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How to Write a Haiku: Format, Rules, Structure, and Examples

Hannah Yang

What is a haiku, haiku format, syllables, and rules, examples of haiku, use prowritingaid’s word explorer to create your own haiku, conclusion on how to write a haiku.

Do you like poems? If you do, try a haiku. It’s a lovely form!

Haiku are short poems that follow a specific three-line format, where the first line has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables, and the last line has five syllables again—just like the first line.

Read on to learn what a haiku is and how you can write one of your own.

A haiku is a short, concise poem that consists of three lines. Traditionally, the first line has five syllables, the second line has seven, and the final line has five.

Each haiku is so short and succinct that you need to choose each syllable carefully. The art of haiku is all about expressing as much as possible in very few words.

This form of poetry originated in Japan. In its earliest form, it was known as hokku.

Japanese poets have been writing hokku for centuries, originally as parts of a longer collaborative poem known as a renga, which sometimes consisted of more than a hundred lines. Poets worked in groups of two or three to take turns composing three-line stanzas and two-line stanzas until they created a complete renga .

Around the 17th century, poets began writing short self-contained poems in the same form as the opening hokku of a renga. Late in the 19th century, renowned poet Masaoka Shiki renamed the stand-alone hokku to haiku .

Most traditional haiku describe a moment in time that captures the beauty or power of the natural world. Classic Japanese poets often used haiku to describe seasonal changes or other natural phenomena.

These days, people all over the world write haiku in various languages about countless different themes. Many poets even break the standard rules of how many syllables each line needs to have, choosing to adhere to the spirit of a haiku rather than the technical rules a haiku usually follows.

The traditional structure of an English haiku consists of three nonrhyming lines with the following syllable counts:

First line: five syllables

Second line: seven syllables

Third line: five syllables

That’s it! If you stick to these syllable counts, you’ll be writing a haiku in no time. The hard part is choosing words that fit perfectly into this format.

Another important decision involves choosing the subject of your haiku.

If you want to stick with the traditional version of haiku, you should describe a moment of time that’s related to the power of nature. Traditional Japanese haiku are supposed to include a kigo , which is a seasonal reference.

Many haiku also juxtapose two distinct images, such as a small cricket with a large mountain or a laughing child with a bitter storm.

Ultimately, you can also use the form to write about anything that resonates with you, the same way you would use any other poetic form. You can write a haiku about love, death, parenthood, corporate office culture, or any other theme you care about.

The rules of haiku format vary between languages, since each language has distinct grammar, punctuation, and formatting conventions. There are some aspects of Japanese haiku format that don’t apply to English haiku format.

For example, traditional Japanese haiku include at least one kireji , which means “cutting word.” The purpose of a kireji is to make a “cut” in a sentence, which cements the end of a stream of thought or creates a pause between two separate ideas.

There’s no exact equivalent to kireji in the English language, so the English haiku format doesn’t include this rule. If you want, you can try to replicate the effect of kireji by using a punctuation mark that creates a “cut” in a sentence, such as an exclamation point, an em dash, or an ellipsis.

The best way to learn poetry is by reading masterful haiku examples so you can learn from the greats.

Four of the greatest haiku masters of all time are Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694), Yosa Buson (1716–1784), Kobayashi Issa (1763–1828), and Masaoka Shiki (1867–1902).

Let’s look at a few examples of Japanese haiku written by these four masters.

“The Old Pond” by Matsuo Bashō

An old silent pond… A frog jumps into the pond— Splash! Silence again.

You can clearly see the contrasting images in this haiku by Matsuo Bashō, which describes a moment in nature. The pond in the poem is silent and still, while the frog is full of motion.

These two images are separated by the kireji, which are represented in the English translation by the ellipsis and the em dash.

One common interpretation of this poem is that Bashō is using the pond as a metaphor for the human mind. External stimuli, like the frog, can momentarily disrupt a mind at rest, but soon, the mind returns to its original state.

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“Calligraphy of Geese” by Yosa Buson

Calligraphy of geese against the sky— the moon seals it.

Yosa Buson was a painter as well as a poet. He often wrote poems that depicted striking visual imagery.

This poem paints a clear picture, showing geese flying on a moonlit night. The kireji , represented in English by an em dash, creates a pause in the poem that separates the “calligraphy” of the geese and the “seal” of the round moon.

“A World of Dew” by Kobayashi Issa

This world of dew, is a world of dew, and yet…and yet…

“A World of Dew” is one of Issa’s most famous poems. He wrote this poem a month after his young daughter passed away.

Dewdrops are often used in Japanese literature to represent the transience of human life, since dewdrops vanish when the sun comes up. With this simple poem, Issa creates a nuanced feeling about life and death using only a few words.

“Pain From Coughing” by Masaoka Shiki

Pain from coughing the long night's lamp flame small as a pea

Masaoka Shiki contracted tuberculosis in his twenties, which eventually took his life. He often wrote poems that depicted short sketches of his life, including poems that described his illness.

In this poem, you can see a moment in Shiki’s struggle with illness. His description of the dwindling lamp flame evokes the image of a light going out at the end of a life.

More recently, many haiku poets have also written modern haiku poems that are powerful and evocative.

Here are some examples of haiku written in English.

“In a Station of the Metro” by Ezra Pound

The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough.

Ezra Pound was an American poet and critic. His poem “In a Station of the Metro” is widely considered the first English haiku, even though it doesn’t follow the three-line structure of a standard haiku.

Like traditional haiku, this poem captures a single moment in time. It also juxtaposes two distinct images: human faces in a busy metro station and flower petals on a tree branch.

“The West Wind Whispered” by R.M. Hansard

The west wind whispered, And touched the eyelids of spring: Her eyes, Primroses.

This poem won the first British haiku competition in 1899.

It personifies the west wind, portraying it as something capable of whispering and touching. Hansard describes the arrival of spring in a way that gives nature agency.

“Picasso’s ‘Bust of Sylvette’” by Elizabeth Searle Lamb

Picasso’s “ Bust of Sylvette ” not knowing it is a new year smiles in the same old way

Elizabeth Searle Lamb was a 20th century poet. The prominent poet Father Raymond Roseliep called her “The First Lady of American Haiku.”

In this poem, she portrays the arrival of a new year by describing a sculpture that has smiled the same way across all the years because it’s carved in stone. The poem captures timelessness and change in a single stroke.

“Haiku [for you]” by Sonia Sanchez

love between us is speech and breath. loving you is a long river running.

Sonia Sanchez is an American poet, playwright, and professor who was a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement.

In this haiku, Sanchez compares love to speech, breath, and a long river running. All three of these things are natural and simple, which makes the love she describes feel just as instinctive and effortless.

Writing a haiku is all about choosing the right words to express exactly what you mean.

ProWritingAid’s Word Explorer gives you a wealth of words to choose from. It gives you all the word options a dictionary or thesaurus would, along with plenty of other insights into that word.

The tool can let you look at a word based on alliteration, rhyme, pronunciations, common phrases, collocations, and more. It’s a great way to make sure each of the words you choose is perfect in as many ways as possible.

So, if you’re trying to write a haiku and you can’t think of a word with the right syllable count for that line, try the Word Explorer to find a perfect replacement.

There you have it—a complete guide to how haiku poetry works and how you can write a haiku poem of your own.

Good luck, and happy writing!

Hannah is a speculative fiction writer who loves all things strange and surreal. She holds a BA from Yale University and lives in Colorado. When she’s not busy writing, you can find her painting watercolors, playing her ukulele, or hiking in the Rockies. Follow her work on hannahyang.com or on Twitter at @hannahxyang.

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How to Write a Haiku (With Haiku Examples)

by Ashley Capes

What is a haiku?

In English language poetry the haiku is typically understood to be a short, three line poem comprised of a set number of syllables, and which usually deals with nature. This is a bare-bones description, and haiku can encompass a lot more, but it’s a good starting point.

The best haiku is astounding. It’s also, at times, astoundingly difficult to compose. Haiku are deceptively simple and wonderfully brief poems—something which contributes to their striking nature—but how much brevity is too much brevity? Do haiku essentially say nothing beautifully, or say beautiful things with just a few words?

Haiku is perhaps one of the most misunderstood poetry forms in English language writing, perhaps due to the difficulties adapting the literary form from one culture to another. But it’s hardly impossible! Haiku adapts to language after language, place after place. Understanding a few key concepts, along with having a firm grasp on a few compositional techniques, can make all the difference.

The roots of haiku

Haiku has undergone a long evolution since it was known as hokku , or the lead verse in a renga , a form of collaborative poetry. In the 19th century Masaoka Shiki built upon what Bashō had done to separate the verse, renaming it the “haiku”. First brought to the attention of English speakers by the Imagists, haiku later gained wider exposure in the West after World War II through the work of scholar R.H. Blythe, where it then found favor with the Beats and other writers of the age. It’s now practiced in dozens of countries and languages.

Haiku syllable count

Traditional Japanese Haiku has a rigid form arranged around a set syllable count of seventeen. When translated into English, these verses are presented in three lines and follow the same pattern of syllables. This sort of structural requirement is one of the aspects of Haiku that differentiates it from free verse poems. Some of the thrill of writing haiku is to shape a poem around this form, the lines commonly following the “five-seven-five” pattern.

But that requirement isn’t set in stone for two reasons:

The differences between the English and Japanese languages is vast, and

Other combinations of syllable count per line can still equal seventeen syllables or less. In fact, what’s more important than syllable count is the notion that a haiku should be spoken in “a single breath”, an edict that can be achieved with various combinations and totals of syllables. Take, for instance, this famous verse translated from the master haiku-poet Bashō :

Summer grasses (4) all that remains (4) of soldiers dreams (4) — translated by Lucien Stryk

Or this one, by Australian poet Graham Nunn:

distant thunder (4) each stroke of the oar (5) stirs the clouds (3)

Neither total nor individual line syllable counts conform to the traditional structure of 5-7-5. Why is this so? Are Bashō and his translators deviants, gleefully breaking seventeenth-century conventions? Is Graham a crazed radical too? Of course not! Even if Bashō was sometimes known to break the rules, what these examples do is illustrate a difference between the two languages—namely, the difference between a syllable in English and a unit of sound in Japanese. In Japanese haiku, what we might call syllables are actually on or “morae”. This description of sound is actually more dynamic than a syllable. For instance, in English the word “haiku” has two syllables—”hai-ku”; but in Japanese it’s made up of three on and so it becomes “ha-i-ku”. Mostly this difference equates to English syllables being longer than on , and so a contemporary English language haiku written in seventeen syllables can often feel overlong, and isn’t necessarily true to the original form.

So what next? Generally speaking, a verse in English between 12 and 15 syllables is quite acceptable—and those spanning 10-17 can also retain the feeling of brevity that’s so important to haiku. So, in short: 5-7-5 and 17 in total is a-ok, but so is something a little shorter. Other aspects of the haiku are just as—or even more—important than slavishly counting syllables.

Examples of haiku cutting-words

Another structural feature of the haiku is the kireji , or “cutting word”. In Japanese, kireji is a word used as punctuation, often signifying a question or an emotional subtext, along with a break or pause at the end of a line. In English, cutting words are generally replaced by punctuation like exclamation marks, question marks, and dashes, or less often, commas or ellipses, depending on how sharp a “cut” the author is aiming for. See this haiku by painter and poet Yosa Buson :

utter aloneness— another great pleasure in autumn twilight — translated by Sam Hamill

Or sometimes there’s no punctuation at all, but more of an implied pause, as in this ku by lesser known poet Raizan:

for rice planting women there’s nothing left unsoiled but their song — translated by Sam Hamill

Examples of haiku season-words

In addition to these structural features, there’s one more requirement in Haiku: the kigo , or “season-word”, which is something in the haiku that locates the poem in a season of the year. Kigo are what differentiates the haiku from other, similar forms of Japanese poetry. Kigo are triggers that set off a seasonal association in the mind of the reader, sometimes with complex cultural and historical overtones that are absent when transplanted into another language or culture. For instance, the autumn kigo “ kinuta ” is translated as “fulling blocks” and signifies the mallets used to pound fullers’ earth through cloth in a traditional dry cleaning process. “ The sound of fulling blocks was typical of an autumn evening in old Japan “. Due to this layer of meaning, formal kigo are not always used in contemporary English language haiku; instead, region-specific words, phrases, or other seasonal indicators may appear.

Season words are metonymic or associative in all cultures—we each have our memories about the seasons and the activities performed within them. Inclusion of a kigo , or at the least a seasonal reference, is important to haiku not just for subtly but for richness. They give the verse a bank of memories, images, and associations ro invoke in the reader without drowning the poem in words.

Here are two examples of kigo , both by Kobayashi Issa , another haiku master:

bonfire— a scarecrow also ends up in evening’s smoke —&translated by David G. Lanoue*

Here ‘scarecrow’ is the kigo , invoking autumn with clarity and simplicity. Next, a verse where the kigo is taken to represent late summer—bet you can guess which word it is:

little monk— deep in his sleeve singing, a cicada —&translated by David G. Lanoue*

Of course, the world is a big place, and different countries have different weather, customs, and traditions, so kigo may not always be understood by every reader. For instance, if I were to use the word “June” in a verse, then readers in the Southern hemisphere might think, “Ah, this poem is set in winter!”—but June is a summer month for parts of the world. Sometimes it might be better to choose a word or short phrase to hint at the season, or to just name it outright. Invoking features of nature works too—”summer grasses”, for instance.

Haiku rules and related poem types

As we’ve learned, haiku are defined by a few general rules. But if we leave out one of the rules, is what we’ve written still haiku? If not, what is it?

One of haiku’s close relatives is the senryu , which in modern practice is actually often interchangeable with haiku. A senryu focuses on humanity and its foibles, and it sometimes possesses a satirical edge. They don’t typically require a kigo , but may mention a season. They’re structurally the same as haiku, and often these verses are published as haiku, though dedicated journals and anthologies observe the distinction.

Another form that may appear similar to the traditional haiku is the gendai haiku, a verse which doesn’t feature kigo or even always an imagistic focus on nature or “zen” moments of revelation. This style of haiku came about during post war Japan, at a time when haiku was a fierce battleground and gendai or “modern” haiku poets were jailed for refusing to fall into line with traditionalists. Their school wanted to move forward while retaining a link to the past, and incorporated new topics, such as surrealism, politics and urban landscapes in addition to new approaches to form, which were not bound by the strict syllable count. Metaphor and simile were sometimes incorporated, something which isn’t often found in haiku (instead relying upon juxtaposition). Gendai haiku relates to both a style and a very specific historic period, but it’s sometimes described as ‘innovative’ haiku in English.

Here are three of my favourite examples of gendai haiku, demonstrating the progressive nature of the form. This one was written in 1955 by Kaneko Tōta:

like squids bank clerks are fluorescent from the morning — translated by Makoto Ueda

These two are by Hakusen Watanabe:

War was standing at the bottom of the hallway — translated by Keiji Minato

Horses annihilated spread in the shape of a swastika — translated by Keiji Minato

Understanding haiku format and composition

Haiku can be tough to write, but they’re worth the challenge, and there are a few techniques that can help during composition.

Juxtaposition

The first technique you can take advantage of—and if you’ve read haiku you’ll have seen it often—is the use of juxtaposition.

Jane Reichhold’s “phrase & fragment” theory is one of the most powerful techniques there is for involving juxtaposition a haiku. It has long been used in contemporary English haiku, and it’s also common in translated works. The theory suggests that a verse ought to be made up of both a phrase and a fragment . The fragment appears at line one or line three and usually dispenses with articles, while the phrase is made up of the remaining lines—lines two and three, or one and two. You can see this technique in the above examples—some feature it more strongly than others—and you’ll also notice that the “cut” is a vital part of this approach. Below is an example of another Bashō poem, where line one is the fragment:

waterjar cracks— I lie awake this icy night — translated by Lucien Stryk

The lines dealing with his wakefulness make up the phrase part of the poem. Now while this theory is the easiest way to achieve juxtaposition, it more importantly allows the poet to avoid the crowded feeling of the sort of haiku which has too much going on—haiku with something vivid in each line. Haiku with three or more images or ideas competing for the reader’s attention often suffer from this feeling of crowded-ness, and they seem to become list-like or are lacking internal relationships between images and ideas.

Juxtaposition thus seeks to compare or contrast fewer ideas, instead bringing them together in a single image. In the following example, one location is described and contrasted with the people visiting it:

church steps lead to a beggar’s cup sunburnt tourists

If we were to rewrite this with a vivid image in each line, we might end up with something like this:

speckled church steps a beggar’s empty cup the chatter of sunburnt tourists

See how it’s become crowded with description, and how the relationship between ideas and images becomes unclear because of the list-like appearance? Contributing to this new feeling is the removal of the phrase and fragment. This re-written version is too prescriptive in its description; it doesn’t allow the reader to infer information about the scene and its participants.

Here’s another haiku, written by Graham Nunn, featuring juxtaposition:

dawn sky steam from the lamb’s throat

As you can see, juxtaposition is achieved by setting one image or idea in the “fragment” portion and contrasting it with a second, often related, image or idea in the “phrase” portion of the verse. By doing this, the haiku avoids overcrowding, retains a sense of lightness, maintains the “cut” or natural pause, and allows the reader to draw the two parts together in their mind. The phrase and fragment approach is also key to many other techniques and will improve the quality of your haiku if you’re facing difficulties keeping the haiku brief, or struggling with achieving either a satisfying internal structure or a sense of connectness between images.

Sense switching

“Sense switching” is a great technique for surprising and delighting the reader. A haiku poet might use it to engage the reader by introducing something unexpected in the poem or to connect two seemingly unrelated events or images. You can do this through careful placement of information across the phrase and fragment. Here, sense switching is illustrated by what’s perhaps the most famous haiku of all, Bashō’s “Old Pond” haiku:

old pond a frog jumps into the sound of water — translated by Jane Reichhold

The poem starts off by focusing on an image—on the visual—but by the end, the sense has been switched from sight to sound. Again, we see the use of phrase and fragment, where the visual aspect appears in the fragment and sound elment appears in the phrase. What’s especially impressive about this haiku is the way the movement of the frog leads to the transition from sight to sound, neatly tying the elements of the poem together and avoiding the “list-like” haiku.

Here’s one of my own verses, featuring the same switch:

through the shutters a single fly carries the chug of boats

This poem, while less graceful, uses different subjects but the same senses. The reader goes from watching the fly pass through the shutters to listening to the chug of boats enter the room.

