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   Clem Byard (cactushaiku@aus.social)'s status on Tuesday, 06-Dec-2022 14:01:49 JST Clem Byard

   in reply to

   @freehaiku
   History of Haiku
   (Part 2)
   “That’s not a haiku, a haiku has 17 syllables!”
   ???
   ~
   I said in my first post on the #HistoryOfHaiku that the way that many English language haiku writers have of writing haiku – in 17 syllables arranged over three lines in a 5-7-5 pattern – is based on something of a misunderstanding of Japanese haiku.
   ~
   Japanese haiku are usually, but not always, 17 “onji” long (an “onji” is a sound symbol in Japanese language).
   The problem is that “onji” are shorter than English syllables, so in writing a haiku in 17 English syllables, we are writing poems that are quite a bit longer than a Japanese haiku (I’ve heard it said 12 English syllables may be closer in length to 17 Japanese “onji”).
   ~
   If you’d like to read more about this aspect of haiku, it is discussed in The #HaikuHandbook by #WilliamJHigginson & #PennyHarter, and by #MichaelDylanWelsh on the #NaHaiWriMo website, here: https://www.nahaiwrimo.com/why-no-5-7-5.
   ~
   Japanese haiku writers don’t all stick to the 17 “onji” length anyway.
   The #NewTrendHaikuMovement in Japanese haiku in the early 20th century moved away from strictly adhering to a 17 onji pattern. These poets include #Hekigotō, #Seiensui, and a personal favourite, #Santōka.
   And centuries before that Matsuo #Bashō himself (one of the earliest and most famous writers of what we now recognise as haiku) sometimes wrote haiku with extra onji.
   #Haiku #FreeHaiku #Poetry

   • Embed this notice
     Clem Byard (cactushaiku@aus.social)'s status on Tuesday, 06-Dec-2022 14:01:50 JST Clem Byard

     History of Haiku
     (Post 1)
     Ask anyone to tell you one think they know about haiku and they’ll probably tell you:
     “It’s a poem written in 3 lines and 17 syllables
     5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second line, and 5 in the third line” (“575Haiku”)
     ~
     But unfortunately this:
     1/ Hasn’t actually been true for most of the time people have been writing English language haiku
     2/ Isn’t true for most people who write haiku in English today, and publish them in Journals dedicated to haiku, such as Frogpond, Modern Haiku (and many others)
     3/ Is based on an almost complete misunderstanding of what Japanese haiku poems are like
     ~
     So, how did #575Haiku become so fixed in minds of so many people?
     Probably because most people first learn about haiku from a teacher at school, and many teachers think of haiku as just “a great way to teach kids about counting syllables”, and (maybe?) not much more
     ~
     Over the next few days I’ll write some more posts that expand on these ideas a little further
     And hopefully show that while haiku can be the simple fun poems we often see posted under the #575prompts tag
     Haiku can also be
     a
     whole
     lot
     more
     #Haiku #FreeHaiku #Poetry #17Syllables #HistoryOfHaiku @freehaiku

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