haiku Thursdays series, and especially this one (which has 3 others linked at the end which go a bit deeper on each aspect): https://forgottenpoets.substack.com/p/haiku-thursdays-one-plum-slowly-ripens
Thanks so much for reading! May the haiku spirits be with you.
I can’t imagine rhyming haiku - but I do stick with 5-7-5. I look forward to your next post to learn more! Thank you.
There's nothin wrong with 5-7-5 in my book :-) Just writing up the notes now - I am excited about it!
Excellent post, Dick. I love the notion of reader as participant in the poem and really co-creator of the experience and meaning they find in it. I’m not very practiced at haiku or tanka in the classic sense, but I look forward to learning more. Thank you.
Thanks so much Paul - I really appreciate it! Yeah, that notion has always fascinated me too, and has been central to my own development as a poet. Ah awesome - I hope that the things i have planned are useful. Hopefully, next week some time :-)
As someone more or less completely uninitiated in haiku, this was great and very eye-opening! You put the beauty of the form into perspective for me. Thanks for that!
An absolute pleasure Hasse - so glad you enjoyed it. If you're looking for a deeper dive, I wrote an intro to haiku a while back here: https://forgottenpoets.substack.com/p/haiku-thursdays-one-plum-slowly-ripens :-)
Next week I am doing a beginners guide as well, which will go over how to start writing haiku in English, which I am really excited about.
Nice! That will be interesting.