Narrowing the focus

“Narrowing the focus” is a similar technique in that the change occurs over the phrase and fragment. A haiku begins with a broad description of a scene in the first line, then takes a progressively closer view of something over the following lines (generally the phrase portion of the verse).

This can be seen in the haiku by Graham Nunn, featured earlier:

Line one establishes a broad view before we shift closer with line two, to the moving oar, before the poem finishes with a micro view of the oar tip, as it stirs clouds which have been reflected in the water. “Narrowing the focus” can be achieved if you think of your poem like a camera—begin with an establishing shot, then move to the subject for a close up, and finally an extreme close up where the most telling detail of your poem is revealed.

This technique is favored by haiku writers seeking to establish an intimacy between subject and viewer, and can be useful in drawing attention to something seemingly insignificant—but which becomes poetic through either its position in the wider world or the lens through which the poet views it. In Nunn’s poem. the ripple of the water is both a disruption of the image of the clouds, and a precursor to the approaching storm, a kind of calm that’s depicted as always fleeting.

The last technique we’ll explore here is Shiki’s theory of shasei . In shasei , the poet attempts to “sketch from life” by writing directly and simply, without a focus on other techniques. Instead, this approach attempts to represent an experience “in the moment”, or an image or a scene “just as it appears”. These types of haiku strive for simplicity and reject artifice (which is especially unappealing in a traditional haiku). Here’s one from Shiki himself:

spring day a long line of footprints on the sandy beach — translated by Yuzuru Miura

It begins very simply by establishing the scene, written as a fact and showing something the writer has observed. This haiku could be reduced to very basic units; spring, day, footprints and sand. When the modifier “long” appears, a sense of time is introduced and we might ask ourselves, “who walked here before me?”

Actually, asking “who walked here before me?” is a useful way to describe the key to shasei —the directly observed experience . To write in this style, the poet personally experiences some sight or moment, then composes it “live”. The poet goes out and sees the footprints in the sand. This is part of the reason why the ginko or “haiku-walk” is popular: The poet actually goes outside, often into picturesque landscapes, and simply walks, unhurriedly, until a they see a striking image. If writing a haiku in the shasei , remember to state what you observe in the simplest of terms.

Now it’s time to write your first haiku

Try these techniques and approaches in your own haiku. You might find your work growing and evolving, hopefully for the better. While there are many other techniques out there, and trying them out is important, it’s just as useful to keep your observation skills sharp and to be direct in your expression.

Haiku has a long history and its evolution has sometimes occured simultaneously in multiple countries. What used to be scripture and what’s current practice can always be bounced off of each other—just as what works in one literary tradition or era won’t always have the same effect here and now.

And so instead of counting syllables, count a single breath: Does your poem feel like a mouthful? If so, maybe there are too many words. Remember the phrase and fragment approach, which incorporates the important “cut”—but remember not all cuts need to be sharp! Remember also that the phrase and fragment is the hinge upon which the haiku’s prosody hangs, and it can further serve as a compositional framework. Instead of searching for the perfect classical kigo , find a referent that suits your culture, your experience of the season. And finally, instead of cramming multiple ideas, images or techniques into one verse, write something that isn’t overburdened, and something that takes the reader somewhere unexpected.

How to Write a Haiku: 6 Key Steps to Follow

If you stumbled upon haiku poetry, chances are you appreciated its minimalist nature. However, the simplicity of haiku can be deceiving: the art of encapsulating a feeling into a few words is hard to master, but ultimately a fascinating and rewarding pursuit.

If you’re wondering how to write a haiku, here are 6 steps you can follow:

1. Read classic haiku for inspiration

2. learn the rules of the form, 3. focus your senses and remain present, 4. capture your haiku moment and key images , 5. create context and connect your images , 6. edit your poem.

To begin with, get familiar with haiku poetry by reading some of the classics. This will help you to get a feeling for what a haiku sounds and feels like. You will find that some poems speak to you more clearly, while the meanings of others may seem more obscure.

Whether your end goal is to publish a poetry book or simply express your creativity, your process will begin in the same way — getting acquainted with the form. Head to a library or a bookstore, or browse on Amazon to get your hands on a few haiku anthology books featuring the work of different authors.

Ideally, you’ll want to read works from both the Japanese tradition and the modern era. You can start with the four classical haiku masters:

Matsuo Bashō ;
Yosa Buson ;
Kobayashi Issa ; and
Masaoka Shiki

Then, you might continue with modern haiku poems from writers like:

Nick Virgilio;
Richard Wright;
Sonia Sanchez; and
Jack Kerouac.

Which 20-second poem should you recite while washing your hands?

Discover the perfect poem for you. Takes 30 seconds!

You can find plenty of haiku examples online, but seek out trustworthy websites (i.e. The Haiku Foundation ) to ensure they’re correctly translated and attributed.

Once you’ve got the gist of it, decide if you want to play by the traditional or modern rules.

For being such a simple and minimal poetry form, the haiku format has a long history of traditions and rules. As with all artforms, its rules are made to be broken — but in order to do that, you need to know them in the first place.

Japanese poets used to write haiku as one-liners containing 17 on (a term that roughly translates to ‘syllables’). In the English-speaking world, they are usually written in three lines, with a short-long-short structure of 5-7-5 syllables per line.

In modern haiku, however, syllable count isn’t strictly adhered to. As Mildred Rose smartly put it:

while she counts

syllables, the haiku

一 Mildred Rose

Some contemporary poets write haiku in one, two, and even four lines 一 so feel free to experiment and find your own layout, as long as it resembles the original concept.

Here are a few examples of haiku with varied structures:

After killing

a spider, how lonely I feel

in the cold of night!

一 Masaoka Shiki

— John S. O’Connor

smoke from a neighbor's chimney loneliness — Marlene Mountain

Punctuation

Haiku has very few grammatical rules, so don’t worry about breaking any. The most commonly used punctuation device, in the modern format, is the em dash (—) as a way to break the poem in two different parts, putting them in contrast with one another.

Here is an example:

I didn't know the names

of the flowers一now

my garden is gone.

— Allen Ginsberg

As you can see, Ginsberg uses the em dash to create a “before and after” effect, and to express a feeling of regret about not paying more attention to the flowers — whether in a literal or figurative sense.

Traditional haiku is commonly inspired by nature and contains seasonal references. However, feel free to write about any theme that captures your interest, such as love, friendship, or other aspects of daily life. Whether you want to write a poem about your cat, your travel adventures, or the stranger next door is totally up to you.

To sum it up, you have complete freedom to follow the rules or experiment with the form. It might be easier to start with a looser structure to get more familiar with the craft, and then consider if you want to adhere to more rigorous standards.

The next step to actually writing a haiku is getting in the right mindset for it.

The art of writing a haiku requires a sensitivity to the external world and our emotional reactions to it; to be able to look at the ordinary world in front of us and see it with new eyes. As author Edward Levinson points out, at the heart of a haiku poem there is an “ aha moment ” 一 a newfound clarity about the nature of things, as if some greater truth has become apparent. The moment could lead to an insight or simply a distinct feeling.

Take these three examples:

First autumn morning:

the mirror I stare into

shows my father's face.

一 Murakami Kijo

second husband

painting the fence

the same green

一 Carol Montgomery

first flakes

a sparrow settles deeper

into its feathers

一 Frank K. Robinson

In the first poem, the writer expresses a sudden awareness about aging after closely looking at his face in the mirror, on an Autumn morning. In the second poem, watching her husband paint a fence leads the author to reflect on her second marriage, which probably resembles the first one too closely. In the third one, Robinson 一 observing a sparrow 一 resonates with the longing for a cozy and warm shelter as winter approaches.

A beautiful pond surrounded by colorful trees | How to write a haiku

To notice these types of subtleties, a calm, observing mind is the most important tool at your disposal. Being surrounded by nature might do the trick, just as it did for Matsuo Bashō in the countryside of Japan, and many other poets after him. Depending on where you live, you may find the right peace of mind nearby lakes, rivers, mountains, forests, oceans, beaches, or other natural habitats.

If you’re a city dweller, you may find the same focus while taking a walk in the park or sitting on a bench. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter where you are physically, as long as you are receptive.

Once you feel present and observant enough, start to write down what captures your attention.

Haiku are built upon images, painted with language, that allow the reader to have a similar sensory and emotional experience to the one the poet lived. In other words, a good haiku lets the audience see, hear, smell, touch, and taste “with” the author 一 as well as feel what they feel.

Here is a great example:

marshmallow melt

in the steaming cocoa

midnight rain

一 Joyce Austin Gilbert

The image of the marshmallow melting into the steaming chocolate is striking: a warm feeling that is juxtaposed with the rainy (and likely cold) evening. In an instant, we can “be there” with the author.

So, how do you go about finding your key images? When you observe life happening around you, simply write down what catches your attention.

If you’re in nature, you may notice the shapes created by a flock of birds, or the fading color of leaves in Autumn. In the city, it may be the sound of shoes squeaking on a basketball court, or the look in the eyes of an old man passing by on the sidewalk.

A large flock of birds in the sky at sunset | How to write a haiku

Whatever catches your attention, write it down. At this stage of the process, don’t stress too much about syllables or structure 一 you will edit your poem later.

This process might take a while, as you’re unlikely to find deep wells of meaning in every image you encounter. But when you do spot something that could potentially spark an “aha moment”, ask yourself these questions:

What is it about this image that got my attention?
Did it make me see things in a new light?
What emotion did it evoke?
Does it contrast with another image or with the context?
What mood does the contrast establish?

This exercise will help you to pin down the exact feeling you want to express. Now that you’ve gathered your main images, it’s time to frame them together.

To frame your haiku on paper, you can tinker with two elements: the relationship between the images and the context in which they happen.

The context

As Jim Kacian suggests in his book How to Haiku , to provide the context you can either make a seasonal reference or use other keywords. For the former, you could mention the frost on the leaves to describe winter or a warm evening breeze for summer. For non-seasonal haiku, you could start with keywords like “ funeral: ” or “ Easter evening一 ” to contextualize the setting.

Think back at your haiku moment: where did it take place? At what time of the day? Of what season? What was the event?

Select the detail that better helps the reader to relive the scene with you.

The relationship

The next step is to create a relationship between your key images. Think of them as a matchstick and a striking surface that, when rubbed together, create a spark 一 fueling the entire poem. The more vivid the images and the more striking their connection, the stronger the impact on the reader.

Let’s see a couple of examples:

sinking into the rocks

a cicada’s voice

一 Matsuo Bashō

The opening word, stillness , sets the tone of the scene. This is reinforced by an image of rocks in which a cicada's voice suddenly appears and disappears. In just a few words the poet depicts the tension between silence and noise, tranquility and chaos 一 perhaps suggesting that life emerges from nothing and quickly returns to it.

Among leafless trees

too many thoughts

一 David Elliott

The first line both establishes the context of the poem — suggesting that the author may be walking in a forest or a park — and provides the first image: the bare and leafless trees, which are juxtaposed to the poet’s mind, crowded with thoughts. The contrast makes him aware of his excessive mental activity and, perhaps, his inability to stop it 一 a feeling other people can relate to.

Tinker with your images for a while, playing with context and contrast, and figure out how to best link them together. Once you have found a good framework, you can polish up the poem.

First off, refine your haiku’s layout; revisit your research from earlier, and decide what syllable structure you want to follow, if any. Then decide if and when you want to use punctuation marks, like em dashes or semicolons, to enhance the reading experience and the association between images. (Try re-reading Bashō’s poem about stillness without the colon to appreciate how critical it is!)

It’s a good practice to read your poem aloud, trying to get a sense of its rhythm and making sure it sounds natural. If there is a word that doesn't “feel right”, browse through the thesaurus for another one. With such an economy of words, it’s important to find the right vocabulary. With time and practice, it will come to you more easily.

Finally, just like with any other piece of writing, go for a (haiku-less) walk. Getting some distance from the poem will help to “let it rest” in your mind and return to it with fresh eyes. You can also ask for a second opinion from a friend, or if you're thinking of publishing a collection of haiku, consider hiring a poetry copy editor to refine them to perfection.

Despite its simplicity, it takes time and practice to write great haiku. With the help of these tips and ideas, you’re ready to look at the world more closely, capture those ordinary yet meaningful moments of life, and share them with the world. So go out there, and find your haiku moments!

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Haiku poems are short poems that use brevity and close observation, as well as natural imagery, to find powerful insight. Combining the restraint of short-form poetry with centuries of tradition, haiku poems are a popular form for poets both classic and contemporary, both Western and Eastern. The haiku poetry tradition is rich with history, and while many poets know about the 5-7-5 rule, they don’t know all the requirements of the haiku format—much less how to write a haiku poem.

This article looks at the history, poetics, and possibilities of haiku poems. We draw comparisons between Japanese haiku and Western/contemporary haiku poetry, with plenty of haiku examples and analysis. Finally, we make distinctions between the haiku form and the senryū, a similar Japanese form.

What is a haiku poem? How do you format it? Let’s dive into how to write a haiku poem, and first, we’ll examine the form’s long and complex history.

A Brief History of Haiku Poetry

Haiku vs. senryū, how many syllables in a haiku poem, classic vs. contemporary haiku poems, terminology of haiku poems, haiku examples, tips on how to write a haiku poem, where to submit haiku poetry, what is a haiku poem.

Haiku poems are short-form poems that originated in the 17th century, Japan. Traditionally, the poetry form requires the poet to arrange 17 syllables into three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, respectively. Classical Japanese haiku requires the poem to use natural imagery; poems that don’t dwell on nature are called senryū.

What is a haiku poem?: a short-form poem from 17th century Japan that uses natural imagery.

Here’s an example of a haiku, from Modern Haiku’s Summer 2020 journal, from former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins :

Although the classical form has strict requirements, contemporary haiku poems can be far more impressionistic and unconstrained. Let’s take a brief look at the history of haiku poetry, before turning to the rules of the haiku format.

Japanese haiku poetry evolved from several poetic traditions. Previous to the invention of the form, Japanese poets wrote waka, a form of poetry that followed a 5-7-5-7-7 syllabic format. Waka was primarily written by people of higher status, and often required countless hours of studying and crafting poetry—hours which were unavailable to the common folk.

Eventually, Japanese commoners produced their own modified form of waka, called renga (linked verse). In a renga poem, two or more poets take turns writing lines, linking those lines together in a waka. This tradition arose in dominance from the 13th to the 16th centuries, and poets like Sogi helped popularize this verse across the Japanese islands. In the 17th century, waka inspired a different form of linked verse, called haikai.

Starting in the 14th century, many linked verse poems were preceded by a hokku, or “first verse.” A hokku was a poem written in 5-7-5 which often introduced or summarized the themes of the linked poem.

Hokku eventually broke off to become its own form, the haiku. This official split did not occur until the Meiji Restoration in 1868, which opened Japan up to many countries where it had previously refused to trade or share its culture. Technically, most haiku poems preceding the Meiji Restoration are simply hokku, though some poets, like Bashō, are retrospectively considered haiku poets, as Bashō himself freed the hokku from always introducing linked verse.

The introduction of haiku poetry to the West was at first unsuccessful. However, in the 20th century, the Imagist Ezra Pound and the Jazz poet James Emanuel, alongside many French and Spanish poets, helped introduce the form to contemporary literary society. The Beat poets were similarly entranced with haiku poetry. Jack Kerouac often wrote haiku poems such as these. Allan Ginsberg, Philip Whalen, and Gary Snyder, among many other Beats, additionally stoked a certain mid-century haiku fanaticism. However, as we’ll point out later in the article, the haiku poetry of the Beat Generation was noticeably different from the more formulaic poetry of Classical Japan.

An important distinction is the difference between haiku and senryū. Senryū and haiku poems rely on the same format (described below), but differ in subject matter.

Haiku poetry dwells on nature, usually imparting wisdom about life and existence through observations of the natural world. (An exception to this is gendai , which refers to contemporary Japanese pieces that differ in values and topics from classical poetry.)

Haiku poetry dwells on nature, usually imparting wisdom about life and existence through observations of the natural world. Senryū poems dwell on the follies of human nature.

By contrast, senryū poems dwell on the follies of human nature. A senryū might make fun of certain human behaviors or limitations, and the tone of a senryū is usually humorous, cynical, or even satirical .

Additionally, senryū does not have a kireji or kigo , both of which are defined below.

Haiku Format

Traditional Japanese haiku poems are written in three lines. The first and the third lines have 5 syllables, while the second line has 7. If you’ve heard of the form before, you’re probably familiar with the haiku 5-7-5 rule. As we will discuss in a bit, contemporary examples do not have the same syllabic requirements, but most are still written in three lines.

Proper haiku poetry has three elements: a reference to nature ( kigo ), two juxtaposed images, and a kireji , or “cutting word” which marks a transition in the verse and pulls the poem together.

Proper haiku poetry has three elements: a reference to nature ( kigo ), two juxtaposed images, and a kireji , or “cutting word” which marks a transition in the verse and pulls the poem together. An individual image occupies lines 1 and 2, with the third line containing the kireji .

See this in action in the below poem, by Bashō:

The image in the first line is the old silent pond; the image in the second line is the frog jumping. The frog, also, is the “nature word” in the poem: frogs are traditional symbols of the springtime, and what’s lost in translation here is that the poem represents the passing of seasons, from the “old, silent” winter to the sudden arrival of spring. “Splash!” is the kireji , signifying the suddenness of seasonal transition.

Note: some English poems use punctuation, like the em dash (—), as the kireji .

If you want to learn how to write a haiku poem, practice juxtaposing simple, natural images against each other, using the final line to surprise the reader and pull the poem together.

The conventional haiku structure requires poets to write 17 syllables in 3 lines: 5, 7, and 5 again. However, as we’re about to explore, this syllabic requirement does not apply to contemporary English verse. Far more important is the philosophy of writing haiku.

Note: In the Japanese tradition, haiku poetry contained 17 on . (Linguists also refer to on as morae .) On , or onji , are slightly different from syllables, in that an on counts any variation in sound as a separate phonetic unit. This distinction is mostly irrelevant to English speakers, as we use a different set of vowel sounds than Japanese speakers use. None of this information is related to how to write a haiku poem in English, but if it interests you, you can learn more about morae here .

Classical Japanese haiku requires strict adherence to 17 on . This syllabic constraint does not apply to contemporary English haiku. Rather, the standard length for a modern day poem is that it should be spoken “in a single breath.”

The standard length for a modern day poem is that it should be spoken “in a single breath.”

What does this mean? If you read any of the haiku examples in this article out loud, you should be able to do so without inhaling twice or losing your breath.

