Thursday, May 24, 2012
Monday, May 07, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Why Haiku Matters - Part Three
"You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.” Maya Angelou
When I first started getting a few of my haiku published, I got annoyed that English language haiku poetry was not getting the recognition that I thought it deserved. The editors of mainstream poetry magazines were not interested in publishing haiku unless it was written by well known poets and the media ignored or totally misunderstood the form. And as "haiku" grew in popularity on the internet, there was (and still is) a preponderance of 5/7/5 spam prose appearing on web pages, blogs and social media sites.
After writing and learning for a while, my haiku were published in a magazines around the world and I received prizes in a couple of competitions. John Barlow of Snapshot Press was kind enough to publish two collections of my writing. Reviewers said complementary things about the books. After this, I waited for the big breakthrough, a call from a mainstream publisher to put out my work, a review in a national newspaper, the request to talk at a literature festival or even an article in the mainstream media that recognised that haiku was the next big thing. None of these things happened. And on reflection, I think this was a good thing, both for me and for English language haiku in general.
Very few English language haiku (specific) poets are known outside of haiku circles. I'm not aware of anyone involved in haiku who has made any significant money* from it, particularly if you factor in the time spent writing, judging, editing or publishing. While there is perhaps some small kudos within haiku circles from being seen as a succesful haijin or editor, this isn't going to pay even a peasant's rent.
So the vast majority of folks do it for the love and/or other personal benefits. This is a strength and not a weakness. One example of how this strength manifests itself is the broadly supportive environment that exists on-line for haiku poets. I think that this comes in part from the lack of a need to compete with other poets when you write in an environment where there is little or no money, reputation or fame to be gained and your fellow poets are supportive of what you do.
And in a creative world, I don't think you can ask for much more than the space to do what you want to do, unhindered by those factors that can build up one's ego. Together with the honest support of those of your fellows that you respect and the knowledge that this is all that needs to matter.
winter river
a trout swirls
to nothing
*Unless of course you know differently!
When I first started getting a few of my haiku published, I got annoyed that English language haiku poetry was not getting the recognition that I thought it deserved. The editors of mainstream poetry magazines were not interested in publishing haiku unless it was written by well known poets and the media ignored or totally misunderstood the form. And as "haiku" grew in popularity on the internet, there was (and still is) a preponderance of 5/7/5 spam prose appearing on web pages, blogs and social media sites.
After writing and learning for a while, my haiku were published in a magazines around the world and I received prizes in a couple of competitions. John Barlow of Snapshot Press was kind enough to publish two collections of my writing. Reviewers said complementary things about the books. After this, I waited for the big breakthrough, a call from a mainstream publisher to put out my work, a review in a national newspaper, the request to talk at a literature festival or even an article in the mainstream media that recognised that haiku was the next big thing. None of these things happened. And on reflection, I think this was a good thing, both for me and for English language haiku in general.
Very few English language haiku (specific) poets are known outside of haiku circles. I'm not aware of anyone involved in haiku who has made any significant money* from it, particularly if you factor in the time spent writing, judging, editing or publishing. While there is perhaps some small kudos within haiku circles from being seen as a succesful haijin or editor, this isn't going to pay even a peasant's rent.
So the vast majority of folks do it for the love and/or other personal benefits. This is a strength and not a weakness. One example of how this strength manifests itself is the broadly supportive environment that exists on-line for haiku poets. I think that this comes in part from the lack of a need to compete with other poets when you write in an environment where there is little or no money, reputation or fame to be gained and your fellow poets are supportive of what you do.
And in a creative world, I don't think you can ask for much more than the space to do what you want to do, unhindered by those factors that can build up one's ego. Together with the honest support of those of your fellows that you respect and the knowledge that this is all that needs to matter.
winter river
a trout swirls
to nothing
*Unless of course you know differently!
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Why Haiku Matters - Part Two
"The best way to complain is to make things" James Murphy*
I have found it difficult to write anything suitable for publishing on this blog for a while. This is because life being what it can be at times, I have spent too much time complaining (inwardly and outwardly) and not enough time creating. And when I am complaining, I can't shift from inward self-absorption to the outwardness needed to find haiku like moments.
Usually, this isn't a problem. I sit in the seat in the meeting room with the view outside and watch the light change, the passing of rooks, the hawthorn on the hill that's coming into bloom. Cycling up the hill for home for the five hundredth time, a ewe baa's in a way I haven't heard before, I bump into the freeze-thaw pothole and wave at the cars going by. But when matters stack up and my internal dialogue turns negative, I miss all of this.
