Haibun

These days, haiku is a relatively familiar poetic form to readers and writers around the world.  Less well known is haibun, which pairs haiku with prose.  In its more traditional style, haibun often serves as a kind of travel diary, with commentary about the journey leading up to, and/or following, a haiku.  Some contemporary approaches more closely resemble prose poetry, while others may use haibun as a means for contemplation.  Patricia Donegan, author of haiku mind, describes the practice of combining hai (haiku) with bun (sentences) as “a springboard for the contemplation of a specific theme, be it adversity, nowness, or compassion.”  It addresses “the story or reflection behind the poem,” she writes.  Here’s a haiku by poet Elizabeth Searle Lamb, one of the founders of the Haiku Society of America and a former editor of their journal, frogpond:

pausing

half-way up the stair —

white chrysanthemums

Haiku such as this invite us “to slow down and tune in to this fleeting moment, to appreciate what’s right in front of us,” Donegan observes.  They offer a pause in our routines, and an opportunity to foster deeper awareness.  While some readers may be struck by the transience of the moment described here, some may focus on the beauty of the image of white chrysanthemums, or their sheer presence.  Still others may be drawn to explore the position of the subject “half-way up the stair,” poised in mid-life, or the symbolism of white chrysanthemums which, in Japan, are often used at funerals.  In this way, a particularly rich haiku may prompt exploration of issues in our own lives; at the same time, it can point to the commonality of our stories through the writing of haibun.  (haiku mind, 108 Poems to Cultivate Awareness & Open Your Heart, Patricia Donegan, Shambala, 2008).

Workshop

Bottle Rockets Press is planning a day-long Haibun Workshop on May 4^th, 2019, in Hartford, Connecticut, to be conducted by Stanford S. Forrester, editor of the press.  Participants are “encouraged to bring their own work,” although it should be noted that the traditional 5-7-5 formula won’t be used “when discussing the haiku component of haibun.”  The fee is $75.  If you can’t attend the workshop, check out the video featuring six of Forrester’s haiku at www.bottlerocketspress.com 

New Poems 

Spring Breeze, a haiku, will appear in hedgerow: a journal of small poems, #126.   I remember “experiencing” this haiku back in the late 1990s, so it’s not really new.  Sometimes, haiku write themselves, and this was one of those happy accidents.

Blue Jay Way is slated to appear in in the spring issue of Pinyon, out of Colorado Mesa State University.

Haibun Writing Prompt

Select a haiku from one of the many anthologies, collections, or journals that are available, or one you’ve written yourself.  Jot down some observations about your choice, line by line.  These can be in the form of sentences or simply word associations at this point.  You should have at least one sentence or three or four word associations for each line.  Now, which of these responses to the haiku suggest further development?  Which of them is “magnetized,” in other words, which of them calls to you?  Select the first sentence or word that comes to mind and write about that, exploring both the said and the unsaid elements of your chosen haiku.  Repeat this process for each line.  Consider writing your work in longhand, in a dedicated journal, with haiku on one side and haibun on the opposite side.