Further to yesterday's post, the question on everybody's lips seems to be: what's a haiku anyway? And what's a haiga? Well, a haiku is a poetic form, three lines long. Beyond that, it's anyone's guess. A haiga is a pictorial representation of a haiku that also features calligraphic text.
The answer to the question 'What is a haiku?' depends largely on where you are when you ask it. For a Japanese speaker, the meaning of haiku is obvious. For an English speaker, Jack Kerouac offers a glimpse into one of poetry's most ancient of forms. But here's the rub: while you may have been taught a particular haiku structure at school (three lines of five, seven and five syllables), no matter what the structure is in English, it will never truly emulate a Japanese haiku.
If you're confused, why not read this article from the World Haiku Association website. It's called 'From 5-7-5 to 8-8-8: An Investigation of Japanese Haiku Metrics and Implications for English Haiku'. Warning: there is a fair bit of maths in this one!
If, on the other hand, words like synchronic and diachronic tickle your poetic fancy, perhaps you'd be better off reading this one instead . It's called 'Stalking the Wild Onji: The Search for Current Linguistic Terms Used in Japanese Poetry Circles.' (Both articles are in PDF format – download the Acrobat reader for free).
