The Art of Haiku - Introduction to Japanese Poetry (Patreon)

You've sampled sonnets and become enthusiastic about Western Literature, so perhaps it's time to venture over to the East? 

Today we're giving you a crash course in haiku appreciation.

The haiku is a strong part of the Japanese poetic tradition and one only needs to know a few things about the form to access its endless gifts.

Video Timestamps

• 0:00 the most famous haiku of all time
• 1:00 our aim with haiku appreciation
• 2:00 Pound's 'In a Station of the Metro'
• 3:00 what is great literature?
• 3:30 visual images in poetry (phanopoeia)
• 4:30 musicality/melody (melopoeia)
• 4:50 metaphorical language (logopoeia)
• 6:00 explicit vs implicit cultures
• 6:30 analysing a famous Imagist poem
• 9:00 a haiku about temple bells 
• 11:44 Basho, the master of the haiku form
• 12:10 haiga, Japanese painting, and calligraphy
• 14:30 Proust and the Japanese idea of 'wabi'
• 15:00 haiku as collaborative act of creation 
• 18:00 nostalgia/natsukashii
• 18:40 kigo/seasonal words 
• 21:00 haiku about spring 
• 22:00 the first cherry blossom 
• 23:00 memories and nostalgia 
• 24:00 the 5-7-5 syllabic count and 2-part structure
• 27:00 the untranslatability of onomatopoeia 
• 29:00 singularity vs plurality 
• 31:00 Basho's trip to Mount Fuji 
• 35:00 four twists on the same haiku and word selection
• 37:00 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North'
• 38:00 Basho's final haikus 

Book Club Reading Assignments:

1) Let us know any thoughts you have on the haiku as a form. Do you like it? Did any of the examples in today's video summon memories or emotions for you?

2) Why not try your hand at writing your own haiku? They should be an imagistic snapshot of the natural world. Next time you find yourself inspired by the stillness of nature, the beauty of birdsong or entranced by a gurgling stream, you might want to put some images down on paper.

Happy haiku-ing!