The beauty of the Haiku

THIS week’s article is inspired by Vanessa Goolcharran, a spirited, budding writer whose enthusiasm is infectious. In the accompanying photograph, you will see her submission: a haiku paying homage to Mother Nature. I thought that this would be a fitting opportunity to delve into the elements of the Haiku and why, through its simplicity, it is considered one of the most beautiful poetic forms.
The first thing you should know about this ancient Japanese form is its signature 5-7-5 syllable pattern. That means, in its entirety, an English Haiku consists of three lines of five, seven and five syllables, respectively. Japanese Haikus are a bit different because of the language, but those technicalities are for another time.
Haikus are beautifully descriptive and intended to be read in one breath. Traditional Haikus focus on a particular season and feature a juxtaposition of two images. Contemporary writers have, over the years, made some tweaks to the traditional form ranging from a variance in syllable pattern to subject matter beyond nature and seasons. Regardless of these variations, however, the basic philosophy of the Haiku is to focus on a brief moment in time, and bring new thought to a specific detail or item while using vivid, colourful language and imagery.

Basic tips on writing a Haiku
* Decide on your subject. Commonly used focal points in Haikus are seasons or “Kigo” in Japanese. But other elements can be used: animals, months, microscopic elements of a larger mechanism- like a raindrop or a blade of grass. As mentioned, your subject does not have to remain within the realm of nature given the modern tendency to slightly stray from these practices. Using Vanessa’s example, she stayed the traditional course with the topic of Mother Nature to share how it makes her feel.
* Use short phrases, but choose your words wisely so that they evoke vivid images. Vanessa chose words like “vast” and “rainbow colours” to show the extent and variety of what Mother Nature has to offer.
* The Japanese use “kireji” or cutting words to create a pause or to break the meter and control the rhythm of the poem. Usually, that pause comes in the second line, but this is not a hard and fast rule. In Vanessa’s poem, the word “lulls” is abrupt and gives the reader a slight pause before they continue to its gentle end.

Are Haikus still relevant?
* Having studied poetry as part of my Undergraduate pursuits, my biased response would be that all traditional forms of poetry still are, simply because of the discipline and technique that they help a writer to practise.
* They can also add colourful and concise variety to your writing collection. If you’re writing a longer project, Haikus can be used as creative features to that project, for example, as the introduction to a chapter or even a prologue.
* Haikus are also a great way of simply exercising your descriptive skills through an economy of words and creativity.

I encourage writers looking for effective writing exercises to read some Haikus (the work of poets Matsuo Basho, Tagami Kikusha, Richard Wright and Yosa Buson are good places to start) and experiment in their own time with the form.

About Vanessa Goolcharran
Vanessa loved writing from the time she knew she could “put words together to make poetic sense”. In secondary school, she would experiment with mostly rhyming pieces and also attempted to write a romance novel at one point. Over the years, Vanessa has expanded her love for reading and continued to dabble in poetry, posting them on social media. She believes that having her pieces published elsewhere would take her work to “another level”. Vanessa’s love for nature and its wonders is the inspiration behind her piece “Mother Nature.”

Never stop writing, Vanessa and all the best in your endeavours!
If you would like to have your work featured in this column, email thewritemind592@gmail.com