I did not write this is was from an article. I thought it might help some poets.

Before I get into the Haiku, I want to talk about form in general for a little bit. A lot of people associate poetry only with strict form. This is not the case with poetry today, and contemporary poets do not bind themselves to form in the way past poets have. On the other hand, learning form is important to the development of a poet. It is however, important to know that you do not need to chain yourself to the sestina or the sonnet in order to be a good poet. A great poet masters techniques, experiments, and extends his or her imaginative creativity to new boundaries.


*Form:

The arrangement or method used to convey the content, such as free verse, ballad, haiku, etc. In other words, the "way-it-is-said." A variably interpreted term, however, it sometimes applies to details within the composition of a text, but is probably used most often in reference to the structural characteristics of a work as it compares to (or differs from) established modes of conventionalized arrangements


*Fixed Form:

The form of a poem which follows a set pattern of rhyme scheme, stanza form and refrain (if there is one), is called a fixed form, examples of which include: ballade, limerick, pantoum, rondeau, sestina, sonnet, troilet and villanelle. Used in this sense, form is closely related to genre.


And so we begin with Haiku


Why am I starting off with Haiku? It’s mostly arbitrary. A workshop-mate of mine has been writing them as if his life depended on it and swears that they have helped him in his non-Haiku poetry as well. His reasoning behind this is actually very sound. This particular form is beneficial to someone beginning to write poetry because Haiku carries with it the challenge of brevity. The poet must say everything necessary in a few lines, or words. I think even some fiction writers could learn something from Haiku.


*Haiku:

Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry consisting of three unrhymed lines of five, seven and five syllables. The elusive flavor of the form however, lies more in its touch and tone than in its syllabic structure. Deeply imbedded in Japanese culture and strongly influenced by Zen Buddhism, haiku are very brief descriptions of nature that convey some implicit insight or essence of a moment. Traditionally, they contain either a direct or oblique reference to a season.


As mentioned in the definition, we are taught in school, this traditional structure of Haiku:


5 syllables

7 syllables

5 syllables


In contemporary Haiku writing, many people have broken from this form since the syllable structure is more an effect of translation than anything else. In English, the form has come to mean any short (and by short we mean super short) poem (usually dealing with nature) which creates an image and feeling in a few short lines.

I'm going to add something because this problem has exploded in this section.

Everything is CLICHÉ. It IS possible to take a cliché topic and write it in a way that is original. As I've said many times, you can do this with imagery. Show it. Don't tell it.

For example, let's say you wanted to describe the ability to hide pain with fake happiness. Yeah, yeah. We've seen this before, haven't we? Only about a million times.

I'm dying inside,
I can't find my way out of the dark.
But I put on a smile
to hide the pain...

UGH! Why not try something more original?

Shape-shift my eyes; I lied.
Perky lips—new rosebuds, but
the waterfalls drown in air,
in abyss so dead, where lilacs
are gone, like everything.

White pearls are gleaming
with shiny Earth; ask me.
I am blissful, a yellow dress
for show, a hand held out
for the blind.

See what I mean?