As you write a haiku, don’t worry too much about syllables (though certainly keep your poem short). Rather, focus on the fundamentals: natural observation, the juxtaposition of images, and the use of surprising language that imparts on the reader an “aha!” moment. If it’s too wordy, you can omit needless words in revision.

Use this section as a reference for the various components and terms related to haiku poems.

Gendai— Literally “contemporary,” a gendai haiku encompasses modern values and often dwells on themes of politics, urbanity, modern life, and war. These poems do not use kigo , and they sometimes include similes and metaphors , which a traditional piece lacks.
Haibun —A specialized type of verse popularized by Bashō. A haibun includes a prose poem and a haiku, each of which draw upon natural observations with a high level of imagery and description. The haiku and the prose poem are related, but one does not explain the other, and the narrative jump between the two is not linear.
Hokku —The opening 3 lines of a linked verse poem. Its form precedes the modern day haiku.
Kigo —The “nature word” of a poem. Kigo words are usually seasonal. The word “autumn” is an obvious example, but so is the word “pomegranate,” which is traditionally harvested in, and thus signifies, autumn.
Kireji —The “cutting word” of a poem, surprising the reader and tying together the juxtaposed images.
On —A phonetic unit in the Japanese language. A Japanese haiku counts on , whereas an English poem counts syllables.
Renga —A linked verse poem written by multiple authors, often preceded by a hokku.
Saijiki —A list of kigo organized by seasonal terms, which poets can reference as they construct their haiku poems.
Senryū —A humorous poem which utilizes the haiku format, but dwells on man’s foibles.
Waka —A traditional linked verse poem in classical Japanese literature, usually written by a poet of higher status.

Writers of traditional haiku poems can reference this saijiki for seasonal kigo words.

The following haiku examples come from both classic Japanese and contemporary English literature. Remember: a contemporary piece does not need to have 17 syllables, it must merely be spoken in a single breath.

Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694)

Bashō is one of the most famous Japanese haiku poets, and his work popularized the form throughout all of Japan. In this poem, “Spring is passing” refers to an eternal parting, and the birds and fish represent the poet’s friends.

Fukuda Chiyo-ni (1703-1775)

Chiyo-ni was one of the greatest poets of the Edo period, and also one of the few popular female poets from classical Japan. This poem encompasses the importance of simple observation, and the profound thoughts one can have simply by witnessing nature.

Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828)

Issa, a name which roughly translates to “cup of tea,” wrote poetry that often attended to animals in nature. This poem is allegorical, referring to a traditional Japanese legend of a woman who was led to a Buddhist temple by a cow whose horns had stolen her drying clothes.

Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902)

Despite his short life, Shiki’s work is filled with humor. The name Shiki itself means “little cuckoo” a bird who, in legend, vomited blood from singing so much. (Shiki died from tuberculosis.) In this poem, Shiki juxtaposes the summer moon against the paper lanterns, perhaps commenting on the brightness of the moon despite the streetlights, or perhaps commenting on modernity’s rejection of nature.

Richard Wright (1908-1960)

Richard Wright was a prominent African-American writer, poet, and critic in the 20th century, who wrote countless haiku towards the end of his life. This breathtaking poem begins with an absence of self, juxtaposed against the sublime immensity of the sun, which has stripped the speaker of identity and left him in a field of mystery.

Elizabeth Searle Lamb (1917-2005)

Elizabeth Searle Lamb turned towards the power of haiku poetry in her 40s, and continued to write it throughout the rest of her life. Her work was often ekphrastic and inspired by classical art, such as this poem, which feels as though you are staring at Monet’s painting and falling into a deep, thoughtful tranquility.

James Emanuel (1921-2013)

Highly underrated during his lifetime, James Emanuel’s jazz-and-blues haiku defined the possibilities for the poetry form as its popularity grew in the West. Emanuel’s poems ought to be read accompanied with music, but because most of his poetry was performed in Europe and Africa before modern recording technology was universal, readers are encouraged to read his work rhythmically and out loud.

Jack Kerouac (1922-1969)

Kerouac, as well as the Beat Generation in general, re-popularized haiku poems for the West. Following the advice of “first thought, best thought,” Kerouac’s poems explored the landscape of modern America, yet still found depth and inspiration from natural observation.

Allan Ginsberg (1926-1997)

Alongside Kerouac, Ginsberg’s poetry encouraged writers to meditate, observe, and record thoughts as they arose.

Sonia Sanchez (1934- )

Sonia Sanchez was highly influential to the Black Arts Movement in the 1960s and 70s, and her work continues to inspire poets and artists of all stripes. Her haiku poems are decisively more contemporary and less reliant on natural imagery, which frees her to explore the intersections and juxtapositions of modern America.

While it’s easy to understand the haiku format and the requirements of the form, it can seem daunting to write a haiku that’s both brief and inspirational. Here are a few tips on how to write a haiku poem to get you started.

Meditate, and stay in the present. Great haiku poetry comes from simple observations, and from accepting what comes to the mind without judgment or modification. Let your thoughts arise naturally, and try to transcribe those images into the poem.
First thought, best thought . To put it another way: preserve naked thoughts. This advice, borrowed from the Beat Generation of poets, should free you to accept your own thoughts as rich source material for haiku poems and other pieces you write.
Carry a mindfulness notebook. Throughout your day, use a little notebook to transcribe your dreams, observations, and thoughts as they arise. You might find the notes you jot down combine into powerful haiku poems. Again: do not self edit, simply record things as they occur.
Lean into uncertainty. You don’t have to know what your own words mean. Many beautiful poems lean into the mystery of language and its countless possibilities.
Imitate the classics. At least, to get a start in writing haiku poetry, spend some time observing the styles of other poets and trying to imitate them. You might learn how to observe and record the world simply by observing how other poets do it.
Don’t be concerned with counting syllables. Yes, your poem should be concise and imagistic, and you don’t want to edit too much that you distort your naked thoughts. But, worrying about syllable count will only prevent you from jotting down your honest observations.
Use representational, symbolic language. Good i magery can act as a symbol, allowing your poem to have multiple meanings. The haiku examples we use from Bashō are rife with symbolism and imagery, such as his poem which represents his friends as birds and fish.
Use titles to clarify only when necessary. Generally, haiku poems don’t use titles. But, if your poem will make more sense to the reader with a brief, descriptive title, you can bend the rules a little and provide one. Only do this when the clarity is necessary—you might find that your poem benefits from leaning into mystery.

Let’s end with a prompt for writing a haiku, which comes to us from Allan Ginsberg. There are many other prompts for haiku poetry out there, but this one has a contemporary flair to it, and helps the poet rely on their own observations.

Line 1: What is your neurotic confusion? (Something that obsessively confuses you.)

Line 2: What do you really want or desire?

Line 3: What do you notice where you are now?

Here are some literary journals that frequently publish or specialize in haiku poetry.

Haiku Journal ( link )
50 Haikus ( link )
Nick Virgilio Haiku Association ( link )
Modern Haiku ( link )
Wales Haiku Journal ( link )
Haikuniverse ( link )
Failed Haiku (which publishes senryū) ( link )
Acorn ( link )
Frogpond ( link )

Learn More About Haiku Poems at Writers.com

Whether you take our mindfulness class, our workshop on haiku poems, or any of our other poetry writing classes , Writers.com will help you master the art of haiku. In the meantime, be present, draw upon natural observations, and accept your thoughts as they arise.

Many thanks to Marc Olmsted, Miho Kinnas, Richard Modianos, and Barbara Henning for their insights on the writing process.

Sean Glatch

Thank you Sean

Some of your tips helped my Students to produce more content than Students in my Class last year in the same Unit of Poetry and for World Poetry Day.

Thanks too for your technical support on the Writer’s.Com Courses I’ve taken.

My pleasure, Jen! I’m delighted to hear our poetry advice has helped your students write. Best feeling in the world!

I have loved haiku for many years. I really enjoyed this essay as it brings haiku into modern times and represents freedom from the old strict 5-7-5 syllable in english days. My suggestion to current writers is review, review, review! Eliminate any superfluous words, Pare down to the kernel of your intention. Don’t forget to try different line arrangements to help with the ‘aha’ moments. to write haiku, become haiku in your outlook on everything. Make haiku your record of lived experience, your diary in effect. Remember the power of haibun, study the masters, specially Basho, to see how they painted word pictures so beautifully finished with haiku. Haiku poetry is so much a part of my life that I can never forget it. It illuminates my vision and creates hope for a World so in need of healing.

Thank you for this piece Sean – an off the top of my head for an, I think, Senryu based on your “Lean into uncertainty” – ‘You don’t have to know what your own words mean’:

Therapists love this separated from yourself only one writer

Writing a Haiku: Ideas, Format, and Process

Last Updated: February 9, 2024 Fact Checked

Brainstorming Ideas

Revising and polishing, template for a haiku poem.

This article was co-authored by Alicia Cook and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Alicia Cook is a Professional Writer based in Newark, New Jersey. With over 12 years of experience, Alicia specializes in poetry and uses her platform to advocate for families affected by addiction and to fight for breaking the stigma against addiction and mental illness. She holds a BA in English and Journalism from Georgian Court University and an MBA from Saint Peter’s University. Alicia is a bestselling poet with Andrews McMeel Publishing and her work has been featured in numerous media outlets including the NY Post, CNN, USA Today, the HuffPost, the LA Times, American Songwriter Magazine, and Bustle. She was named by Teen Vogue as one of the 10 social media poets to know and her poetry mixtape, “Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately” was a finalist in the 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 7,048,612 times.

If you like the idea of making a profound impact in just a few words, haiku might be the perfect poetry form for you. A haiku (俳句 pronounced similar to "high-koo") is a short, 17-syllable poem broken into 3 lines, meant to be read in a single breath. The most important thing about a haiku is that it captures and conveys a sensory image of a single moment in time, and in a well-written haiku, that image resonates on a deeper level, leaving the reader feeling enlightened and illuminated. [1] X Research source Read on to learn everything you need to know to write a powerful haiku poem of your own.

Things You Should Know

Format your haiku into 3 lines: 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second line, and 5 syllables in the third.
Describe 2 separate images on each of the first 2 lines of your haiku.
Use the 3rd line to bring the images together or remark on their relationship in a surprising way.
Include a nature or seasonal word or image somewhere in your haiku.

Step 1 Read classic haiku to get a sense of the form and structure.

Matsuo Basho
Kobayashi Issa
Winner and Runners-up of the Society of Classical Poets 2021 Haiku Competition

For this to work, you need all of your senses present—don't take this walk while playing music through headphones. Take a notebook and a pen with you so you can write down your observations.
You can also record your observations using the notes app on your smartphone. If you go that route, turn off notifications first so you don't have any distractions.
Don't want to write about nature? That's technically a senryu , which follows the same basic structure, but is more about humanity than nature. [2] X Research source

It can help to look at the big picture and then think of "zooming in" on a single thing and capturing every possible sensory detail associated with it. For example, you might be looking out at a forest and focus on a single leaf falling.

Step 4 Jot down little moments you notice as you observe your surroundings.

For example, if it's fall, you might notice that the leaves are falling from the trees around you. Go smaller! A single leaf falling. A single leaf quivering on a branch before getting taken to the ground by a gust of wind.

Step 5 Describe each moment using sensory words.

For example, if one of your moments is a single leaf falling, you might list words such as "brown," "crunchy," and "dry."
Haiku poems aren't supposed to rhyme, so you don't have to worry about that as you're trying to think of words.

Step 6 Make a list of seasonal words to put your moments in context.

For example, if it's currently fall, you might write down words such as "crisp," "cool," "harvest," and "dusk."

Step 1 Choose 2 distinct images from your brainstorming lists.

For example, you might choose a leaf falling to the ground and a gust of wind as your 2 images.
The second line of a haiku typically includes a "cutting word"—this is a Japanese concept that doesn't really exist in English, but you can think of this as a moment that pivots, or changes, your scene.

Step 2 Come up with a surprise for the third line.

For example, if your haiku is meditating on a single leaf falling to the ground, you might think about how beautiful the leaves are in the fall. They only get their colors because they're dying, though, and death is not something people normally consider beautiful. There's your surprise.
You can also use wordplay to create your surprise. Throwing in a pun takes your poem beyond its literal meaning to surprise and amuse your readers. [9] X Research source
Nothing in a haiku has to rhyme, but an unexpected rhyme could also fit the bill for the third line.

Step 3 Fine-tune your lines to fit the 5-7-5 syllabic structure.

In the first line, the leaf is still clinging to a branch of the tree. You might write, "Dry brown leaf quivers." That's 5 syllables, so there's your first line.
The second line features the moment of the gust of wind, which also serves as your "cutting word." You might write, "A sudden gust of wind blows."
Your third line surprises your reader by equating death with beauty. You might simply write, "Beauty in dying."

What is this word showing my readers? Is there another word that would do a better job of showing the same thing?
Are there any words that tell readers what to think or feel, rather than showing them? How can you show them the moment more directly?

Step 2 Revise your haiku based on your observations.

In the first line, the word "quivers" is really evocative, so you definitely want to keep that. "Dry" and "brown" aren't exactly inspired, though. Perhaps if you changed the order? "Brown leaf dry quivers" seems more interesting and poetic.
The second line definitely has problems. "Gust of wind" is somewhat redundant, and "blows" seems totally unnecessary—what else does a gust of wind do, but blow? Try instead "A sudden gust; branches snap," which enables you to use the semi-colon as your "cutting word."
The third line cleanly conveys your surprise, so you could leave it as it is.

Other people often come up with things you wouldn't have thought of on your own. They can really inspire you and give you fresh insight into your poem.
Feel free to revise your haiku even further based on the feedback you receive.

Haiku traditionally don't have a title. You might add a short one for clarification, but it's usually not necessary and will only detract from the impact of your poem.
To follow through with the example, the final haiku would be: brown leaf dry quivers a sudden gust; branches snap beauty in dying

Community Q&A

If you're writing a haiku for a class, try to stick closely to the 5-7-5 syllable format—your teacher will likely be pretty strict about that! But if you're just writing for yourself, don't worry about it too much. [14] X Research source Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
The plural of haiku is haiku —there's no need to add an "s" onto it if you're talking about more than one. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 0

↑ https://poets.org/glossary/haiku
↑ https://ideas.ted.com/i-wrote-a-haiku-every-day-for-a-week-heres-what-i-learned/
↑ https://classicalpoets.org/2016/11/13/how-to-write-a-haiku-and-much-much-more/#/
↑ https://tricycle.org/article/haiku-tips/
↑ https://powerpoetry.org/actions/how-write-haiku-poem

About This Article

To write a haiku poem, write a poem that's 3 lines long and make sure each line has the right number of syllables. Give the first line 5 syllables, the second line 7 syllables, and the third line 5 syllables. Haikus are supposed to help people clearly visualize something, so use sensory details by describing how your subject feels, smells, tastes, looks, and sounds. Also, use the present tense when you're writing your haiku. For more information on how to brainstorm ideas for your haiku from our co-author with an MFA in Creative Writing, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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New to Haiku: For Beginners

December 20, 2020

Julie Bloss Kelsey

New to Haiku

What Is Haiku?

Haiku is a short poem from Japan. In English, they’re usually in three lines, with no titles or rhyme. You don’t have to count syllables in English. Instead, you can write a haiku by using your five senses, with a reference to the season, and in two parts. Here’s a famous haiku from Japan, by the poet Issa:

snow melting . . . the village is flooded with children!

Five Senses

Your five senses are sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. In a haiku, you want to show readers what you were sensing at a moment when something happens to you. See if you can include one or two lines about at least one of your senses in your haiku.

snowy night — a sip of cocoa burns my tongue

Seasonal Reference

In Japanese haiku, a season word is called a kigo . It’s a word that refers to the time of year, the way snow tells us it’s winter or how flowers represent spring. Use just one seasonal reference in your haiku.

white-hot sun — the cat’s meow from the shaded balcony

Japanese haiku are divided into two parts by a kireji , or cutting word. We don’t have cutting words in English, but we can still give our haiku two parts. The two parts help you think about the connection between one part and the other, and this helps you participate in the poem.

breezy morning — a Yorkie puppy catching cherry petals

Write Your Own Haiku!

Now it’s your turn! After you read some of the haiku on this website, can you write a haiku for each of your five senses? Don’t forget to have two parts and a season word in each poem. Have fun!

Sarah Welch lives with her parents and brother in Sammamish, Washington. She is part of the class of 2024 at International Community School, where she is active with drama, the authors’ society, and the Green Team environmental club. She loves riding horses and volunteers to help younger kids learn horseback riding. In 2019 she was a “Haikyū or Haiku?” cosplayer and panelist at Sakura-Con in Seattle. She has won Sakura Awards in the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational and also placed three times in the Haiku Poets of Northern California rengay contest. Sarah was ten years old when she wrote “New to Haiku: For Beginners,” which also appeared, in a slightly different form, as the introduction to Christine L. Villa’s puppy haiku story, Will You Still Love Me (Purple Cotton Candy Arts, 2019).

Julie Bloss Kelsey is the current Secretary of The Haiku Foundation. She started writing haiku in 2009, after discovering science fiction haiku (scifaiku). She lives in Maryland with her husband and kids. Julie's first print poetry collection, Grasping the Fading Light: A Journey Through PTSD , won the 2021 Women’s International Haiku Contest from Sable Books. Her ebook of poetry, The Call of Wildflowers , is available for free online through Moth Orchid Press (formerly Title IX Press). Her most recent collection, After Curfew , is available from Cuttlefish Books . Connect with her on Instagram @julieblosskelsey.

This Post Has 5 Comments

white-hot sun???

Do haiku poems have more than two essential elements?

Pasque flowers fade – by dreaming of the past, I find the future.

Is something more required, perhaps an allusion to something other than the actual words?

Suppose the poem is rewritten.

Pasque flowers fade – by dreaming of the future, I find the past.

It is possible that one of these poems is true, and the other is false. It might be that both poems are false.

Hugh Bygott

Well-written introduction to haiku basics — am certain it will produce much experimentation. My interpretation of class of 2024 is that Sarah is a freshman this year. I’m especially happy to read she is a member of the Green Club; I believe they can change our world for the better. They do so here in Northern California.

A well explained lesson on writing haiku, I was also puzzled by the mention of 2024, maybe scifiku is Sarah’s favourite form

Wonderfully succinct article! It’s no mean feat to distill information about haiku, despite the poetic genre being distilled itself.

