This
collection is titled "Baby Steps" because it is
a collection of haiku that I feel best represents quality
in the haiku tradition that I have most recently been exposed
to. They are attempts that have occurred over a four-week
period of studying haiku masters such as Bashô, Buson,
Issa, and Masajo, along with modern day Western haiku poets.
Upon
reflection, I can see a shift in my creations from the first
attempts to the latter. Since the goal of haiku is to condense
a whole moment in just a few words, I have tried to choose
haiku that best reflects this effort.
I
have also tried to consider other haiku guidelines such
as the importance of bringing two fragmented thoughts together
with a break on line one or two that causes the reader to
pause when reading, therefore raising a question and causing
the reader to anticipate. Also, haiku should use words that
stimulate the senses and help the reader form mental pictures
that appeal to things we already know. It should have a
personal connection, but not so personal that no one else
can get it—it must be open to interpretation.
The
true haiku spirit calls for the poems to be honest and sincere
to feelings, thought-provoking, in the present tense, have
a time element of a brief moment, be descriptive, reflective,
and symbolic, use as few syllables and words as possible,
and begin right in the middle of things. Quite often haiku
includes elements of nature and has a sense of color that
helps set a mood. Tone and balance are also important to
consider when writing haiku as is taking the “self”
out of the poem. Most haiku are three lines in length and
use minimal punctuation.
Themes
in haiku may vary, but the spirit of haiku reflects an instant,
whether a personal experience or memory, and offers the
reader a passage way to a captured moment in time.
I
hope that you enjoy this collection of haiku titled Baby
Steps because that is exactly what it is, baby steps toward
learning the true art of writing haiku. It has been a pleasure
to learn from Dr. Randy Brooks as he makes both haiku and
rengay seem so easy and fun.
