Writer's tutorial entry: Haiku and how we write it

USE SENSORY LANGUAGE
(6) Describe the details. Haiku are comprised of
details observed by the five senses. The poet
witnesses an event and uses words to compress
that experience so others may understand it in
some way. Once you have chosen a subject for
your haiku,
(7) think about what details you want to
describe. Call the subject to mind and explore
these questions
• What did you notice about the subject? What
colors, textures, and contrasts did you observe?
• How did the subject sound? What was the tenor
and volume of the event that took place?
• Did it have a smell, or a taste? How can you
accurately describe the way it felt?
(8) Show, don't tell. Haiku are about moments of
objective experience, not subjective interpretation
or analysis of those events. It's important to
show the reader something true about the
moment's existence, rather than telling the reader
what emotions it conjured in you.[5] Let the
reader feel his or her own emotions in reaction to
the image.
o Use understated subtle imagery. For instance,
instead of saying it's summer, focus on the slant
of the sun or the heavy air.
o Don't use cliches. Lines that readers recognize,
such as "dark, stormy night," tend to lose their
power over time. Think through the image you
want to describe and use inventive, original
language to convey meaning. This doesn't mean
you should use a thesaurus to find words that
aren't commonly used; rather, simply write about
what you saw and want to express in the truest
language you know.
ABOVE ALL
Be inspired
Practice a lot
Communicate with other poets.
ADDITIONAL TIPS:
• Haiku has been called "unfinished" poetry
because each one requires the reader to finish it
in his or her heart.
• Contemporary haiku poets may write poems
that are just a short fragment with three or fewer
words.
• A Haiku doesn't always need to rhyme.
• Haiku originated from haikai no renga, a
collaborative group poem that is usually one
hundred verses in length. The hokku, or starting
verse, of renga collaborations indicated the
season and also contained a cutting word. The
haiku as its own form of poetry continues in this
tradition.
Sample Love Haiku
• Refreshing and cool,
love is a sweet summer rain
that washes the world.
• Love is like winter
Warm breaths thaw cold hearts until
one day the spring comes
• A bird flies sweetly
on paper wings. Telling all
of my love for you.
• Every day I will
love you more than you could know.
We are here as one.
• The softest whisper
beckons me closer to you.
I love you, dearest.
• Vast as a mountain,
my love for you shines through for
all the world to see.
Sample Funny Haiku
• One shark said to the
other when eating a clown
fish: this tastes funny.
• The bartender said
to the neutron, “For you, sir,
there will be no charge.”
• A question for you:
Where does Washington keep his
armies? His sleevies.
• An octopus went
off to war. It’s a good thing
that he was well-armed.
• A wise man once asked,
“Why, pray tell, is the sand wet?”
Because the sea weed.
• The best way to carve
wood is extremely slowly,
whittle by whittle.
Compiled By: Moses S. Olarotimi