Mastering the Art of Haiku: A Workshop with Clark Strand

[@sectionalsofa]

Clark Strand was my teacher over twenty five years ago. I can still hear his words and see the glint in his eye. He opened up a little spiritual world to me that is as close as my left hand. I rarely write haiku anymore, but I will again.. Thank you.

[@filipkevely]

Powerful.

[@caipiralive6957]

As a poetry lover and emerging voice from Florida, I want to thank for this outstanding donation-based workshop.

[@mrgregcat]

Whatever they may say about syllable count -- if 17 is good enough for Billy Collins, it's good enough for me!

[@bridgham1]

It's very gratifying to learn from this that I've been doing it right all along these many years.

[@filipkevely]

17 syllables: Maybe too complicated for a YT comment but just yesterday I have watched a video on this topic and it mentioned a concept of "mora" (I think is the word) which basically means beats in Japanese. TLDR English language has stressed and unstressed syllables and only stressed ones are counted and follow the beat. "Sheep eats grass" has 3 beats and so does "The sheep eats the grass" or even "Sheep would have eaten the grass". 3 beats, still 17 - but differently.

[@pauperdiamond8733]

17 syllables is also a rule that's meant to be broken.

[@mrgregcat]

There's such a debate about syllable count in the Haiku world. Of course, Americans want to be "free", hate to be held down to anything, even when writing traditional forms such as sonnets. To me, the 17-syllable count is more about establishing a form or framework to work within -- as the I Ching (and so many other philosophies) tell us, form, or restriction, is freeing. Nowadays a lot of haiku mavens suggest writing not in 17 syllables, but in three lines of two"beats", three "beats" and two "beats". But now also the western world of Ku has mushroomed into so many additional forms, it's like people can't stand to be fenced in to good old 17 syllables format, though you can go very deep when staying in that strict form.

[@filipkevely]

Maybe too complicated for a YT comment but just yesterday I have watched a video on this topic and it mentioned a concept of "mora" (I think is the word) which basically means beats. TLDR English language has stressed and unstressed syllables and only stressed ones are counted and follow the beat. So still 17 but differently.

[@donbaird]

The word geisha itself is 2 syllables; gay-sha. The word, by mora (in English) is three syllables -- ge-i-sha. If counted 5/7/5 in English becomes unnecessarily wordy. We are already at a 3 count in Japanese -- only a 2 count in English. English is monosyllabic in nature while in Japanese is not. Syllables in English are not "sounds" in Japanese. The number of words is often 9 to 11 in Japanese while being 17 in English. Haiku is three "sounds" in Japanese; it is two syllables. Basho and Shiki both wrote numerous haiku that did not conform to a 5/7/5 "mora," "on" count (own). The most important aspect of haiku/hokku is the kire/kiregi -- the "cut" between two parts that are often referred to as phrase and fragment.

[@angelamaya2296]

I found this very informative compared to most haiku videos on KZbin so do you think we should write it more like basho and shiki or go 5 7 5

[@karenharvey2549]

I agree. When a haiku has to be pushed to 17 syllables it can feel padded out with unnecessary words. I enjoy Billy Collins regular poetry but he’s no haijin.

[@TaxingIsThieving]

I wrote 13 syllables. Is it a haiku?

[@samieramohamed2467]

Thanks life is already complicated without Haiku . We need to simplify things .

[@mrgregcat]

That "Exploring" book is now about $100 on Amazon.

[@DraganGrazic]

Haiku's used "mora", not "syllables". Mora are the stressed part.

[@Acarrdi]

There is no such thing as haiku's it is always haiku as in these are my ten haiku, never haiku's.

[@howardleekilby7390]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@meervi77]

So many award winning haiku do not move me. I guess it is generational.

[@Acarrdi]

This is haiku was written by Ron.C.Moss ebony rose the almost scent of darkness

[@meervi77]

@@Acarrdi Flight of dragonflies Is most pleasing to the eye. Sun on azure wing and She is beautiful. This whisperer to magpies. She wore blue today

[@joel2421]

Sounds like a you problem, not a generational problem.

[@TaxingIsThieving]

@@meervi77 Yours are better.

[@meervi77]

@@TaxingIsThieving I don;t about that. They are fun to writye. My coimment about award winners some are great. Some make no sense. 5 7 5 rule ignored yet awarded praise ok if its a great prose haiku. I have nive 5 7 6 ones Im proud of...

[@machrijam]

The season word should SUGGEST the season, not baldly state it.

[@nicholaswoollhead6830]

To be fair it can do either. Bashō would sometimes state the season outright, and sometimes let it be implied by what he observed.

[@machrijam]

@@nicholaswoollhead6830 Agreed!

[@TimGreigPhotography]

As a new convert to haiku it became clear very quickly that haiku is not 17 syllables nor is it 5/7/5. This is a bad translation across to English that still endures in schools and for example, this video. Haiku may be 5/7/5 "mora" but Mora are not even sounded and they're nothing like a syllable. This was an interesting video which I appreciated seeing but I was surprised such a glaring error 30 seconds into the video from someone who is obviously a very experienced haiku writer. Edit: it gets worse - "a single drop of dew", isn't that six syllables?

[@TaxingIsThieving]

Pagan pish

[@sfopera]

What's there to master? It may be worthwhile in Japanese but it's tedious in English. Just saying.