Great to see this from the next wave of haiku writers and commentators.

I’m fascinated by the poet who is in the class of 2024 at International Community School. If that’s true, and Sarah Welch is from the future, we need all the help we can get stuck in this mismanaged past/present!

warm regards, Alan

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Poetry Contests

How to Write Haiku: What Makes a Good Haiku?

How to write haiku, what makes a good haiku.

by Margaret Coats

The required 5-7-5 syllable form alone does not make a haiku. A good haiku

⦁ presents an observation of nature, or of human activities in nature ⦁ uses present tense (“goes” or “going,” not “went” or “has gone”) ⦁ has a seasonal word or image, known in Japanese as a “kigo” ⦁ has two parts or two images or two aspects ⦁ offers an intriguing insight that arises from interaction of the two parts

Below are examples of good haiku, chosen from runners-up and other entries last year. They fulfill ALL the above haiku requirements, but are grouped to allow for easy discussion of one requirement at a time, in the paragraph that follows each group. Information and advice about the seasonal requirement, including a link to a kigo list, with an analysis of last year’s winner, can be found HERE . A more detailed article on haiku by G.M.H. Thompson is HERE .

The 17 Syllables in English

These first four haiku show how poets writing in English can naturalize the required Japanese syllabic form by using features of English poetry, including rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration. These things are neither required nor specially favored in this competition. However, they add beauty to the poem and demonstrate the poet’s skill with language.

Dark branches stripped bare cold and sad, quite unaware stirrings down below

―Linette Eloff

Snow falls through the night Dressing farm and field in white— Dazzling dawn in sight!

―Martin Rizley

one lone(ly) mallard ignored by his own echo quacks again, hoping

―James Ripley

Curious concert— crickets croon to a cornfield of indifferent ears

―Martin Elster

Linette Eloff captures late winter in three lines appropriately rhymed and metered. The third line, with the same number of syllables as the first, has more word accents or stresses. It thus has more of the deep “stirrings” it mentions—and it breaks away from the “bare”/ “unaware” rhyme and tone of the other lines. Contrast Martin Rizley’s winter haiku, which exhibits regular English rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration in all three lines. These suit the exuberant tone of his poem. James Ripley uses another tactic. His parentheses in the word “lone(ly)” emphasize the meaning he can add to his first line with the required fifth syllable. The quacking mallard is both “lone” (solitary) and “lonely” (forlorn). Martin Elster makes every syllable count, accompanying his farm concert with both alliteration from the noisy crickets, and a pun on the indifferent ears of corn in the audience.

Artistry of the Present Tense

end of the summer— the calm surface of a lake absorbs the twilight.

―Marek Kozubek

Looming laden clouds Blanket Bombay’s bustling streets And storms paint the sky

―Stuti Sinha

taste of morning tea the delicate ray of sun through an icicle

―Daniela Misso

The group above shows varied artistry employing the required present tense. Marek Kozubek uses a single present tense verb (“absorbs”) to describe minimal action, but it manages to fill his noiseless scene with light and color. Stuti Sinha’s poem brims with action: present tense verbs “blanket” and “paint,” present participles “looming” and “bustling,” along with the past participle “laden,” acceptable in haiku because used as an adjective. These combine to build up a picture of increasingly wild weather over a busy city. In Daniela Misso’s haiku, there are no verbs at all. Present tense is presumed in the action of a human observer who notices the sunlit icicle while sipping tea.

The Two-Part Haiku

black skyscrapers scratch at something beyond the gray as white flakes drift down

―Spencer Green

As winter draws near Fabulous floral worlds bloom The solace of books

―Mia P Solomonides

Wisteria blooms Along a sidewalk café Coffee in the air

―Ravi Kivan

watermelon patch I let the weathered scarecrow try on my straw hat

―Darrell Lindsey

Like new fallen snow Seabirds rest then I approach White riot of flight

―Mike Bryant

A haiku should have two parts or two images or two aspects. The two things contrast or combine creatively to produce the poem’s overall effect. Spencer Green’s skyscrapers do not wait passively for snow, but actively scratch it out of the gray sky. Mia Solomonides teases readers with a flagrantly impossible winter scene—then explains that it exists in the books one can comfortably read indoors on a cold day. Ravi Kivan makes clever use of the related words “café” (a place) and “coffee” (a beverage served in such a place) to appeal to the two senses of sight and taste. In all three poems, Part One is the first two lines, and Part Two the final line. This is usual among haiku, but not universal. Darrell Lindsey sets the scene in his first line, then enters and alters it in the remaining two lines. Mike Bryant’s poem is a very unusual haiku that divides exactly in the middle, where the quiet scene moves to action. His ninth syllable, the word “then,” is something like a Japanese kireji or “cutting word,” but such words have functions in Japanese that are unfamiliar in the English language. Poets writing in English shouldn’t save a syllable to slice lines, but simply make sure that each haiku has two elements that can interact in an interesting way.

The Intriguing Insight

How can haiku demand an original insight in every poem? Remember, first of all, that this most difficult requirement is simply a special perception from the poet’s own carefully observed scene.

Boughs froth with new blooms when the monsoon rain sweeps through trees toss their bouquets

―Rachel Nel

How short is freedom gained by the cherry blossom released from the branch

―Germain Droogenbroodt

Falling August stars The sky is full of beauty So many wishes

All three of these poems view something beautiful falling. Rachel Nel sees monsoon rain sweeping frothy blooms from boughs; she thinks of a bride tossing her bouquet to others as the wedding celebration ends. Good thought—and no more is needed. The poem is done, and the poet doesn’t have to picture anyone catching soggy flowers. The more philosophical Germain Droogenbroodt reflects on the distance between branch and ground when a cherry blossom falls. To him, this brings thoughts of short-lived freedom. Again, enough insight for an excellent haiku, expressed in terms of the bloom being released from the prison of the branch. Vita sees stars fall during summer meteor showers. The additional light and motion brighten and beautify the already starry sky—and the observer gains hope for many wishes fulfilled, in accord with the proverb, “to wish upon a falling star.”

Quality Alone Cannot Qualify

What is a Haiku? Beautiful words . . . not many Alas! Not these words

―Norma Pain

This clever poem in haiku form is good and true and beautiful, but it is not a haiku. If you don’t know why not, please read over the Examples and Explanation again. Looking forward to your haiku!

Margaret Coats lives in California. She holds a Ph.D. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University. She has retired from a career of teaching literature, languages, and writing that included considerable work in homeschooling for her own family and others.

NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets.

The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.

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45 Responses

Outstanding essay and presentation on haiku. I made my own analysis a couple of years ago, but for clarity, in depth analysis and beauty I must save this for my own future use. I particularly liked the “Intriguing Insight,” not only for the things falling, but for the interpretation.

I’m trying to submit my piece for the Haiku competition that ends on September 29th but can’t seem to figure it out so I emailed it to an admin and I post here.

Maiku: My First Haiku

What is a poem Woven terms seeking solemn Pirouetted rhythm

Sir, The contest deadline was extended to September 16 only. Your entry is late and cannot be considered this year. Please enter next year. Thanks, Mike the Moderator

I’m not sure a good Haiku exists in English But it’s worth a try

Her RA MY RA Hoo RA

many have tried and failed yet the journey’s why we sail sunshine rain snow hail

I’ve read haiku, and some are great, A snapshot on a bite-sized plate. But rhyme and meter, that’s the way I’ll do my poems any day. When haiku I try to write, It’s just okay, it’s not quite right; Because I’m Western, through and through, I just can’t do a great haiku!

My dear poet brother. Rhyme is like no other. Some Haikus do have rhyme. A treat to pen, anytime!

I guess it’s time to eat my words Since (how surprising!) I just heard: One haiku (who knew I could?) Made the list of “very good!” So if, as I once did, you think At haiku you really stink, Don’t stop batting at the plate; You might write one that’s really great!

travel far enough through west, might end up East then what now might you stuck be preserved and nerved with poetry so let’s mediate between them and thee turn from foe to peace treaty switch to saying “hi”, ‘coupe de ta’ is what you sought previously I’d like Joshua to B. Frank ~ must ‘see’ to ‘be’ started writing poetry January 2023 first Haiku composed ago 3 titled Maiku, appropriately not sure if rules broke ~ ignorant me but I’ll still share to spread some glee

what is a poem woven terms seeking solemn pirouetted rhythm

pack your bags come sail with me learning ~ sharing ~ merging poetry TheonGreyjoy handles me Intro done ~ Haiku complete

Thank you Margaret for your most appreciated comments on my attempt to write a Haiku poem, and for using it as an example of all that is missing in this endeavor. Thank you also for the article, suggestions and examples.

Five syllable line; then seven, then another five more syllables.

By Jove, I’ve got it!

Kip, these look like your entries to “Haiku Competition 2022.” I’ll ask the moderator to post them there. We have multiple links between two posts, which may have caused confusion about where to enter haiku for the contest. Anyone else who may notice this, please go to “Haiku Competition 2022” to post your entries. Comments on the essay “What Makes A Good Haiku?” belong here. Thanks!

Kip Rosser, the haiku you posted here have been moved to “Haiku Competition 2022.” Thanks for your contributions! This comment space is intended for responses to the essay, “What Makes A Good Haiku?” There are multiple links between these two posts, and that may have caused a slight problem, but your haiku are now where they should be as entries in the competition.

Flute longs for its branch Violin longs for it tree Soul sings to the sea

As a raindrop falls, A thirsty plant awaits it, Raindrops are not fools.

The wave hits the beach, The water erodes the beach, The sea has to eat,

The tree bears a fruit, I eat with naivety, The tree bears more fruit,

No man is useless, He is so good at something, And calls it talent.

A deserted hut, Provides full space for creepers, To build a palace.

I love writing it, A form of poetry it is. You just read haiku.

Red no longer flows, Goodbye is sometimes easy. A breath in, then out.

Wild exquisite night! A blanket sky shimmering Joy envelops me

Despite my efforts Omicron got me real bad Wear a mask, be cool.

Covid, life changing Nurses fighting to save us all Our souls are weary

Night’s cacophony Crickets chirp and leaves rustle Lullabies for sleep

Night’s cacophony Crickets chirp and leaves rustle Lullabies for souls

Sorry- I did not mean to use sleep in the above haiku. Above is what I intended.

Time ticks like a bomb Wearing the soul to the call Of the dreadful tomb

Friends will come and go Like the leaves of a grapetree Family are roots

Chirpings of song birds leaves carpeted on brown earth beauty of summer

What if one day you Build roads to bridges to space What if one day we

The rain stopped falling… Happy worms came up to play… Hungry birds joined them…

A web trapped a fly; A spider crawled to the catch:- A frog enjoyed both…

Raging flames ashed trees, We prayed for rain; Mudslides stole our homes:-

Thanks for your enlightening article. I immediately recognized my Present Tense oversights. Going back to edit the many Haikus I have attempted to write over the past two years. I am hooked on this style. Will send you my edit of these three for your assessment. Again, thanks. Peace and Love.

I want to mention the elephant in the room. I hope I am not out of line. I loved Martin Elster’s clever Haiku about the crickets. But the last line has 6 syllables. A stylized spelling of indifferent, (Indif’rent), I suppose could solve the problem, or is it a problem? Is there an exception to the rule?

Larry, there are a few sounds pronounced by diverse English speakers with different numbers of syllables. Because this is an international contest, we accept the variants as counted by the poet. Variants are noted in comprehensive dictionaries. They include:

“different” can be either two or three syllables “fire” “mire” and similar words can be one or two syllables “cruel” “fuel” and similar words can be one or two syllables

Great! Thanks for the clarification of the syllable count for those selected words.

Modern garden sheds daisies, weeds and bumblebees; grass is not greener.

(Haiku moved to contest page by Moderator)

Dear haiku writers,

To enter the 2023 Contest, please DO NOT PLACE YOUR POEMS HERE. They need to be typed into this year’s contest entry page, which will appear when you click on the words HAIKU CONTEST at the top right of this page. Thank you! I look forward to seeing your entries there.

Scent of cherry blooms blowing in the morning light… end of pandemic

Hallucination… a red butterfly quivers upon a daisy

Splinters of sunshine piercing the morning silence… icicles crumble

Keith, your three haiku have been moved to the 2023 Haiku Contest page, as entries in the contest.

Dear haiku writers, POST ENTRIES FOR THE 2023 CONTEST on the contest page, NOT HERE. You can get to the 2023 contest page easily by clicking on the HAIKU CONTEST block at the top right of this page. Looking for your haiku there–thanks!

lackadaisical pitch perfect ideal day borne aloft skyward

cerulean heavens infinitesimal speck earthling existence

autumnal foliage kaleidoscope of color damned myopia

Yesterday is history Tomorrow is a mystery Today is reality ***** Life is short Art is long

HAIKU CONTEST My entry: Climate change unfair But all of us need to care Fail the earth beware

Thank you Margaret. That makes perfect sense.

I want to submit a haiku. Were is the form?

Rene, Go to this page:

https://classicalpoets.org/2023/08/01/haiku-competition-2023/

Read all the rules then scroll all the way to the bottom of the comments. You will see the comment box at the bottom of the page. Enter your haiku in the comment box following ALL the rules, then push the “SUBMIT” button. That’s all there is to it. Thanks, Mike the Moderator

#1 Roses in gardens — lost lovers raising hands calling for your help

#2 Time is slow today perhaps children are drawing sunrises in art class

#3 Spring walks by summer the coy sun smells of honey bees follow the rays

Apologies, few small edits to the previous one:

#1 Roses in gardens — lost lovers raising both hands calling for your help

#2 Time is slow today perhaps children are drawing suns rise in art class

Peace on the prairie

Soil unturned neath the tall grass

Then eagle take vole

(A typing correction : last line : takes replacing take)

Then eagle takes vole

I. What is a Haiku?

A haiku is a specific type of Japanese poem which has 17 syllables divided into three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Haikus or haiku are typically written on the subject of nature. The word haiku (pronounced hahy -koo) is derived from the Japanese word hokku meaning “starting verse.”

II. Examples of Haikus

For examples of haiku, consider these classic poems written by Japanese poets:

From time to time

The clouds give rest

To the moon-beholders.

— Matsuo Basho

Sparrow’s child

out of the way, out of the way!

the stallion’s coming through

— Kobayashi Issa

Over the wintry

forest, winds howl in rage

with no leaves to blow.

— Natsume Soseki

As is clear from these examples, most haikus examine natural themes , such as weather, animals and plants, and changing seasons. Haikus can be serious and meditative, free of mood, or playful and fun.

III. The Importance of Using Haikus

Haikus are important in that they are a highly traditional form of Japanese poetry which has been in existence as early as the 1600s. Haikus later spread to the west in the 1800s. Haiku shows that in as few as three lines and seventeen syllables, interesting observations about nature and life can be made. They show that poetry does not have to be about lofty subjects but can make an animal as small as the grasshopper or a subject as simple as the wind interesting, important, and mentionable.

IV. Examples of Haikus in Literature

Haikus are a popular form in poetry, as anyone can attempt to put together a brief poem of three lines and seventeen syllables. Here are a few examples of haiku in literature:

Mosquito at my ear— does he think I’m deaf?

This haiku was written by the famous Japanese poet Issa.

Old pond… A frog leaps in Water’s sound.

This is considered the most famous Japanese haiku, written by Bashō.

A whale! Down it goes, and more and more up goes its tail!

A playful poem of movement, this haiku was written by Yosa Buson, another famous Japanese poet.

V. Examples of Haikus in Pop Culture

A search on Youtube reveals that haikus have affected pop culture in more ways than one. The short form of haiku can be found in “Youtube Haikus,” or particularly short and typically funny Youtube videos. A similar pop cultural phenomenon has been Vines, or short videos of only six and a half seconds or less! Just as haiku takes advantage of brevity, saying and showing a lot with very little, pop culture prizes brevity in forms of video, Twitter tweets of 140 characters , and memes.

This Youtube Haiku features a strange tongue-flicking goat in a video that lasts only ten seconds.

This is an example of a Vine, lasting only five seconds.

VI. Related Terms: Haikus vs. Similar Poetic Forms

Haiku are not the only form of poetry which utilizes brevity, syllable count, and the subject of nature. Here are a few poetic forms similar to haiku:

A tanka is a thirty-one syllable poem with five lines divided into five, seven, five, seven, and seven syllables. Looking at form, tankas are very similar to haikus, with the first three lines in the same form and two added lines of seven syllables each. Tankas were written as early as the year 600 and were primarily written as songlike letters written to lovers as a gift. Here is an example of a tanka versus a haiku written by the poet Philip Appleman:

In the spring of joy, when even the mud chuckles, my soul runs rabid, snaps at its own bleeding heels, and barks: “What is happiness?”

(after Basho)

Clouds murmur darkly, it is a blinding habit— gazing at the moon.

As can be seen from these examples, tankas and haikus are both Japanese forms which pay close attention to syllable count and lineation. Tankas are simply the longer form.

Interestingly, the lune was a poetic form inspired by the haiku and is called by some the American Haiku. A literature professor named Robert Kelly invented the form, which is a shortened version of the haiku with three lines of five, three, and five syllables. Here is an example of a lune versus a haiku:

If not for the birds I’d not know That I cannot fly . — Lester Smith

Toward those short trees We saw a hawk descending On a day in spring. — Shiki

Although haikus, tankas, and lunes look very similar, the difference lies in form: tankas are longer and lunes are shorter.

VII. In Closing

Haiku is a classic Japanese form of poetry which celebrates nature and little moments in life in a brief three-line seventeen-syllable form. Haikus range from serious reflections and images to lighthearted and uplifting instances.

List of Terms

Alliteration
Amplification
Anachronism
Anthropomorphism
Antonomasia
APA Citation
Aposiopesis
Autobiography
Bildungsroman
Characterization
Circumlocution
Cliffhanger
Comic Relief
Connotation
Deus ex machina
Deuteragonist
Doppelganger
Double Entendre
Dramatic irony
Equivocation
Extended Metaphor
Figures of Speech
Flash-forward
Foreshadowing
Intertextuality
Juxtaposition
Literary Device
Malapropism
Onomatopoeia
Parallelism
Pathetic Fallacy
Personification
Point of View
Polysyndeton
Protagonist
Red Herring
Rhetorical Device
Rhetorical Question
Science Fiction
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Synesthesia
Turning Point
Understatement
Urban Legend
Verisimilitude
Essay Guide
Cite This Website

© Jim Kacian 2009

The life-changing magic of writing haiku

Finding beauty and solace in a heartbeat-sized poem.

