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.

In the comment section of my Haiku, Take Two post earlier this week, several commentators wrote eloquently on how an emphasis on English syllable counts (which are indeed not quite equivalent to Japanese sound units, or on) in writing English-language haiku misses the point of what a haiku is in Japanese. To me, this highlights that English-language haiku currently follow a poetry format distinct, if derivative, from Japanese-language haiku. Whether or not organizations like the Haiku Society of America are successful in redefining English-language haiku to be more similar to Japanese-language haiku, the current popular culture difference suggests that there are intriguing niches for syllable count-based English poetry formats that are ripe for further exploration and experimentation.

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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.

Civitatis
(originally written for bookblather as part of my 'Poem For Your Thoughts?': Special US Voter Registration Edition)

CIVITATIS

city on a hill
base of civilization
breathes through many throats

stamp! now you are one of us
join the body visible

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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.

Comments

CIVITATIS

[jjhunter]

As per my post above, try adding a stanza yourself to this thread according to the alternating 5-7-5 and 7-7 stanza format.
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city on a hill
base of civilization
breathes through many throats

stamp! now you are one of us
join the body visible

[spiralsheep]

Hmm, English syllabic poetry was taught to me (in England probably earlier than most people on this com) using different terms. I was taught "tanka" (an explanation at wikipedia that I don't have time to check for content now) for either 5-7-5-7-7 or, less often, 7-7-5-7-5 and "renga" for collaborative syllabics more like that described here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renga

I'll have to read the renku link and see how it compares.

[lnhammer]

I've participated in haikai, but mostly in corners of the internet that have since ghosted without backups, or I'd link. In any case, they were all for the fun of collaborating without paying much attention to the quality of the result. (The one exception, on LJ, I've lost my bookmark :( . I'll see if I can search it up later is here.)

I've also played with the form as a single-author thing as well, including once by way of a travel journal. It can be useful for subjects that are both multivarious and implicitly contrasted -- assuming, of course, you're ignoring the original seasonal constraints and the canon of linking images between segments.

---L.

[ariestess]

Ooooers... A poem form I haven't tried yet, but right up my alley for brevity and syllabic conventions. Sweet!