The Haiku
Haiku is a poetic tradition with roots in ancient Japan that has only become popular in the U.S. since the mid-twentieth century. The classic 'form' of haiku in English is a poem of three lines with a syllabic structure consisting of five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third; for a poem of seventeen syllables.
While I, as an author, prefer to compose in the 'classic' haiku structure, many fine writers of haiku no longer adhere to this strict form. One of my mentors, Robert Spiess, a highly regarded haiku poet and long-time editor of the journal, Modern Haiku, described haiku as a breath-length poem which evokes a 'felt depth' or intuitive insight that facilitates and deepens our appreciation of our 'oneness' with things. By this he meant that haiku raises awareness through a meditative or intuitive insight. To my mind, this description best captures the spirit of haiku, regardless of the images or concepts a haiku presents, and however the poetic form continues to evolve through the years.
I believe there is a deep affinity between higher consciousness or meditative awareness, and poetry, which seems particularly striking in haiku, and serves as an explanation for my attraction to this form. I believe the brevity of haiku, which necessitates precision, lends it an immediacy and directness not found as often in other forms of poetry. That intuitive recognition we feel upon reading literature that speaks to us; what I think of as a sense of 'rightness' which feels spontaneously executed in the work; can become especially prominent in haiku due to its brevity and concision. My own efforts to discover and refine this sense of authenticity in my voice as a poet have led me to study and write haiku for many years.
In one notable respect, my haiku depart from the standard haiku written by most contemporary poets in this country in that they contain an element of metaphysical commentary. Much of the haiku published in the major haiku journals in the U.S. have been purely imagistic and non-philosophical because the tradition in haiku, with its roots in Japanese Zen, has been to shun intellectual abstraction. The distinctive metaphysical character of my haiku make them well-suited to pair with the photographs in "Twigs and Leaves" and "Wind and Water" because the sensuous nature of each image helps anchor the abstract philosophical commentary in the real, the earthly and the sensual. Consequently, the insights contained within these haiku will be intuitively apprehended as well as intellectually comprehended through this photo-poem collaboration.
Rebecca Lilly
While I, as an author, prefer to compose in the 'classic' haiku structure, many fine writers of haiku no longer adhere to this strict form. One of my mentors, Robert Spiess, a highly regarded haiku poet and long-time editor of the journal, Modern Haiku, described haiku as a breath-length poem which evokes a 'felt depth' or intuitive insight that facilitates and deepens our appreciation of our 'oneness' with things. By this he meant that haiku raises awareness through a meditative or intuitive insight. To my mind, this description best captures the spirit of haiku, regardless of the images or concepts a haiku presents, and however the poetic form continues to evolve through the years.
I believe there is a deep affinity between higher consciousness or meditative awareness, and poetry, which seems particularly striking in haiku, and serves as an explanation for my attraction to this form. I believe the brevity of haiku, which necessitates precision, lends it an immediacy and directness not found as often in other forms of poetry. That intuitive recognition we feel upon reading literature that speaks to us; what I think of as a sense of 'rightness' which feels spontaneously executed in the work; can become especially prominent in haiku due to its brevity and concision. My own efforts to discover and refine this sense of authenticity in my voice as a poet have led me to study and write haiku for many years.
In one notable respect, my haiku depart from the standard haiku written by most contemporary poets in this country in that they contain an element of metaphysical commentary. Much of the haiku published in the major haiku journals in the U.S. have been purely imagistic and non-philosophical because the tradition in haiku, with its roots in Japanese Zen, has been to shun intellectual abstraction. The distinctive metaphysical character of my haiku make them well-suited to pair with the photographs in "Twigs and Leaves" and "Wind and Water" because the sensuous nature of each image helps anchor the abstract philosophical commentary in the real, the earthly and the sensual. Consequently, the insights contained within these haiku will be intuitively apprehended as well as intellectually comprehended through this photo-poem collaboration.
Rebecca Lilly
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