A Poets View

Haiku is a specialized form of poetry created by and within the Japanese culture.  For me personally I think it is the essence of poetry with its’ simple, clean and metaphoric values.  There are many forms within this genre to include senryu, tanka, renga, haibun etc…  They are all strict in form and each presents an exquisite form of poetry.

We’ve all learned that the 5/7/5 - 17 syllable is the proper style for Haiku.  However that is not necessarily the case.  Traditional Japanese haiku is not measured by syllables and does not employ a strict 5/7/5 element. 

I am in midst of learning more about these traditional forms and wanted to share with you a website link on the Shadow Poetry site which explains in detail the history and how to’s of writing haiku.  Check it out at http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/haiku/haiku.html

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