Many years ago, back when I had peroxide blonde hair and my own provincial TV show, I went on the trail of Matsuo Bashō, one of Japan’s most famous poets. Just as I got to the top of a steep flight of stone steps at one particular temple and paused to catch my breath, I heard someone calling my name.

“Besu-san desu ka?” “Are you Beth?” enquired a monk, peering at me from a couple of feet away. “Eeto… sō desu keredomo… ” I confirmed, a hint of confusion in my voice as I tried to figure out how I had been recognised by a stranger half way up the steps of a remote mountain temple.

He beamed, and bowed. “I always watch your programme.” I didn’t realise anyone actually watched the show I presented for Yamagata Cable TV, where I went around interviewing foreigners living in the local area. I didn’t expect the viewership to extend to monks on mountainsides and I certainly didn’t expect to get recognised. But this was nearly twenty-five years ago, when there weren’t many Brits living in rural Japan.

“Welcome to Yamadera,” he continued. “Is this your first visit?” Actually I happened to live nearby and regularly climbed the mountain temple’s thousand steps to drink in the air and the views, although that day I was there to learn more about the great poet who visited Yamadera in the late 1600s on his legendary journey to the deep north. Bashō rested there awhile, and penned one of his most famous poems:

The monk and I chatted for a while and then he went on his way towards one of the temple buildings. I found a quiet place to sit. I took out my notebook to write a haiku. There on the same mountain, listening to the descendants of Bashō’s cicadas, looking out over the same valley, drawn by the same impulse to write, I felt a strange sense of overlapping time.

Of course where Bashō might have brushed his ink onto mulberry paper, I scratched my words into a notebook with a biro. The grass sandals of his day had given way to the hiking boots of mine. Somewhere in the distance was the concrete and glass government building where I worked, and beyond that Zaō, still bubbling with the same natural hot springs, but now boasting ski slopes where rough mountain passes used to be.

Writing of his visit Bashō said,

‘Monks at the foot of the mountain offered rooms, then we climbed the ridge to the temple, scrambling up through ancient gnarled pine and oak, smooth grey stones and moss. The temple doors, built on rocks, were bolted… The silence was profound. I sat, feeling my heart begin to open.’ [2]

I suddenly felt so small against the mountain that had held the temple for centuries, and the tunnel of silence reached back through time to the moment he wrote those lines. I felt the years between our lives shrink to a single breath, with gratitude for the great poet’s presence and an unexpected, unfathomable grief for his absence.

Haiku can do this, both in the reading and writing. It is a kind of poetry that can root us to the moment whilst somehow stitching us into the tapestry of time as we witness something in the natural world that has been witnessed over and over throughout the centuries. The moon. A grasshopper. Wind in the pines. Haiku can attune us to the tiniest detail by what is said, and make us sense the scale of the universe and time itself by all that is left unsaid.

As a teenager, I had a haiku poem by Matsuo Bashō pinned on my bedroom wall. It read: ‘The first winter rains. From now on my name shall be Traveller.’ In just a few words, the gifted poet captured all my ideas about adventure and discovery out in the big, wide and wild world outside my bedroom door, while simultaneously transporting me to a cold wet day in seventeenth-century Japan. I would actually discover later that the original poem referenced autumn rains, not winter ones, but either way, I find something so rich and inspiring about these three simple lines.

There is also something else that reading and writing haiku has always done to me - or for me - which is to bring me into the present in an instant.

I’ll let you into a secret, which might be surprising for someone who has written a book called Wabi Sabi: Japanese wisdom for a perfectly imperfect life . ‘Perfect’ is actually one my favourite words. I use it all the time, but only ever in the context of moments. I believe that is the only occasion perfection is real. The tiniest slice of time can hover, shimmering in momentary stillness. And then it is gone. A perfect moment in an imperfect world.

In a world constantly in flux, moments like this can feel as if time itself is winking at us. For an instant we find ourselves completely immersed in the experience, not bothered about the past or future while simultaneously being aware that the moment itself will not last. In literature this is sometimes called ‘a haiku moment’, a description which captures the poetic beauty of beholding such a delicious sliver of experience.

These kinds of treasures are to be found in the smallest details of daily life, if we can slow down, be present and pay attention long enough to notice a natural beauty even more exquisite for its imminent vanishing. When we look at the world through haiku eyes we see it just as it is – in all its complexity and simplicity, harshness and beauty, ordinariness and wonder.

A tonic for swirling thoughts

When I find myself too caught up in regrets about the past or worries about the future, I like to write haiku . One of the most popular forms of poetry in the world, haiku differ from a lot of poetry by being focused on what is happening in the outer world, rather than what is going on in your inner world. It can be refreshing to put all of your attention to what you can sense around you and write it down.

When we write a haiku we see something ordinary anew, and write it. We abandon our self to participate in the world - seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting – noticing. This is not the territory of metaphor and simile, it is that of the natural world observed with such exactness that is shakes us awake. It does not describe a feeling, but often elicits one in the reader with its exquisite attention to life unfolding. A haiku does not speak of loneliness, it tells of a crow on a bare branch at dusk in autumn.

A haiku is a doorway to beauty, a tool for slowing down and shrinking your attention to the vastness of the moment in front of you. When you begin to see the world through haiku eyes, you notice inspiration everywhere, and recognise the preciousness and fragility of life.

A haiku is a heartbeat-sized poem. In writing one, we capture a moment. In reading one, we enter that moment.

Madoka Mayuzumi says, “Composing a haiku means giving a voice to the “other” appearing before our eyes and taking a slice of Earth’s life. By so doing, we ourselves tap into the cosmic source of life and create a synchronicity and fraternity with other living beings. This is also a process of self-discovery, a journey to the depths of one’s own heart. It is through the “other” that we discover things about ourselves.” [5]

A haiku poet looks at something and sees its is-ness. The stoniness of a stone. The treeness of a tree. To write a haiku we have to slow down and tune in to the world around us. Jane Reichhold has described a haiku as a ‘word nest’ built to protect our inspiration until a reader can experience it as poetry [6] ⁠ , cradling the memory of a moment in the way we might hold a baby bird. I love how this explains not just what a haiku is, but what it can do.

Why not try to write a haiku of your own? Read on for some tips, and be sure to keep reading to the end of the essay to find a list of recommended books, and the chance to win some of them simply by sharing a haiku of your own.

How to write a haiku

(1) First read some haiku , pausing for after each one to let it sink in. (See ‘Poets to explore’ at the end of this essay)

(2) Go outside with your notebook and a pen. Breathe deeply, quieten your mind and tune in. See what is interesting. Rotate through your senses and make notes about what you can see, hear, smell, taste and feel (touch). Put a couple of those images together and connect them. Don’t personify things, or analyse or interpret. Just write what is.

(3) Capture the moment in a tiny three line poem. Write some more. Have fun. Toss them into the wind. Write still more. Feel free to share one or more of them in the comments of this post - I’d love to read them!

These are tips, not rules, because you will find professional haiku poets who break every single one of these and somehow still make it a haiku :

• Haiku nearly always include specific seasonal references. In Japanese these ‘season words’ are known as ‘ kigo ’ (季語) and often refer to plants, insects, the earth and sky, weather or other natural phenomena. When writing in English, you can use Japanese kigo for inspiration , [7] ⁠ or you could try a word representing something local to you and the season you are in, like blackberries, or a cactus.

• Haiku often honour nature, and show a sense of compassion towards plants and creatures, even if simply through the quality of attention.

• Haiku are not about the poet, they are about what the poet observes. They rarely bring attention to the writer. In English, the easiest way to do this is to avoid using the pronoun ‘I’.

• Write in the present tense to bring the reader into the experience.

• Keep it simple. Drop most adjectives and adverbs. Write things as they are.

My wish for you

There is a beautiful haiku by Matsuo Bashō which captures how I want my writing life to be. It speaks of a cicada shell, and the cicada that sang itself utterly away.

I want to write myself utterly away, not just once like the cicada but over and over. When we dissolve our edges and limitations we are free to wander wherever we please, exploring all words can do, and all we can be.

I hope you will remember this, and stay open, surrendering to the creations that want to be born through you. I hope you will see the magnificence in your own ordinariness, and the ordinariness in your own magnificence.

I hope you will read and write haiku often - perhaps even starting today, tuning into the season you are in right now - and allow the act of doing so to open a door to beauty and offer refuge from the noise of the world.

Go now, and write yourself utterly away.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED. THE WINNER WAS The Multipotentialite GRAHAM LANDI. (Graham - please send an email to [email protected] with your postal address to get your prize. Be sure to confirm which one of the books recommended in the essay you would most like to receive, alongside a signed copy of my book The Way of the Fearless Writer. Hope you love them both, Beth Xx)

To encourage you to help me spread the joy of haiku , I am offering a lovely giveaway.

One book of your choice from the ‘Recommended books’ list at the end of this essay

A personalized signed copy of my book The Way of the Fearless Writer

→ Simply restack or share a quote from this post or leave a comment by the deadline of 4pm UK time on Saturday 9 December, 2023.

Please feel free to have a go and share a haiku of your own if you are feeling inspired and/or brave!

It’s also fine just to share the post and encourage others to explore the life-changing magic of writing haiku .

Please note this is NOT a poetry competition – it is a giveaway and the winner will be chosen at random.

Poets to explore

In this essay I have talked a lot about Matsuo Basho, who is a favourite of mine and probably the most famous of all haiku poets. His poems are a good place to start, but there are many more. Here are a few to explore – if you Google them you will find many of their poems popping up, and most anthologies of haiku feature some of their work (see the end of this essay for recommendations).

Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)

Fukuda Chiyo-ni (1703-1775)

Yosa Buson (1716-1784)

Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828)

Santoka Taneda (1882-1940)

Masaoka Shiki (1967-1902)

Madoka Mayuzumi (1962-

Perhaps as important as the original poet is the translator – the best translators make wonderful poets themselves, and can completely shift the impact of a poem when read in a language other than the original Japanese. Translators to look out for include Robert Hass, Jane Reichhold, and Sam Hamill.

There are also many haiku available to read on the website of The Haiku Foundation .

Frogpond 45.1 • 2022

Museum of Haiku Literature Award

Haiku & Senryu

Essay 1 - Split Sequences

Essay 2 - Nonhaiku of Bob Kaufman

Essay 3 - Covid Haibun

Interview - Laurie D. Morrissey

Book Reviews

From the Editor

Haiku Society of America

An Introduction to Split Sequences

by Peter Jastermsky

An Introduction to Split Sequences (complete PDF version)

Here is a sample excerpt from the opening page of this essay:

This essay will offer a brief history of the split sequence, with examples of collaborative and solo versions, as well as a brief how-to primer on writing a split sequence at the end.

I created the split sequence form in 2017. Having just written a selection of haiku and senryu, I looked at the poems in front of me and asked myself, “What would happen if I did this ?” I took one of the haiku, split the three lines apart, and placed a haiku between each of those three lines. The line format became 1/3/1/3/1/3. After some tweaking, and adding a title, I realized that I had created a linked piece of some kind. But what was it?

Garry Gay created a linked verse form, the now famous rengay, in 1992. Perhaps the aspect that has been rengay’s staying power is its communal aspect. My 2017 discovery is also a linked form maintaining certain elements of renku. Over time, the rengay caught on with poets, and that communal form is strongly being written 30 years later. Linked verse brings us together. So let’s share a split sequence!

To teach you how to join me, I will demonstrate the process for writing a collaborative split sequence with an unpublished piece composed between Bryan Rickert and myself. To signal Bryan’s contributions, I’ve italicized them.

A split sequence starts once an original three-line haiku is picked that you judge will be suitable in its individual lines to split into thirds.

[essay continues for several more pages] . . .

Jastermsky, Peter . "An Introduction to Split Sequences." Frogpond 45.1, Winter 2022, 91-95.

This excerpt inclues the first page of the essay: page 91. The complete essay includes pages 91-95. To read the complete essay, click on the link to the PDF version:

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The Friday Poem

A poem every Friday

What I think about when I think about English-Language Haiku

On form, spirit and resonance: an essay with three commentaries by Matthew Paul

Whether haiku in English can actually be called ‘haiku’ at all is a vexed question. They cannot hold the weight of cultural allusion – especially to other, famed haiku – which Japanese haiku carry. My belief, though, is that many English-language poets have written very fine haiku which bear the original form’s essence.

Haiku is a form, but it isn’t any old form and it deserves respect. Nevertheless, the ‘rules’ of haiku are there to be broken and it is futile to seek a consensus about what haiku is. Rather, it’s easier to define it by what it isn’t . The haiku poet and editor Martin Lucas wrote that, ‘Haiku isn’t as easy as just looking, and it isn’t as easy as it looks’. They’re not just nice observations or nature notes.

Neither is haiku child’s play – it may be on the English National Curriculum but that doesn’t mean that adults shouldn’t expend serious effort on haiku. Haiku has the concept of ‘beginner’s mind’, that, very occasionally, someone new to haiku can write them with freshness and lightness; but, as with all literary forms, its most consistently proficient practitioners are those who have bothered to research its origins and history (as they would for, say, writing sonnets), to read the oeuvres of some of its finest exponents and only then, after practising their craft, to publish their own output, and do so sparingly.

Equally, writing haiku isn’t merely a tool for sharpening a longer-form poet’s abilities – though it very helpfully can be! In such a short poem, word-choices stick out; hence line-beginnings, line-endings, line-breaks, rhythm, internal rhyme and the mysteries of poetic sounds are as important in haiku as they are in longer forms – and arguably more so because there is nowhere to hide.

A haiku isn’t just any old tosh written in three lines of five, seven, then five syllables, any more than any old tosh written as 14 lines makes a sonnet. While most, if not all, accomplished haiku poets will have written some haiku which naturally fell into a 5–7–5 rhythm, it’s often too many – and padding out lines in a haiku is even more glaring than in poems in iambic pentameter. People who insist that haiku must be written in 5–7–5 are Flat-Earthers. Haiku’s essence isn’t syllable-counting, because Japanese sound-units aren’t directly comparable to English syllables, but its spirit .

A haiku isn’t just any old tosh written in three lines of five, seven, then five syllables, any more than any old tosh written as 14 lines makes a sonnet

Spirit? I hear you ask. Yes, a feeling of being in tune with the present and capturing that feeling in a ‘haiku moment’. Before you retort that that sounds like Zen (or airy pretentiousness), then it’s worth investigating haiku’s origins; though I won’t go into that here as there are plenty better qualified than me who have already written engagingly on the subject, among them Ilford-born R.H. Blyth, and William J. Higginson, whose The Haiku Handbook remains as good an introduction as any.

Yet writing haiku is about more than just being acutely attentive to your surroundings and what your senses are picking up. Translating that attentiveness into haiku requires a keen, intuitive appreciation of how, and why, a moment is special and worthy of recording in a brief poem. The worst criticism to be made of the proliferation of badly-written haiku on social media isn’t just that they lack poetic qualities, but that their subject-matter is banal and, crucially, that they are unoriginal.

Haiku shouldn’t tell stories either; its two parts shouldn’t be cause and effect. Two parts? Yes, they normally, though not always – and particularly not in one-line haiku – comprise two distinct parts, with an obvious or more tangential relation to one another. One of the parts is usually, but not always, a season reference or time-stamp. It is for the reader to sense the spark – comparison, contrast, connection, unifier – between those two parts and thereby complete the poem.

The most memorable haiku tend not to be pyrotechnic ones but those which have an enduring, affecting resonance, with an emotional core derived, firstly, from a superficial reading of the haiku and the moment it articulates, and, secondly, a deeper, maybe metaphorical one. For example, a haiku depicting a moment in nature can possess an implicit metaphorical reflection on the human condition or state of mind – and which the poet might not have consciously intended.

Haiku possess a concise simplicity which all but forbids overt similes or metaphors, and conspicuous adjectives and adverbs. But they shouldn’t be simple to the point of unpoetic; the opposite is true. In a landmark essay in Presence haiku journal , Martin Lucas (with input from Stuart Quine) discussed how many of the most resonant haiku, including those written as one line, contain extraordinariness, so that they cast what he called a ‘poetic spell’. The essay is essential reading.

The worst criticism to be made of the proliferation of badly-written haiku on social media isn’t just that they lack poetic qualities, but that their subject-matter is banal and, crucially, that they are unoriginal

My addition to Lucas’s arguments is that the choice of verb(s) – active or passive – in haiku is key. (As ever, there are exceptions to this, because there are many fine haiku which are verb- less .) One verb is usually enough, and as the ‘action’ word it propels the haiku; therefore, it must be apposite, though not necessarily the most obvious – though neither should it be an exact synonym for the obvious one either. Too many poets use dull verbs, and dull verbs unsurprisingly make dull haiku. Haiku can seem so-what-ish and / or formulaic – at worst they can be trivial, clichéd, uninspiring, and generic – but the finest of them glimmer in the mind.

So let’s examine some examples. The following aren’t the best three haiku ever written, but each has exemplary qualities which merit close attention, as much for what they don’t say as what they actually do.

longest day the slowest duckling tries to catch up

(by Jack Barry)

Barry is one of a few contemporary American haiku poets who follow(ed) a simple, reclusive life, reminiscent of Thoreau, Gary Snyder (as fictionalised as ‘Japhy Ryder’ in Jack Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums ) and Kerouac himself (in the haibunesque Desolation Angels ). Their haiku exemplify an ability to let observations find their best poetic distillation, whether that takes a minute or years. This haiku was originally published in Presence in 2005 and later anthologised in Where the River Goes (ed. Allan Burns, 2013), subtitled ‘The Nature Tradition in English-Language Haiku’. It presents a familiar scene, and does so with an enviable simplicity which could easily have slipped into triteness without very considered word-choices born, I suspect, of intense looking and thinking.

The first line places the reader squarely in midsummer; we can feel the heat and the torpor. We know, too, that daylight will stretch into night. It takes a bold poet to use two superlative adjectives in one haiku, taking up a third of just 12 syllables. That ‘slowest’ serves three purposes: implicitly enabling the reader to imagine the duckling as the last of several siblings, almost certainly with a large, maybe growing, gap between it and them; reinforcing the sense of torpor, that any strenuous movement feels like hard work; and bestowing an unspoken sympathy for, or empathy with, the duckling and its plight: who among us hasn’t seen, or been , that duckling? It begs the question as to why the duckling is the slowest – has it momentarily been distracted by its curiosity to explore its surroundings and thus not noticed its family sailing away? That the two nouns both begin with ‘d’ and each follow one of the superlatives enriches the poem’s sonic balance.

