EN340 / IN350 Global Haiku Tradition
Dr. Randy Brooks • Spring 2005
Haiku Unit Plan Appendix 5

Appendix 5
Seven Points About Writing Haiku

(From the British Haiku Society Education Pack)

  1. Sink into the scene and observe carefully.
  2. Find moments in daily life to write about.
  3. Turn your senses on to the full, not the part of your brain that reasons about things.
  4. Avoid fantastic thoughts and instead talk about real things. But remember, reality often has a magical side.
  5. Use simple, everyday words. Write in the present tense, so that your poem seems to be happening now.
  6. If you have a message to give, suggest it through image, and don't use abstract words to express it.
  7. Aim at 5-7-5 syllables, but don't be a slave to counting syllables. Read your poem aloud to test how it sounds. Get rid of any words that you don't really need. For example: golden daffodils.

 

©2005 Randy Brooks, Millikin University, Decatur, Illinois || all rights reserved for original authors