Why Do You Write Haiku?

Why do you write haiku?

I recently asked this question to longtime haikuists from throughout the U.S. They are members of the Haiku Society of America.

If you read my blog regularly, you have read many examples of haiku, and you’ve also read interviews with haiku poets.

I hope these blogs have given you inspiration to begin writing haiku.

Please read below for more inspiration:

In this fast-fleeting world, I find the moment even more momentous. Writing a haiku that captures the wonder of time in my own words and thought is a tiny miracle of gratitude.
–Donna Bauerly

The reason I write haiku is what I would guess most people would say is their reason. To set down a marker for the really important things in my life. A walk in the woods is so much better to focus on than memorializing your fears about a global financial meltdown, or a terrorist attack, or the coming hurricane, etc.

Peace,
Mike Rehling

I write haiku/senryu in an attempt to capture a moment. When I later read it, it takes me back to that time and place. If I read
someone else’s haiku or senryu, it sometimes brings me to that place and time.

–Bruce J. Pfeffer

I write haiku for several reasons. Many of my haiku derive from my experiences on the road (to or from work). I can manage to put down my feelings in a short space (and still remember them). I like the brevity of haiku and how they can say so much with just a few words. When I read my own, I can return to that moment and recall the beauty. When I read others, I can still capture that moment in my mind, even if it may not have been the intent of the poet.

–nancy brady, author of “Ohayo Haiku”

Haiku is a poetic form that is both a literary and a spiritual exercise for me. I also enjoy the social aspect of writing haiku, such as being a member of a local kukai, Hudson Valley Haiku-kai, and participating in the haiku community as a member of the Haiku Society of America.

–Sari Grandstaff

I write haiku because of the joy I get from paying attention and noticing what’s going on around me and within me. I feel each day offers gifts of insight and moments worthy of contemplation or prayers of thanksgiving. I feel more alive when I am writing haiku!

–Randy Brooks, Author of “School’s Out”

I write haiku for the same reason that I write prose: because I must. For me, writing for publication is as integral as breathing.

–John J. Dunphy
Author of “Old Soldiers Fading Away” (Pudding House, 2006); “Stellar Possibilities” (Sam’s Dot Publishing, 2006); “Zen Koanhead” (Second Reading Publications, 2008) and “Dark Nebulae” (Sam’s Dot Publishing, 2009)

I write haiku because it fits my East Asian disposition and takes much less time to compose than other forms of poetry. The shortness of the form makes it hard to write a successful haiku, yet it is a relatively accessible form for every aspiring poet.

–John J. Han
Author of “Little Guy Haiku: Life with Bailey, a Maltese”; “Chopsticks and Fork: A Senryu Collection”; “Thunder Thighs: Haiku Musings on the English Language”; and “The World of Dew: Seasonal Haiku” (forthcoming).

I write haiku because it helps me remember the interconnectedness of all things. It keeps me respectful, grateful and humble.

–Terri L. French,
Author of “A Ladybug on My Words”

I write haiku because it slows me down, and allows me to appreciate life. Haiku represents a contemplative alternative in strict juxtaposition to a world where speed and urgency seem to be the dominant paradigm.

–Joshua Gage
Author of “breaths” (VanZeno Press)

Recognizing haiku moments and writing haiku to convey them creates balance in my life by encouraging me to be attentive to different moments I experience.

–Ce Rosenow

Author of “North Lake”
and “Pacific”

I write haiku for memorializing a moment, yes, for therapy, yes, as a form of necessity, yes, to stop the flow of my mind, yes, yes…
but more importantly, I write haiku because I couldn’t imagine life without it.

— Marjorie Buettner
Author of “Seeing It Now” (published by Red Dragonfly Press, Northfield, MN, 2008)

A lovely question…
Each haiku, tanka, haibun, tanka prose that I read or write briefly illuminates both the moment and the way forward…

–Marilyn Hazelton,
Editor, “red lights”

I was already interested in haiku when I went off to Japan to major in Far East Asian Studies. My interest in Japanese literature and poetry was my main draw into haiku. Then, I was inspired by my colleague, haiku poet David Burleigh at
Ferris University in Yokohama. In early 1997, my mother passed away in America. That
spring I began to write haiku almost daily as I watched spring’s rebirth in my day to day surroundings in Kamakura. This helped me to heal little by little.

I think the combination of writing, reading and being in touch with other haiku poets has been the reason I made it a major part of my life. It has been refreshing to create haiku and be inspired by other poets. As I transitioned from Japan to America, one thing has been constant: Haiku friends in other countries, in my region, on FB and through email groups, and at conferences. What a subtle, creative way to interact within our minds and hearts, and with our hands in unison.

–Carmen Sterba

I became interested in haiku when Jim, my husband, and Don Eulert, who also taught at the University of Wisconsin, started “American Haiku.” Jim became interested in haiku when he was med-evacuated from Korea and was hospitalized in Japan. A Japanese ward boy who spoke English introduced it to him. Over the years I have written haiku. As I become older, it seems more imperative that I record those moments that are so special to me. Maybe I’m afraid of losing them. I want them to always be with me.

–Gayle Bull

Practicing haiku awareness is to enter into that altered state of being where connections deepen and epiphanic moments are revealed. I write haiku in response to those moments, attempting to convey through words an intuitive perception that ultimately expands beyond the words.

–Naia

I hope you’ve enjoyed the thoughtfulness of these poets and their statements on how haiku enriches their lives.

Why do I write haiku, you ask? I began writing it in the 1990s, when my life went from crazy to insane. Now, my life has returned to crazy. Haiku helps me focus on living in the moment, without thinking too far into the future to what will happen in my life. It’s that simple or complex, depending on how you look at life.

Best wishes to all haikuists everywhere!

Copyright 2011 by Charlotte Digregorio.