English Haikai

[jjhunter]

I've written about haikai here before; for those who missed it the first time around, a quick refresher:

One of my favorite poetry formats is haikai (alternating verses of 5-7-5 and 7-7), or more specifically haikai no renga, which today is known more simply as renku. It is a form of collaborative Japanese linked verse poetry; the more well known form (in English) haiku comes from taking the first verse of a haikai in isolation. I like haikai because I usually write them in collaboration with one or more other poets (with some exceptions), and the strict syllable count for each verse limits its length, making it more likely someone else will take the time to respond.

( Some further thoughts about English-language derivatives of Japanese-language poetry formats )

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I have not run into many other poets using an English-language haikai format. As mentioned above, it's one that I prefer because the strict syllable counts and overall brevity of stanzas make it an easy format for facilitating collaborative poetry between two or more people. Sometimes I also write non-collaborative haikai when I want a slightly more expansive format than English-language haiku without losing the power of its precision and short, restrained lines.

( Example poem 'Civitatis' behind the cut )

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Have you ever written or participated in writing an English-language haikai yourself? I'll repost 'Civitatis' in the comments, and I encourage you to try adding a stanza yourself to the thread according to the alternating 5-7-5 and 7-7 stanza format.