It presents a familiar scene, and does so with an enviable simplicity which could easily have slipped into triteness without very considered word-choices born, I suspect, of intense looking and thinking

Barry might’ve chosen a more explicit present-tense verb in the third line – ‘struggles’, ‘hurries’ or ‘rushes’ perhaps – but ‘tries’ is markedly more ambiguous, and so it opens up any and all of those alternatives. It also sounds better, because it’s one syllable rather than two. Is there an implicit ‘and fails’? And what about the infinitive verb? Would ‘to keep up’ have been better or worse? For me, ‘catch’ is simply the right one.

working weekend— the Oxford Spelling Dictionary shouts asshole at me

(by Hamish Ironside)

This poem, from Ironside’s 2018 Iron Press collection, Three Blue Beans in a Blue Bladder , is what haiku poets would call a senryu, a haiku solely or mainly about an aspect of human life, characteristically lampooning a foible. Ironside arguably writes senryu which are as sharp and funny as anyone’s in the small pond of English-language haiku publication. In ‘working weekend’, we encounter self-deprecation; a laugh at the poet-persona’s expense, enhanced by a very British reference book blaring out a very American expletive when he assiduously checks a spelling. Beyond the comedy, however, lies a harassed individual at the old toad work, involving editing or typesetting, who’s undoubtedly aggrieved to be having to work at the weekend, either to meet a deadline or because of the money, or both, rather than relaxing and enjoying himself. As with much of the best comedy in any form, an underlying seriousness renders it bittersweet and consequently richer.

A look at the structure shows that here we have the typical two parts: the first has a concisely expressed time-stamp (though not a season reference) and the second encompasses the action. Again, the poem’s verb is important: ‘shouts’ is an inspired choice, almost as if the poet-persona’s grievance has become paranoia. The choice of expletive, too, works well, through the rhyme of ‘- hole ’ with ‘ Spell ’, and within the context of the third line as a whole, perhaps because the stress in ‘ asshole ’ is trochaic and because its ‘a’ sound is repeated in ‘at’. There’s an incidental end-rhyme between the last two lines which quietly augments the sound-pattern.

deep chords from the practice room … a bee stirs applemint

(by Peggy Willis Lyles)

This summery haiku, first published in the online journal The Heron’s Nest , has a lot going on within its 2–5–6 syllabic structure. Note the structure: the caesura, or ‘cut’, comes at the end of the second line which puts extra emphasis on the content of the third line, which, in this case, it fully withstands and abundantly justifies. Instinctively, the reader presumes the poet is in a garden, and that the chords from a room in the attached house emanate from a piano. Maybe a young person is at their daily practice; or perhaps it’s a band rehearsing and those chords are coming from guitars. Are doors or windows open; or is the music loud enough to be heard outside? The poet can’t give the full picture in such a compressed form, and each reader may complete it differently, so the words effectively become shorthand. The poem’s adjective is noteworthy: as the opening word, it sets the tone, and as a word with multiple meanings, it opens out the poem rather than facilitating a closed, definite interpretation.

The best nature haiku might just be the purest ecopoetry you’ll ever read

The ellipsis allows a brief pause before the second part: a focused, visual description, providing more specific information: it is the mellifluously-named applemint with which the bee is concerned. Naming it implicitly conveys the colour(s) of its flowers. Let’s look at the verb: ‘stirs’ is an inspired choice. Its half-rhyme with ‘chords’ falls subtly on the ear because the two words are separated by a line, but we see the rhyme also. (Of course, there is a more noticeable, fuller rhyme in the haiku, between ‘deep’ and ‘bee’.) Moreover, it’s a word which implies, and so economically, that the bee’s movement is loosening the nectar in the plant’s pinkish-white flowers, so that life’s cycle will continue. The music coming from the ‘off-stage’ practice room soundtracks the bee at its work. Perhaps the reader is also invited to discern a comparison , as if the bee is busying itself at the pace of the music, thereby providing a joyful, light and timeless picture of synchronicity. For a nanosecond frozen in time, all matter – both human and not – is in harmony. Here is Lucas’s poetic spell. The best nature haiku might just be the purest ecopoetry you’ll ever read.

In this essay, I’ve barely explored haiku’s possibilities. If you’re interested in haiku, then whatever you do, respect it like you would an old friend: don’t take it for granted and make sure you care for it.

Matthew Paul has been reading and writing haiku for over 30 years. His collections The Regulars (2006) and The Lammas Lands (2015) and the anthology Wing Beats: British Birds in Haiku (2008; co-written / edited with John Barlow) are all published by Snapshot Press. Matthew is a former committee member of the British Haiku Society and former co-editor of Presence haiku journal. His widely-published longer-form poetry has been collected in The Evening Entertainment (Eyewear Publishing, 2017). Matthew Paul regularly blogs about haiku, poetry per se and other matters.

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Poetry: a lockdown journey

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Open Access

Peer-reviewed

Research Article

Diversity and complexity of arthropod references in haiku

Contributed equally to this work with: Andrew R. Deans, Laura Porturas

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Methodology, Project administration, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliation Frost Entomological Museum, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Andrew R. Deans,
Laura Porturas

Published: April 3, 2024
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298865
Peer Review
Reader Comments

Haiku are short poems, each composed of about 10 words, that typically describe moments in nature. People have written haiku since at least the 17th century, and the medium continues to be popular with poets, amateurs, educators, and students. Collectively, these poems represent an opportunity to understand which aspects of nature—e.g., which taxa and biological traits—resonate with humans and whether there are temporal trends in their representation or the emotions associated with these moments. We tested this potential using a mix of linguistic and biological methods, in analyses of nearly 4,000 haiku that reference arthropods. We documented the taxa and the life history traits represented in these poems and how they changed over time. We also analyzed the poems for emotion and tone. Our results reveal a mix of predictable trends and compelling surprises, each of which stand to potentially inform engagement strategies. At least 99 families of arthropods, in 28 orders, are represented in these haiku. The eight most commonly referenced taxa, from highest to lowest number of references, include: Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, Araneae, Orthoptera, Hemiptera, and Odonata. Several common, conspicuous orders were never referenced, including Trichoptera, Plecoptera, and Megaloptera. The most commonly referenced traits relate to ecology (especially habitat, phenology, time of day), behavior (especially sound production), phenotype (especially color), and locomotion (especially flight). The least common traits in haiku relate to arthropod reproduction and physiology. Our analyses revealed few obvious temporal trends in the representations of taxa, biological traits, or emotion and tone. The broader implications of these results and possible future directions are discussed.

Citation: Deans AR, Porturas L (2024) Diversity and complexity of arthropod references in haiku. PLoS ONE 19(4): e0298865. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298865

Editor: Christian Wegener, Biocenter, Universität Würzburg, GERMANY

Received: October 26, 2023; Accepted: February 1, 2024; Published: April 3, 2024

Copyright: © 2024 Deans, Porturas. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: We provide here those poems that are in the public domain and those we have permission to share. Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs) and International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs) are provided to the source publications, which allow anyone with access to the Internet to reconstruct the full corpus. All of the digital sources for the poems analyzed in this study are open access. The data sets provided here do have all all the data used in our statistical analyses and those data that were used to generate figures.

Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

Life abounds with ephemeral moments that evoke emotion, expose the profound, or otherwise effect inspiration. Imagine a dragonfly gliding effortlessly across a pond, a millipede slowly coiling in self defense, or a caterpillar smoothly descending from the canopy on a line of silk. Each of these seemingly simple events has the potential to awaken or reinforce one’s connection to the natural world. People often capture these experiences in short poems, called haiku . A haiku conveys such a moment intentionally and objectively, usually in about ten words, leaving the reader to infer emotional and sensory elements of that moment [ 1 ].

The literary origins of haiku date to the 17th century in Japan [ 2 ], or even earlier [ 3 ], but the popularity of haiku has soared globally over the last few decades [ 4 ]. There are now dozens of societies, journals, and competitions dedicated to the craft. The medium is also employed in countless classrooms worldwide, in exercises that teach mindfulness, grammar, and effective communication, among other educational and therapeutic goals [ 5 ]. Traditionally, these poems focused on natural events, and each haiku included a word or phrase, referred to as kigo [ 6 ], that alluded to the season [ 2 ]. Consider this haiku, by Mastuo Bashō (1644–1694), who is broadly considered to be the original haiku master [ 7 ]:

Spring rain falling

The roof leaks,

Trickling down the wasps’ nest.

“Spring rain” serves as the kigo. The reader also witnesses the wasps’ nest dripping with rain and can imagine the unstated elements Bashō experiences in that moment.

Thousands of haiku are published annually, and certainly tens of thousands or more are written each year. Collectively, they offer opportunities to understand how and which organisms inspire people, which biological traits resonate with the human experience, and where openings may exist for more effective outreach regarding biodiversity and conservation [ 8 , 9 ]. Given the long history of haiku, one could also examine how biological references in haiku have changed temporally. Poets may incorporate increasingly sophisticated references over time, for example, as shared knowledge of organismal biology increases. Alternatively, the diversity of biology represented in haiku may decrease over time, as people spend more time indoors or otherwise have fewer encounters with wildlife [ 10 – 12 ].

We aim here to explore this potential, by analyzing a set of haiku, broadly defined, using linguistic and biological approaches. Our focus is on haiku that reference insects and their relatives, including arachnids and myriapods (Arthropoda). Here, we address the following questions: (1) What arthropods and which aspects of their biology are represented in haiku? (2) Have arthropod references in haiku changed over time? (3) What can we glean from the language used in haiku, regarding public sentiment towards different arthropod taxa and their associated biological traits?

Materials and methods

Corpus assembly.

We assembled a primary corpus of 3,894 relevant haiku, internationally sourced and written by 1,248 individual poets between and 1549 and 2022. These poems were acquired from more than 65 unique sources (>400 volumes), including haiku-focused websites, journal volumes, books, and poetry competitions. About one third of the poems (n = 1129) were sourced from a poetry contest specifically focused on insect-related haiku, the Hexapod Haiku Challenge (HHC; [ 13 ]). This source includes 236 haiku written by poets under the age of 13, which provides a small window into potential age-related differences in arthropod references. Only haiku that were written in English or had been translated into English were included in our analysis. A complete list of sources is available in S1 Appendix . The haiku were extracted manually from each source and organized in a spreadsheet with relevant metadata, using Dublin Core [ 14 ] terms: “contributor” (who added the poem to the data set), “creator” (poet’s name), “date” (date of publication or poet’s death year, if publication year unknown), “dateSubmitted” (timestamp for when the poem was added to the data set), and “source” (the resource from which the haiku was found). Additional headers for “poem” (the text of the poem itself, pasted without regard to formatting), “identifier” (unique string for reference), and “notes” (any comments made by the contributor) were also used. The primary corpus is available as S2 File , which includes the poems we have permission to share and URIs to those haiku still under copyright.

Scoring biological complexity

A subset of haiku was compiled as a secondary corpus and scored for 69 variables related to biological complexity and the lowest-level taxon represented. Given the labor intensive nature of this process, we limited our scoring to 2,500 haiku S1 File , representing each creator in the primary corpus and including 1,003 HHC poems. Detailed descriptions of our scoring method and variables are provided in supplementary document S2 Appendix . A list of the variable categories and two scoring examples are provided below. To calculate a haiku’s complexity, we scored variables as present (+1) or absent (0) for each major category below and for each of its lower-level variables:

locomotion : ambulatory, cursory, saltatory, natatory, skating, flight, in place
reproduction : courtship, mating, oviposition, hatching, brood care
anatomy/phenotype : legs, antenna, mouthparts, head, wings, genitalia, defensive structure, setae, color/pattern, extended phenotype
physiology : digestion, molting, metamorphosis, vision, chemosensory, hearing, neural, thermoregulation, bioluminescence, phototaxis, biological sex
life stage : egg, immature, pupa, imago (adult)
behavior (not reproduction) : mimicry, predation, prey, aposematism, parasitism, foraging, pollination, feeding, defense, sound production, sociality, migration, dispersal, grooming
ecology : domestic, peridomestic, not domestic (wild), association, paleontological, phenological (seasonal), temporal (circadian)

As an example, consider this haiku from 1812, penned by Kobayashi Issa and translated by David G. Lanoue [ 15 ]:

the hairy bug

becomes a butterfly …

summer moon

We scored it as positive (+1) for setae (“hairy”), which is a variable of anatomy/phenotype (+1); for metamorphosis (“becomes”; +1), which is a variable of physiology (+1); for adult (+1) and larva (+1); for the explicit phenology (“summer”; +1) and allusive temporal (“moon”; +1) references, which are variables of ecology (+1). This matrix yielded a complexity score of 13.04 (= 9/69 × 100) for this poem. Based on the word “butterfly”, the lowest-level taxon was recorded as Papilionoidea. Another poem by Issa, from 1806 [ 15 ], scored considerably lower in biological complexity:

while swatting a fly

today again …

the mountain temple bell

This poem vaguely references locomotion (people swat at flies that are either flying or in place; +1) and ecology (“mountain temple” hints at the fly’s habitat; +1), and it references life stage (imago; +1). This matrix yields a complexity score of 4.35 (= 3/69 × 100). Based on the word “fly”, we recorded the lowest-level taxon as Diptera.

Linguistic analyses

We analyzed the secondary corpus for word use, tone, and emotion using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) application (LIWC-22; [ 16 ]). LIWC-22 compares contents of the corpus with built-in word banks associated with each linguistic category. Output scores for the trait categories from this analysis were appended to our dataset. We focused on the following linguistic variables: positive tone (tone_pos), negative tone (tone_neg), emotion (emotion), positive emotion (emo_pos), negative emotion (emo_neg), and anxiety (emo_anx). These scores are the proportion of words in the haiku that match to the LIWC software word-banks for each of the different linguistic categories/variables. If a haiku has 9 words total and 3 of them match words in the tone_pos word bank, the haiku would have a score of (3/9 =) 0.333 for that variable. If it also has 1 word that matches words in the tone_neg word bank, it receives a (1/9 =) 0.111 for that variable.

Word clusters were identified using AntConc [ 17 , 18 ] on the primary corpus, focusing especially on the most common arthropod words (with wildcards): butterfl*; spider*||web; ant||ants; firefl*; dragonfl*; crick*; cicad*; mosquito*; moth*; etc. More details regarding AntConc settings, variables, and early results can be found in supplementary document S3 Appendix . The AntConc analyses were used to highlight linguistic trends, references to each taxon over time, and reveal potentially overlooked connections between taxa and biological traits.

Taxon hierarchies and diversity

To more fully understand the taxonomic richness of our dataset and to explore broader taxonomic trends, we placed each reference of an arthropod (i.e., each lowest-level taxon) within a taxonomic hierarchy. Some haiku referenced more than one taxon, and each reference was separated as an independent record. Higher-level taxonomic names were obtained for referenced taxa using the “tax_name” function in the package “taxize” [ 19 ], in R Statistical Software version 4.2.1 [ 20 ]. We chose to query only the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) [ 21 ] database for this step. Deviations from this query include the following: (a) we use Anthophila to represent bees, rather than the broader taxon Apoidea, and (b) we treat Psocodea as an order, in line with our current understanding of insect classification.

To get a better sense of whether each taxon was over- or underrepresented in haiku, relative to its diversity and likelihood of human encounter, we compared the number of references to their alpha diversity (number of species; see references in Discussion ) and the proportion of arthropod occurrences on iNaturalist [ 22 ]. iNaturalist is a Web-based application, where people can upload records, including photos and sound recordings, of organisms they encounter. Unlike other, similar resources, for example the photo sharing application Flickr ( https://flickr.com/ ), iNaturalist uses a taxonomic hierarchy to organize their data, which allowed us to more readily estimate rates of encounter.

Recording haiku source

Haiku that were sourced from the Hexapod Haiku Challenge were categorized as “HH”, and the other haiku collected websites, journal volumes, books, and poetry competitions were categorized as “other”.

A generalized linear model (family = quasipoisson) was used to examine whether time, haiku source, or # of authors was a predictor for taxon diversity (estimated by # of unique taxonomic orders/year) referenced in haiku. The analysis was restricted to years that had 10 or more haiku, and performed using the glm() function in base R (R version 4.2.1) [ 20 ].

A linear mixed effects model was used to examine whether time, haiku source, or # of authors was a predictor for biological complexity referenced in haiku. Time, haiku source, and # of authors were included as fixed effects, and taxonomic order was included as a random effect. The analysis was restricted to years that had 10 or more haiku, and performed using the function lmer() from the package “lme4: Linear Mixed-Effects Models using ‘Eigen’ and S4” [ 23 ].

Nonparametric multivariate analyses were used to determine whether any of the LIWC variables related to the tone & emotion of haiku in the dataset (tone_pos, tone_neg, emotion, emo_pos, emo_neg, emo_anx) were dependent on categorical groups of interest (e.g., haiku written about adult insects vs. immature insects, or domestic vs. outdoor arthropods). We used the function nonpartest() from the package “npmv: Nonparametric Comparison of Multivariate Samples” [ 24 ]. When all four test statistics can be calculated (ANOVA-Type, Lawley-Hotelling Type, Bartlett-Nanda-Pillai-Type, Wilks’ Λ-Type), it is recommended the Wilks’ Λ-Type statistic be used [ 25 ]. For each comparison, permutation replications were set to 1000, and prior to analysis, haiku that referenced more than one of the categorical variables were removed (e.g., a haiku that referenced both adult insects and immature insects would be excluded) to help eliminate the possibility of response values being incorrectly applied to multiple categories.

To summarize the strength and direction of the relationships between LIWC variables and time (date), we calculated Spearman’s Rank correlation coefficient using the cor.test() function in base R (R version 4.2.1) [ 20 ].

The R packages “dplyr: A Grammar of Data Manipulation” [ 26 ] and “tidyr: Tidy Messy Data” [ 27 ] were both used to manipulate and organize data. the R package “ggplot2: Create Elegant Data Visualisations Using the Grammar of Graphics” [ 28 ] were used to generate some figures.

Taxonomic trends

The 2,500 haiku in our secondary corpus included 2,611 references to arthropods, with reference to 24 of the 33 major taxonomic groups in Fig 1 (far right column). The referenced arthropods come from 28 different taxonomic orders and represent at least 99 taxonomic families. Some taxa are predictably well-represented ( Fig 2 ). Lepidoptera, for example, which includes many large, colorful, and otherwise conspicuous species of butterfly and moth, had the most references (n = 510). Hymenoptera (ants, wasps, bees; n = 347), Diptera (mosquitoes, flies; n = 314), Coleoptera (fireflies, beetles; n = 310), and Araneae (spiders; n = 220) round out the top five most referenced taxa. Each of these taxa includes well over 50,000 named species worldwide, many of which are conspicuous and familiar.

