PACE Global Haiku • January 2009 |
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Selected Haiku by I was introduced to the art of Haiku five weeks ago by Randy Brooks a professor at Millikin University. At the time the introduction was made, I had limited knowledge of what Haiku was and no knowledge of its history. My limited knowledge consisted of listening to the comment of a friend, “Haiku, you know, those funny little Japanese poems.” Since that time, I have explored the art of Haiku by reading about the history and culture, reading various authors of Haiku including both traditional and contemporary, and written some of my own Haiku and Rengay. Today, five weeks later, I have a greater understanding of Haiku and see it as something much more than a “funny little poem”. I read some of the writing of Basho and now understand that the writing of Haiku does not have to come from the mind of a literary genius or someone who emanates an eclectic personality. It can be written by people young and old from all walks of life who are willing to let their imaginations mingle with their memories of the past, lives of the present, and hopes of the future. My personal approach to writing Haiku is focusing on the simplicity of the moment that I am remembering. I have found including the element of surprise to be a challenge for me. I have discovered that I have not been gifted with the ability to write Haiku, however, I do believe that given time and lots of practice that ability will improve. I have also discovered that I enjoy reading Haiku much more that writing my own. I am grateful that I was exposed to the wide array of contemporary authors; they have given me several hours of enjoyable reading. I plan on including the art of Haiku as part of my reading in the future. |
flower Girl…. |
rainy Day… |
spring fed stream |
Grampa’s garden |
sunflowers |
© 2009, Randy Brooks • Millikin University
All rights returned to authors upon publication.