But these phases come and go. And it's often the shift from a mild depressive rant into a more creative melancholia that can lift the eyes to what's going on around us, all of the time, if we can be open enough to notice. And energised enough to write even a little of it down.
sunlight in catkins
he cleans the kitchen floor
without being asked
* this quote features at the end of Seth Godin's recently published manifesto for learning, Stop Stealing Dreams, which is required reading if you are interested in the future of education.
I have found it difficult to write anything suitable for publishing on this blog for a while. This is because life being what it can be at times, I have spent too much time complaining (inwardly and outwardly) and not enough time creating. And when I am complaining, I can't shift from inward self-absorption to the outwardness needed to find haiku like moments.
Usually, this isn't a problem. I sit in the seat in the meeting room with the view outside and watch the light change, the passing of rooks, the hawthorn on the hill that's coming into bloom. Cycling up the hill for home for the five hundredth time, a ewe baa's in a way I haven't heard before, I bump into the freeze-thaw pothole and wave at the cars going by. But when matters stack up and my internal dialogue turns negative, I miss all of this.
But these phases come and go. And it's often the shift from a mild depressive rant into a more creative melancholia that can lift the eyes to what's going on around us, all of the time, if we can be open enough to notice. And energised enough to write even a little of it down.
sunlight in catkins
he cleans the kitchen floor
without being asked
* this quote features at the end of Seth Godin's recently published manifesto for learning, Stop Stealing Dreams, which is required reading if you are interested in the future of education.
Sunday, March 04, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Why Haiku Matters - Part One
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few." DS Suzuki
It's nearly twenty five years since my first haiku appeared in print. In 1985, the good editors of the British Haiku Society magazine Blithe Spirit deemed that my lightweight submission of:
running through the park
shedding bitter tears
hear raindrops falling
was worthy of publication, which was kind given that it's not very good. But it served as encouragement for a beginner who, inspired by Basho and Kerouac, could see the possibilities of haiku and short form poetry.
While I now know enough to know my initial efforts were poor, I like to think I'm still a beginner. That's because the best haiku often show the beginner's qualities of lightness of touch, simplicity and a compassion often lost on the masters.
In the haiku world, as in life, there are no shortage of experts. And while Robert Frost argued, "poetry without rules is like tennis without a net" what marks the experts out is their unwillingness to throw the rule book away having learned the contents therein.
So one reason writing haiku matters is that beginners often grasp the essence of the art much more readily than the experts who know all there is to know about the haiku form or poetry in general. This means that the haiku is potentially much more accessible to beginners and not just the preserve of a few know-it-alls in print and on-line. And as Van Morrison sang, gardens always tell you more than gurus.
"No guru, no method, no teacher
Just you and i and nature and the holy ghost*
In the garden, in the garden, wet with rain"
Van Morrison - In The Garden
* other deities and non-secular alternatives are available
It's nearly twenty five years since my first haiku appeared in print. In 1985, the good editors of the British Haiku Society magazine Blithe Spirit deemed that my lightweight submission of:
running through the park
shedding bitter tears
hear raindrops falling
was worthy of publication, which was kind given that it's not very good. But it served as encouragement for a beginner who, inspired by Basho and Kerouac, could see the possibilities of haiku and short form poetry.
While I now know enough to know my initial efforts were poor, I like to think I'm still a beginner. That's because the best haiku often show the beginner's qualities of lightness of touch, simplicity and a compassion often lost on the masters.
In the haiku world, as in life, there are no shortage of experts. And while Robert Frost argued, "poetry without rules is like tennis without a net" what marks the experts out is their unwillingness to throw the rule book away having learned the contents therein.
So one reason writing haiku matters is that beginners often grasp the essence of the art much more readily than the experts who know all there is to know about the haiku form or poetry in general. This means that the haiku is potentially much more accessible to beginners and not just the preserve of a few know-it-alls in print and on-line. And as Van Morrison sang, gardens always tell you more than gurus.
"No guru, no method, no teacher
Just you and i and nature and the holy ghost*
In the garden, in the garden, wet with rain"
Van Morrison - In The Garden
* other deities and non-secular alternatives are available
Sunday, February 05, 2012
Friday, February 03, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
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