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Bar size represents proportion in each category, relative to other categories. Blue = alpha diversity (number of species); red = representation on iNaturalist; yellow = representation in haiku. Three bars of equal size for a taxon would indicate that its representation is proportional across all categories (i.e., that the taxon comprises the same percentage in each category). See Discussion for references regarding the diversity of each taxon.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298865.g001

Rectangle sizes are proportional and represent major taxonomic names referenced in haiku. The arrangement is roughly phylogenetic, with blue rectangles representing Holometabola, green rectangles non-holometabolous Hexapoda, and gray representing non-hexapod Arthropoda.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298865.g002

Nine higher-level taxa were not referenced in any haiku ( Fig 1 , bottom rows), and four were only referenced once. Predictably, some of these taxa are depauperate and/or tend to have species of very small size. Zoraptera (zero references), for example, are small, cryptic insects with stringent habitat requirements [ 29 ] and <50 species. Protura (one reference) are even smaller in size, generally requiring a microscope to observe. Supplementary S1 File contains the raw numbers for representation by taxon, which are summarized by Fig 2 and S1 Table .

As described above, we compared the taxonomic representation against alpha diversity and proportion of arthropod occurrences on iNaturalist, to get a better sense of whether each taxon was over- or underrepresented in haiku, relative to its diversity and likelihood of human encounter. Lepidoptera is the most frequently referenced taxon in our corpus, for example, accounting for 20.9% of arthropod references (yellow bar in Fig 1 ). Lepidoptera is overrepresented in haiku, relative to the number of species in the taxon (13.6% of all arthropod species; blue bar in Fig 1 ) but underrepresented relative to their frequency of encounter on iNaturalist (44.95% of the almost 14,000,000 arthropod observations recorded on that platform; red bar in Fig 1 ). The representation of Hemiptera in haiku (7.87% of references) closely resembles their species diversity (8.95% of all arthropod species) and likelihood of encounter (7.06% of arthropod occurrences on iNaturalist). Siphonaptera (fleas), on the other hand, are vastly overrepresented in haiku (1.02% of arthropod references), relative to their species-level diversity (2,075 species; 0.18% of arthropods) and frequency of encounter on iNaturalist (n = 73; 0.0005% of occurrences). These trends are discussed further in the taxon-specific summaries below, which also includes the results related to subordinal taxa.

Examining the relative proportions of taxa, binned by decade ( S1 Fig ) also reveals several notable trends. References to fleas (Siphonaptera), for example, are much more abundant in haiku prior to 1900, possibly because of improvements in pest control [ 30 ], hygiene related to livestock/pets, and increased urbanization [ 31 ]. References to bed bugs (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), however, are all contemporary (2010–2022), likely due to their recent resurgence globally [ 32 , 33 ]. References to a third group of common, flightless parasites, sucking lice (Psocodea: Anoplura), are relatively evenly distributed across time. The relative consistency of taxonomic representation since 1950 ( S1 Fig ) is also notable. However, we cannot discount the fact that our uneven temporal sampling of haiku, or even mistranslation into English, may explain or at least influence some of these trends. Subordinal trends are presented and discussed in the taxon summaries below.

We determined that there were significant positive effects of both time and number of authors on the taxonomic diversity referenced in haiku (t(33) = 4.09, p<.001 and t(33) = 3.63, p<.001, respectively), and a significant negative effect of haiku source “other” t(33) = -2.23, p = 0.026).

Biological trends

The insect biology referenced in these 2,500 haiku was similarly sophisticated yet uneven ( Fig 3 ). The average haiku, composed of merely nine or ten words, had a complexity score of 7.52, meaning that just over five out of the 69 traits we scored (three major trait categories plus two more specific traits) were referenced. The poem with the highest complexity score (20.29), written by Gina Burns in 2010, referenced 14 different biological traits (9 specific traits in 5 major categories):

Tiny eggs on glass

Like jeweled beads for our eyes

Hatch, fly, eat, mate, lay

Seventeen haiku scored as zero for biological complexity, for example this haiku by John Soules [ 34 ].

all the promises

Rectangle sizes are proportional to the number of references for each category. Labels in ALL CAPS refer to subtle references to major biological categories that could not be confidently assigned to any one subcategory.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298865.g003

The arthropods’ relationships with their environment, what we refer to as their “ecology”, were by far the most commonly referenced traits. More than 83% of the haiku in our corpus (n = 2,082) referred to ecology, and five of the top 10 most referenced biological traits fit this theme: habitat (not domestic (wild), n = 506; domestic, n = 369; peridomestic, n = 261), time of day (temporal, n = 416), and time of year (phenology; n = 354). Other variables in the top 10 relate to life stage (adult, n = 1,529), locomotion (flying, n = 398; in place, n = 227), behavior (sound production, n = 308), and phenotype (color/pattern, n = 230; extended phenotype, n = 194). By contrast, only 112 haiku (<5%) refer to aspects of reproduction, the least popular category of biological references.

To examine temporal trends in the representation of different biological traits in haiku, we plotted the relative proportions of the top 20 biological traits ( S3 Fig ) and the major trait categories, binned by decade ( S2 Fig ). Unsurprisingly, the biological traits and the larger biological categories show similar trends through time. Of note, the relative proportions of different biological traits referenced remain fairly stable through time, with the exception of those decades with small sample sizes.

We found that neither time, number of authors, nor haiku source influenced the complexity of biological traits references (t(332) = 1.90, p = 0.058, t(332) = 0.23, p = 0.819, and t(332) = 0.91, p = 0.36, respectively).

Tone and emotional language trends

The following comparisons test whether the defined categories influence the language related tone and emotion in haiku.

Adult vs. immature arthropods.

For this comparison, only the ANOVA-Type statistic could be computed, and we found no evidence that the language related to tone and emotion differs between the haiku referencing adult (n = 1500) vs. immature (n = 111) arthropods (ANOVA-Type statistic 3.056,1252.642 = 1.043, p = 0.373, permutation p = 0.369).

Domestic vs. outdoor arthropods.

Despite the fact that increasing urbanization and encounters with insects indoors are correlated with more negative opinion of insects [ 35 , 36 ], we found no evidence that language differs between the haiku referencing domestic (n = 367), peridomestic (n = 259), or not-domestic (n = 506) (Wilks’ Λ-Type statistic 12,2248 = 1.119, p = 0.340; permutation p = 0.082).

Between taxonomic orders.

Only orders with 10 or more references were included. Our results reveal there are differences in the language used between taxonomic orders (Araneae n = 227, Blattodea = 38, Coleoptera = 311, Diptera = 314, Ephemeroptera = 11, Hemiptera = 192, Hymenoptera = 347, Lepidoptera = 510, Mantodea = 35, Odonata = 135, Orthoptera = 204, Psocodea = 12, Scorpiones = 15, Siphonaptera = 25) (Wilks’ Λ-Type statistic 78.000,13001.710 = 2.901, p<0.001; permutation p<0.001). The relative effects (probability that a random sample from one group is higher than a random sample from another group) of taxon order on the LIWC variables indicating attitude were strongest in haiku referencing Scorpiones (scorpions); relative effects for negative tone = 0.80627, negative emotion = 0.73256, anxiety = 0.62604, and emotion = 0.70240. Haiku referencing scorpions also had a lower relative effect regarding positive tone = 0.43248. Haiku referencing Psocodea (lice) had more subtly elevated relative effects for negative tone = 0.58240, negative emotion = 0.55433, and emotion = 0.57172, but surprisingly also had an elevated effect for positive tone = 0.58218. Haiku referencing Ephemeroptera (mayflies) had a slightly elevated relative effect for positive tone = 0.55293, and a low relative effect regarding negative tone = 0.42361. Surprisingly, haiku referencing Mantodea (mantids) had an elevated negative tone = 0.56744. The remaining relative effects of taxon order on the LIWC variables ranged between 0.45 and 0.55, which are very close to 0.50, indicating little to no probability of differences in language that reflect attitude.

Flying vs. non-flying other types of locomotion.

For this comparison, only the ANOVA-Type statistic could be computed, and we found no evidence that language use differs between the haiku referencing flying insects (n = 376) vs. arthropods using other types of locomotion (n = 404) (ANOVA-Type statistic 3.072,2386.679 = 0.958, p = 0.413; permutation p = 0.41).

Singing vs. non-singing.

For this comparison, only the ANOVA-Type statistic could be computed, and we found evidence for differences in language used between haiku referencing singing insects (n = 308) vs. haiku that did not reference singing (n = 2192) (ANOVA-Type statistic 2.92,3145.172 = 8.49, p<0.001, permutation p<0.001). However, the effects were very modest, and the haiku written about singing insects were slightly more likely to have both positive and negative language in the haiku (relative effects: positive tone = 0.53683, negative tone = 0.53377, negative emotion = 0.53457, and emotion = 0.53869).

Color vs. other.

For this comparison, only the ANOVA-Type statistic could be computed, and we did find that there were significant differences between haiku referencing insect coloration (n = 230) vs. those that did not (n = 2270) (ANOVA-Type statistic 2.938,2444.1 = 2.818, p = 0.039, permutation p = 0.035). The effects were very modest, with the haiku referencing color in insects containing only slightly more positive language in haiku than those that did not reference insect coloration (relative effect: positive tone = 0.52491). Research elsewhere suggests that colorful insects are less likely to elicit disgust in an observer, than their less colorful counterparts [ 37 ].

Emotion over time.

To test whether there was detectable change in LIWC variables over time, we calculated Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Our results reveal no correlations between these variables and time: positive tone ( ρ = 0.02086308, p = 0.2971); negative tone ( ρ = 0.000325706, p = 0.987); emotion ( ρ = -0.01276468, p = 0.5235); positive emotion ( ρ = 0.005387698, p = 0.7877); negative emotion ( ρ = -0.01772976, p = 0.3756; anxiety ( ρ = 0.02020234, p = 0.3126).

Most commonly referenced taxa

Araneae (spiders)..

Spiders are frequently referenced in haiku (263 poems in the primary corpus, 220 in secondary corpus), but this is mostly a recent phenomenon. More than 98% of the references were published from 1960 onward. Taxonomically, there is a strong bias towards araneomorph spiders (72% of references in the secondary corpus), especially including those species that make orb and cob webs, when compared to the other major spider lineages: Mygalomorphae (3% of spider references) and Mesothelae (0%). About 25% of spider references could not be determined below Araneae. Active hunters, like the charismatic jumping spiders (Araneomorphae: Salticidae; 3% of spider references) and wolf spiders (Araneomorphae: Lycosidae; 1%) are hardly ever referenced. References of the unmistakable, diverse (1,047 spp.; [ 38 ]), and compelling tarantulas (Mygalomorphae: Theraphosidae), were scant in haiku (2% of spider references). The proportion of tarantula records in iNaturalist (<2% of spider records; [ 22 ]), however, is similarly sparse.

The most common biological attributes referenced in haiku about spiders relate to their extended phenotype, i.e., their webs (n = 131), and locomotion (n = 75). This result mirrors what we see in the AntConc analyses on the primary corpus. The top nine associated words from the cluster analysis of “spider”, for example, are: web, webs, weaves, crawls, silk, jumping, moves, descends, and thread. Spiders were also more likely to be referenced as inside or around a home or building (domestic, n = 70; peridomestic, n = 23) than in nature (not domestic, n = 33), and they had the highest proportion of domestic references relative to the other arthropod orders analyzed. Interestingly, spiders comprise only 16% of all arthropod taxa found indoors in a recent survey [ 39 ], and both abundance and diversity of spiders outdoors far exceeds those found indoors.

Odonata (dragonflies, damselflies).

Odonata were referenced in 182 haiku (135 in the secondary corpus), and, unlike for spiders, the references reveal no obvious historical bias. Culturally, they have been popular insects since the 1600s. References to Anisoptera (dragonflies) abound, encompassing 89% of all Odonata references. Only ∼5% of these references, however, included enough information to determine a taxon below suborder. Zygoptera (damselflies) makes up slightly more than half of all odonate species (3,218 of 6,330 described spp.; 50.8% [ 40 ]) and ∼32% of odonate iNaturalist records [ 22 ] and yet comprise a mere 10% of Odonata references in the secondary corpus. Anisoptera on average are larger, faster, and otherwise more conspicuous, which may account for the bias in their representation.

Flight (n = 54) was the most common biological trait referenced in haiku about Odonata, followed by references to color (n = 35). The cluster analysis of the primary corpus likewise yields terms related to flying (hover, hovers, flying, lands) and color (red, blue). Odonata also had the highest proportion of wild habitat references (not domestic, n = 48 or 75% of the habitat references for this taxon). Given the conspicuous nature of adult dragonflies and damselflies, with their bright colors and adept flight, life stage references were dominated by adults (122 references to imago vs. one for immature and three for egg). Immature odonates (called “naiads” [ 41 ]) live underwater and are camouflaged with their surroundings. They are not as readily observed as adults.

Orthoptera (crickets, katydids, grasshoppers).

“Cricket”, “katydid”, and “grasshopper” appear to be used interchangeably by translators of Japanese haiku [ 15 , 42 ], which complicates our taxonomic assessment. Nevertheless, references to Orthoptera (308 haiku in the primary corpus; 204 in the secondary corpus) appear to be dominated by Ensifera, especially crickets (Gryllidae; 68% of orthopteran references). Ensifera accounts for ∼58% of all described orthopteran species [ 43 ] and ∼39% of orthopteran records on iNaturalist [ 22 ] but 79% of all Orthoptera references in the secondary corpus. Caelifera (grasshoppers and related orthopterans; ∼42% of Orthoptera spp., ∼60% of orthopteran records on iNaturalist) was represented by only 21% of the orthopteran references, most which were grasshoppers (Acrididea, probably mainly Acrididae). A recent survey of domestic environments found that the vast majority of home invaders are Ensifera (e.g., 100% of orthopteran home invaders in [ 39 ]), which may explain this bias in haiku. Ensifera also has more species that sing, compared to Caelifera, and these species tend to have louder calls than caeliferans [ 44 ]. Similar to Odonata, Orthoptera appear in haiku fairly consistently across time.

As expected, haiku that mention Orthoptera were dominated by references to sound production (n = 125, out of 204 haiku). Six of the top eight words revealed in the AntConc clusters include: chirp, chirps, song, cricky, sings, singing. These insects are well-known songsters and have been kept as companions by many cultures around the world [ 45 , 46 ]. Other commonly referenced traits related to seasonality (n = 42) and time of day (n = 65). A defining feature of Orthoptera is their elongate, saltatorial hind legs, and yet we could only find eight references to jumping. Zero haiku referenced these insects’ fighting behaviors, which otherwise is well represented culturally [ 45 ].

Hemiptera (aphids, cicadas, true bugs).

References to Hemiptera are fairly common and consistent across time in the primary corpus, with 274 references in haiku (192 in the secondary corpus). There is a bias towards Auchenorrhyncha (∼68% of Hemiptera references), driven by references to Cicadidae (>98% of Auchenorrhyncha references; 67% of all Hemiptera references). Cicadas, which tend to be large, conspicuous, and gregarious insects that sing loudly, are common cultural icons [ 47 ]. The next two most commonly referenced insects are water striders (Heteroptera: Gerridae), which skate along the surface of bodies of water, and stink bugs (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), also referred to as “fart bugs” by translators. Despite the extraordinary diversity of Sternorrhyncha (scale insects, whiteflies, aphids, etc.), which comprises >18,000 spp. [ 48 ] and is represented by >53,000 records in iNaturalist [ 22 ], and which includes species that are common pests but also species that produce important products (dyes, lac, manna) [ 49 ], these insects made up a paltry 7% of Hemiptera references. Almost all Sternorrhyncha references were about aphids (Aphidoidea).

As expected, given the popularity of Cicadidae, biological references were dominated by sound production (n = 89), with AntConc clusters including terms like chirr, chirrs, sing, sings, chorus, cries, cry, singing, and song. Other commonly referenced traits include their natural habitat (not domestic, n = 50) and allusions to their seasonality (n = 39) and time of day (n = 39).

Hymenoptera (wasps, bees, ants).

References to Hymenoptera were found in 366 haiku in the primary corpus (347 in the secondary corpus) and were dominated by those species capable of stinging (Aculeata). Aculeates accounted for 96% of the references. For comparison, Aculeata includes 65,258 described species (42.7% of all Hymenoptera; [ 50 ]) and an astounding 1,241,890 records on iNaturalist (88.7% of all Hymenoptera records on that site; [ 22 ]). Bees (Anthophila; 43% of hymenopteran references) and ants (Formicidae; 42% of hymenopteran references), which together comprise more than 29,000 species, or about 20% of described Hymenoptera [ 50 ], are the most commonly referenced aculeates. As with spiders, haiku about Hymenoptera are mostly a recent phenomenon; only ∼6% of the references were published prior to 1959 (18/347 in secondary corpus). Given their ecosystem services (e.g., pollination), natural products (wax, honey), the long, global history of apiculture [ 51 ], the social nature of many species, and the prevalence of these insects in the environment (e.g., more than half the total biomass of terrestrial arthropods globally is ants [ 52 , 53 ]) and in our homes [ 39 ], we expect to see many references to bees and ants in haiku. The paucity of references before 1959 is surprising.

Biological trait references for Hymenoptera mostly allude to foraging (n = 78) and related traits: pollination (n = 21), flying (n = 31), walking (n = 52). Top clusters from AntConc include words like scurry, walks, crawling, march, circles. Habitat was another commonly referenced trait: domestic (n = 31, primarily Formicidae), peridomestic (n = 47), not domestic (n = 71). Despite Aculeata accounting for 96% of the hymenopterans in haiku, poets made relatively few references to defense (n = 44) or to the sting itself (defensive structure, n = 5). Many aculeate species are social, and there were 74 references to sociality in the secondary corpus.

Coleoptera (beetles, fireflies).

