Haiku: A Poet's Guide

You might like to know the contents of this book:Forward vAn invitation to Haiku viiA Note On The Text ixAcknowledgements xContents xiiHaiku -- The Poetry of the Seasons 1Haiku's seasonal Awareness 3Japanese Haiku 4The Development of American Haiku 9The Art of Haiku 13Form 14Season 24Haiku Moment, Context, and Order of Perception 33Juxtaposition and Working with Images 38Senses in Haiku 45Suggestion and Reverberation 51Significance and Effect 53Not Exactly Haiku: Senryu and Zappai 55Haiku with a Snap: Nature and Human Nature 55Haiku with a Zap: Wit and Syllable Counting 57The Craft of Haiku 59Language 60Haiku on the Page 67Other Techniques of Japanese Haiku 77Haiku Grammar 79Poetic Devices 84Objectivity, Subjectivity, and Subjective Realism 92The Secret to Writing Haiku 104Getting in the Mood 104Writing and Revising Haiku 106Beginners' Haiku 106A Haiku Typology 108Why Edit? 112Guidelines for Editing 112Publishing Haiku 116Haiku Arts: Renku, Haibun, and Haiga 119Linked Verse Forms 119Haibun 121Haiga 122From Basho to Barthes 125The Aesthetics of Classical Haiku 125Shiki: Three Stages in the Development of the Haiku Poet 133Barthes: Finding the Pleats in the Silk of Life 138From Nature Sketch to Wordless Poem 140Haiku's Universal Appeal 140A Look Ahead 143Works Cited 146Resources 147Books 147Print Journals 152Online Journals 154Other Online Resources 154Haiku Organizations 155Credits 156Index 163***This is a very informative book about haiku -- what it is and what it is not.The author's writing is unambiguous and insightful.He places examples of failed haiku beside successful ones to illustrate the difficulties and subtleties of technique.***I was very pleased to find a point addressed that I had always wondered about concerning whether it is better to use the present-tense or participle form for verbs in haiku -- or whether it matters at all.A haiku almost always will present a moment in the present. That means that the verbs used are likely to be in the form of either the simple present-tense (e.g. runs, paints, fishes, etc.) or participle (e.g. running, painting, fishing, etc).Well, apparently there is no set rule about which to use, but here is an example of what the use of the participle will allow:One of my own (not necessarily good) haiku used as an example:a garden ponddrawing the moon outfrom behind a cloudThe use of drawing allows that it can be read as any of these: "a garden pond [is] drawing" or "...[was] drawing," or even "...[will be] drawing."Using the participial form provides the haiku with a versatility or flexibility with regard to the dimension of time.Here's what it would be using the simple present tense form:a garden ponddraws the moon outfrom behind a cloudThe versatility that the participle provided is gone, but it also may be true that this version rings more pleasurably to the ear.Well, anyway he speaks about that in his book and I just appreciated that he addressed that point; no other haiku book that I have ever read had ever done so.(By the way, if you are interested in reading about this particular point for yourself it is to be found starting on page 79 in the "Haiku Grammar" section.)***In conclusion:The author thoroughly fills you in about haiku's origins, evolution and its future.There are many examples of successful haiku from many of today's practicing haiku poets included with valuable analysis for each.This is a very worthwhile book for becoming acquainted with the haiku verse form and I could find no fault with it.I heartily recommend it to you.

As a haiku newbie, I had many questions. What makes great haiku, how to read haiku, what's the deal with syllables, etc. Haiku: A Poet's Guide answers them all and then some.It goes into the subtle (and not so subtle) differences between true haiku and what passes for haiku, the differences between haiku, senryu and zappai, and many other distinctions. I had no idea haiku could be so intricate. And beautiful. This book is a gateway to a life long pursuit.After reading this book once, I feel like I'm on the right path. I'll need to read it several times, though, if I'm going to write and critique my own "truthfulness" haiku (see page 133). Right now, I'm just taking it one haiku moment at a time.Yesterday it was 70 degrees. Today, 20 with the wind chill factor and snowing. I wrote...flowers awaitthe death of wintera full time jobLots of room for improvement, I'm sure, but a satisfying moment for me. Thanks to this book.

I have recently begun writing haiku not knowing much about it except it was a three line poem and it used a 5/7/5 syllable format. What I did not know was the history of haiku, the rules of writing and the development from Japanese to English language. I read a lot of information off the net but then I found this book which really tells you all you need to know about haiku, before you start to write them yourself. It not only gives historical background and explains the problem of syllables but tells you a great deal about the background rules and attitudes that inform the poem, if it can really be called a poem.I really recommend this to anyone, who wants to know about haiku and its past and curent history, but realise that you may find it a life changing experience

In "Haiku: A Poet's Guide" Lee Gurga reinforced and updated much of what I had learned from earlier haiku experts, including Bruce Ross ("How to Haiku") and ("The Haiku Moment"), and Cor van den Heuvel ("The Haiku Anthology") and what I have since learned through online haiku classes. However, while the book is nicely formatted and well written, and has a nice feel to it, I was disappointed to see so many typographical errors - inexcusable on the part of the writer, the editor, and the publisher.

I haven't even completed the book, but find it extremely helpful in breaking down strategies for writing publishable haiku. It provides before and after examples, and clear examples supporting each strategy. Easy to read, I'm sure I'll have dog-eared corners soon. A must on every haiku writer's shelf.

Of all my books on writing and studying haiku, this is by far my favorite. It is thorough, accurate, and very accesible for writers new to haiku. Haiku can be intimidating given all the "rules" for such a small piece of writing, but Gurga's kind approach to the reader encourages those new to the genre who want to honor it and yet begin the journey, to do just that. I really respect Gurga's advice.

This book answers every question about "What is haiku?" This book is a gem.

This is one of the best guides available to the multi-layered art of writing haiku and understanding the many differences between an ordinary three line poem and a haiku that ticks many of the 'invisible boxes' that make this form of poetry unlike any other.