References to beetles (347 haiku in the primary corpus; 311 in secondary corpus) largely focused on species in Polyphaga (91%), especially fireflies (Lampyridae; 59% of Coleoptera references) and ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae; 18% of Coleoptera references). Given the cultural importance of these taxa [ 47 , 54 , 55 ], it is not surprising to see them represented frequently in haiku. However, Scarabaeoidea (e.g., scarabs, stag beetles) also includes many large, conspicuous, and culturally relevant beetles [ 56 , 57 ]; yet they make up only about 9% of the beetle references in haiku. Another surprisingly underrepresented taxon is Cerambycidae, the longhorn beetles, which was referenced in only one haiku. These beetles are extraordinarily diverse (>30,000 species, ∼8% of all beetle species; [ 58 ]) and are represented by 210,413 records on iNaturalist (13.1% of beetle records and the second most reported beetle family; [ 22 ]). Carabidae likewise was represented in only two haiku, despite having about 40,000 species (>10% of all beetle species; [ 58 ]) and 126,483 records in iNaturalist (∼8% of all beetle records; [ 22 ]). References to Coleoptera across time are relatively consistent.

Bioluminescence (n = 111) was the most frequently referenced biological trait, which is unsurprising, given the popularity of fireflies in haiku. Other common traits relate to the behavior of flashing of fireflies, especially night references (temporal, n = 86), phenology (n = 38), and flight (n = 55). The top 20 AntConc clusters include terms related to locomotion (flits, flitting, come, flies), phenology (first), and bioluminescence (calling, lights).

Diptera (mosquitoes, midges, flies, maggots).

We found 197 references in the primary corpus but 314 in the secondary corpus, where determinations were more confidently assigned. The word “fly” returned numerous irrelevant results in AntConc (flying, butterfly, firefly, etc.) Diptera references were fairly evenly distributed over time. Taxonomically, we see an high representation of mosquitoes (Culicidae; 42% of Diptera references), relative to other families. For context, mosquitoes comprise 3,725 species (∼2.4% of all Diptera; [ 59 ]) and 18,205 records in iNaturalist (∼2.8% of all Diptera records; [ 22 ]). Mosquitoes are abundant and often pestiferous in the adult stage, with many species capable of vectoring important human and veterinary diseases. Other biting flies, including horse flies (Tabanidae), black flies (Simuliidae), and tsetse flies (Glossinidae), together received as many references as the common house fly (Muscidae: Musca ). At least 39% of Diptera references were not determinable below the order.

The polysemic nature of the word “fly” complicated our AntConc cluster analysis, but we did find many words associated with mosquito behavior (swarms, swarming, whine, whines, pesky) and cultural control (net, nets, and “smudge”, which refers to burning substances that produce a repellent smoke). Of the biological traits scored in the secondary corpus, ecological variables were by far the richest, especially habitat (n = 167), phenology (n = 55), and temporal (n = 46) references. Behavior was the second richest category, especially traits related to feeding (foraging, n = 18; parasitism, n = 38) and sound production (n = 25).

Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths).

Lepidoptera are the most commonly referenced insects in haiku, with 498 references in the primary corpus and 510 references in the secondary corpus. About 68% of lepidopteran references are about butterflies (Papilionoidea). Monarchs, Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus, 1758), and cabbage whites, Pieris rapae (Linnaeus, 1758), were the most identifiable species in the secondary corpus. These species are abundant, well-known (e.g., see [ 60 ]), and widespread, with 156,878 and 61,613 records, respectively, on iNaturalist [ 22 ]. The relative commonness of bagworm references (Psychidae; 1,350 spp., <1% of all Lepidoptera spp.; [ 61 ], compared to other small families, was surprising to us but mirrors references to this taxon in other cultural contexts [ 62 – 64 ]. Lepidoptera references were distributed fairly evenly across time.

As with most other arthropod references, the adult stage is the primary focus (imago, n = 388). Lepidoptera did have the most references to immature stages (n = 92), though, given the familiarity of caterpillars. The most frequently referenced traits overall were flight (n = 161), color/pattern (n = 92), and habitat (not domestic, n = 121, peridomestic, n = 65; domestic, n = 40). The top 27 AntConc clusters include terms related mainly to size (little), locomotion (flits, flitting, lands, dance, fly), color (white, blue, yellow, black), and to the type of lepidopteran (tiger, monarch, luna).

General impressions

Altogether, the references to biological traits mirror what is generally understood about children’s knowledge of insect biology and which aspects of insect biology we suspected would resonate with members of the general public. Children readily recall details about an insect’s ecology [ 65 ] and feeding behavior [ 66 ], for example, but have a poor understanding about how insects reproduce [ 67 ] and about arthropod anatomy beyond the presence of wings, legs, and an exoskeleton [ 68 , 69 ]. We found no equivalent knowledge surveys for adults, who comprise the vast majority of poets in our data set, but it is possible that these trends hold true in the haiku-writing public, independent of age.

Regardless, our results provide insights into which arthropods and biological traits are notable (or not) to people. This knowledge provides entomologists and educators with target subjects for broader engagement. For example, aquatic arthropods provide an extraordinary array of ecosystem services [ 70 ], serve as critical bioindicators [ 71 ] and sources for bioinspiration [ 72 ], and they are commonly collected as bait. Haiku about these arthropods and their biology, however, are surprisingly rare. For example, not a single poem in our primary corpus mentioned Trichoptera (caddisflies, 14,999 species), Plecoptera (stoneflies, 3,788 species), nor Megaloptera (alderflies, dobsonflies, 354 species). A single poem referred to Chironomidae, which, with >7,300 species, is the most diverse family of aquatic insects [ 73 ]. These taxa represent a stunningly diverse array of compelling life history traits, and many of the species are common, conspicuous, and charismatic. The absence of aquatic arthropods in haiku may represent a gap in the public’s knowledge of these organisms and hence an opportunity for novel engagement.

Alternatively, entomologists could use the results of these analyses to strengthen their outreach with more references to the known. Reinforcing programs and curricula with well-understood taxa and traits—butterflies and their colors, spiders and their webs, fireflies and bioluminescence, etc.—might allow for more efficient transfer of knowledge about arthropods.

Second, our corpus is quite uneven in its representation of haiku across time ( S4 Fig ), poet type, and geographic region. Amateur writers, especially children, might be more likely to incorporate words that are represented in the LIWC-22 word banks (i.e., to use language that is more overtly emotional). The poems by children, however, are represented in our data set only from 2008–2012. Interestingly, the strongest emotional trend revealed in these poems relate to the negativity surrounding scorpions. Most of the scorpion haiku (n = 14/15) are from the Hexapod Haiku Challenge submissions, and they were largely written by children under the age of 13 (n = 12/15). Likewise, poets in certain geographic regions may limit their representation of insects to those taxa that are readily observed in those regions and/or those taxa that are traditionally included in the medium (i.e., literary inertia). For example, the poems in our corpus that were written prior to the 1920s are exclusively from Japan, whereas the poems from after that decade are increasingly international.

Computational lexicology [ 75 ] and related quantitative analyses of culture [ 76 ] and knowledge [ 77 ] continue to reveal insights that potentially inform education, outreach, and conservation. Poetry stands as a compelling medium to further prospect for these insights, given the deliberative word choice and frequent inclusion of nature. Haiku, which are poems that intentionally and frequently represent moments in nature, are especially relevant in this context. Our analyses of nearly 4,000 representative poems (more than 37,000 words) reveal many surprising results, articulated above, that have already catalyzed conversations locally about future engagement activities. Studies of larger, more even bodies of text would undoubtedly allow for broader and more robust conclusions about how different arthropods are perceived by the general public and whether outreach programs can be further adapted for more effective engagement.

Supporting information

S1 table. arthropod representation in haiku..

Columns represent (L to R): taxon, including common names; number of described species in each taxon [ 78 , 79 ]; percent of total relevant arthropod species; number of occurrences for each taxon in iNaturalist [ 22 ]; percent of relevant arthropod occurrences in iNaturalist; number of references in the 2500 haiku corpus for each taxon; percent of all arthropod references in the corpus. Rows in bold had zero references in haiku. Rows highlighted in yellow are taxa with few species and no references in haiku. Rows in orange represent taxa that are surprisingly underrepresented.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298865.s001

S1 File. Secondary corpus with results.

This spreadsheet contains all the haiku analyzed as the secondary corpus, with results from the trait scoring and the LIWC-22 analysis.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298865.s002

S2 File. Primary corpus.

This spreadsheet contains all the haiku analyzed as the primary corpus, which includes the haiku in the secondary corpus. This corpus was used with AntConc, to get lists of words associated with arthropods.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298865.s003

S1 Fig. Taxonomic representation through time.

This figure illustrates the proportion of haiku that reference any particular taxon at a particular period of time.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298865.s004

S2 Fig. Trait category representation through time.

This figure illustrates the proportion of haiku that reference the major trait categories in each decade.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298865.s005

S3 Fig. Top 20 traits through time.

This figure illustrates the proportion of haiku that reference the top 20 traits in each decade.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298865.s006

S4 Fig. Number of haiku in the primary corpus over time.

This histogram illustrates the number of poems per year that are represented in the primary corpus.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298865.s007

S1 Appendix. Corpus construction.

This document describes the strategies and resources used in constructing the corpora of haiku that reference arthropods. This document is also available through Penn State’s institutional repository, ScholarSphere: https://doi.org/10.26207/gpxg-q347 .

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298865.s008

S2 Appendix. Biological variables and scoring methods.

This document describes the process used to score haiku for biological complexity and taxon. This document is also available through Penn State’s institutional repository, ScholarSphere: https://doi.org/10.26207/04h1-a695 .

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298865.s009

S3 Appendix. AntConc analyses.

This document describes the cluster analyses and results using the AntConc application. This document is also available through Penn State’s institutional repository, ScholarSphere: https://doi.org/10.26207/35sv-ep54 .

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298865.s010

Acknowledgments

We thank Heather Froehlich (University of Arizona), for her invaluable assistance throughout the project; Anne Burgevin, for inspiring us to further study haiku; Hojun Song (Texas A&M University), for his input regarding Orthoptera diversity and biology; and David Lanoue (Xavier University) for allowing us to include his translations of Issa haiku in this research. We also appreciate the insights provided by our anonymous reviewers, comments and questions greatly improve the manuscript.

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Haiku
A poem written in the haiku form or a modification of it in a language other than Japanese is also called a haiku. In English the haiku composed by the Imagists were especially influential during the early 20th century. The form's popularity beyond Japan expanded significantly after World War II, and today haiku are written in a wide range of ...
How to Write a Haiku: Format, Rules, Structure, and Examples
A haiku is a short, concise poem that consists of three lines. Traditionally, the first line has five syllables, the second line has seven, and the final line has five. Each haiku is so short and succinct that you need to choose each syllable carefully. The art of haiku is all about expressing as much as possible in very few words.
How to Write a Haiku (With Haiku Examples)
Here's another haiku, written by Graham Nunn, featuring juxtaposition: dawn sky. steam from the lamb's. throat. As you can see, juxtaposition is achieved by setting one image or idea in the "fragment" portion and contrasting it with a second, often related, image or idea in the "phrase" portion of the verse.
How to Write a Haiku (in 6 Steps, with Examples)
The three traditional rules of haiku are: 1. The poem must consist of three lines. 2. The first and third lines must have five syllables, while the second line must have seven syllables. 3. The poem usually focuses on nature or the seasons and usually contains a "cutting word" that emphasizes a contrast or a change.
How to Write a Haiku
A traditional haiku should…. 1. Be three lines. The first line should have five syllables, the second seven syllables, the third five syllables. Seventeen syllables total. 2. Contain a nature or seasonal reference: the crumbling leaves, the cold air, the smell of manure, the taste of fresh black berries, the cicadas' buzzing. 3.
How to Write a Haiku: 6 Key Steps to Follow
6. Edit your poem. First off, refine your haiku's layout; revisit your research from earlier, and decide what syllable structure you want to follow, if any. Then decide if and when you want to use punctuation marks, like em dashes or semicolons, to enhance the reading experience and the association between images.
Haiku Poem: Definition, Format, History, and Examples
There is a typical structure that most English-language haiku poems follow. It is the five-seven-five structure, where: 1. The entire poem consists of just three lines, with seventeen syllables in total. 2. The first line and third line are five syllables. 3.
Haiku Poems: How to Write a Haiku
Haiku poems are short-form poems that originated in the 17th century, Japan. Traditionally, the poetry form requires the poet to arrange 17 syllables into three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, respectively. Classical Japanese haiku requires the poem to use natural imagery; poems that don't dwell on nature are called senryū.
Creative Blooms 15: Remystification (Part 1)
Remystification, a term introduced in Poetry as Consciousness (2018), indicates a contemplation of open-mindedness preliminary to analyses of haiku. 1 The coinage has several layers of meaning. In this essay I will discuss three aspects: aesthetic arrest, the sense of space, and arising of "haiku cosmos" (a term employed by Hasegawa Kai ...
How to Write a Haiku Poem: Step-by-Step Guide with Examples
Format your haiku into 3 lines: 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second line, and 5 syllables in the third. Describe 2 separate images on each of the first 2 lines of your haiku. Use the 3rd line to bring the images together or remark on their relationship in a surprising way.
Haiku
Haiku - A traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 sy. ... Also read the essay "The Haiga: Haiku, Calligraphy, and Painting" to learn more about the history of haiku and how it has impacted visual art. Featured Poems. Featured Poets.
The Haiku: An Introduction
The common perception, or understanding, of haiku might be summarised as follows: 'The haiku is a short Japanese poem containing 17 syllables, following a tradition, and a name, that remains unchanged after centuries.'. There are, however, several problems with such a definition of the haiku, which this short introduction aims to address ...
New to Haiku: For Beginners
Julie Bloss Kelsey. New to Haiku. [The following beginner's introduction to haiku was written by Sarah Welch, a teen poet living in Washington state. Our thanks from The Haiku Foundation Education committee for her permission to reprint this essay here.] What Is Haiku? Haiku is a short poem from Japan.
How to Write Haiku: What Makes a Good Haiku?
What Makes a Good Haiku? by Margaret Coats. The required 5-7-5 syllable form alone does not make a haiku. A good haiku. ⦁ presents an observation of nature, or of human activities in nature. ⦁ uses present tense ("goes" or "going," not "went" or "has gone") ⦁ has a seasonal word or image, known in Japanese as a "kigo".
Haiku: Definition and Examples
What is a Haiku? A haiku is a specific type of Japanese poem which has 17 syllables divided into three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Haikus or haiku are typically written on the subject of nature. The word haiku (pronounced hahy -koo) is derived from the Japanese word hokku meaning "starting verse.". II.
MH Essay—Essence of Haiku by Max Verhart
Haiku is poetry, experience, and elixir of life all in one, as it offers the encounter—though only momentary but comprehensible—with what is valid beyond time. ... This essay was read before publication by the poets cited in it. With one exception, the interpretation and analysis of their definitions were either explicitly subscribed to or ...
Frogpond 38.3
Grayson, David. "Writing Haiku: The Two-Line Form." Frogpond 38.3, Autumn, 2015, 74-81. This excerpt inclues the first page of the essay: page 74. The complete essay includes pages 74-81. To read the complete essay, click on the link to the PDF version: David Grayson's haiku and essays have been published widely in haiku journals.
Jim Kacian: haiku essays, articles & poetry
Yakushima Island, Japan. Jim Kacian now has a wiki page with a complete listing of his professional activities. He is the founder of The Haiku Foundation, as well as owner of Red Moon Press and past editor of Frogpond, the international membership journal of the Haiku Society of America. He has published fourteen books of poetry.
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A haiku is a doorway to beauty, a tool for slowing down and shrinking your attention to the vastness of the moment in front of you. When you begin to see the world through haiku eyes, you notice inspiration everywhere, and recognise the preciousness and fragility of life. A haiku is a heartbeat-sized poem.
An Introduction to Split Sequences
This essay will offer a brief history of the split sequence, with examples of collaborative and solo versions, as well as a brief how-to primer on writing a split sequence at the end. I created the split sequence form in 2017. Having just written a selection of haiku and senryu, I looked at the poems in front of me and asked myself, "What ...
PDF An analysis of haiku teaching discourse: From talking about to ...
Bazzano (2002) says that a haiku poem reveals the world as „becoming‟ without any assumption or judgement; within the practice of writing haiku, practitioners learn to write verses that are often simple, authentic, and undramatic—"things happen when they happen, happy, or sorrowful, and that is part of the appeal" (Addiss, 2012, p. ...
What I think about when I think about English-Language Haiku
In this essay, I've barely explored haiku's possibilities. If you're interested in haiku, then whatever you do, respect it like you would an old friend: don't take it for granted and make sure you care for it. ... Matthew Paul regularly blogs about haiku, poetry per se and other matters. Share on X (Twitter) Share on Facebook Share on ...
Diversity and complexity of arthropod references in haiku
Haiku are short poems, each composed of about 10 words, that typically describe moments in nature. People have written haiku since at least the 17th century, and the medium continues to be popular with poets, amateurs, educators, and students. Collectively, these poems represent an opportunity to understand which aspects of nature—e.g., which taxa and biological traits—resonate with humans ...

How to Write a Haiku: Format, Rules, Structure, and Examples

Hannah Yang

Table of Contents

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How to Write a Haiku (With Haiku Examples)

What is a haiku?

The roots of haiku

Haiku syllable count

Examples of haiku cutting-words

Examples of haiku season-words

Haiku rules and related poem types

Understanding haiku format and composition

Juxtaposition

Sense switching

Narrowing the focus

Now it’s time to write your first haiku

Further Reading

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How to Write a Haiku: 6 Key Steps to Follow

1. Read classic haiku for inspiration

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Punctuation

The context

The relationship

Polish up your verse

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A Brief History of Haiku Poetry

Haiku Format

Matsuo Bashō (1644-1694)

Fukuda Chiyo-ni (1703-1775)

Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828)

Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902)

Richard Wright (1908-1960)

Elizabeth Searle Lamb (1917-2005)

James Emanuel (1921-2013)

Jack Kerouac (1922-1969)

Allan Ginsberg (1926-1997)

Sonia Sanchez (1934- )

Learn More About Haiku Poems at Writers.com

Sean Glatch

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Writing a Haiku: Ideas, Format, and Process

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The 17 Syllables in English

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The Two-Part Haiku

The Intriguing Insight

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I. What is a Haiku?

II. Examples of Haikus

III. The Importance of Using Haikus

IV. Examples of Haikus in Literature

V. Examples of Haikus in Pop Culture

VI. Related Terms: Haikus vs. Similar Poetic Forms

VII. In Closing

List of Terms

The life-changing magic of writing haiku

A tonic for swirling thoughts

How to write a haiku

My wish for you

Poets to explore

Frogpond 45.1 • 2022

An Introduction to Split Sequences