POETRY: Read More. Blog More #6

To Challenge Myself . . . Living a Haiku Year

 I recently revisited a little book called The Haiku Year, which I had originally discovered while looking for something else. Serendipity, indeed!

I had really enjoyed my original reading of this little book and the reread was no disappointment. The poetry is interesting, as is the story of the book's inception.

But what really struck me was the reactions of those who took the time daily for a year to write the haiku contained in the book.

Tom Gilroy, one of the contributors who also wrote the Forward, called the resulting poems "precious moments." And Steve Earle, who wrote the Introduction, calls his Haiku year "The best year of my life."

Reading these responses got me to thinking.

We all live busy lives, whatever our circumstances, and it is so easy to get caught up in the business of living and forget to really notice, let alone connect with, the world in which we live.

So, here's the challenge:

After rereading this short book and noting the thoughts of the participants, I have decided to challenge myself to "living a Haiku year." That is, I challenge myself to take a few moments each day to write three lines, 17 syllables, one haiku. I even have a beautiful little red book in which to record my "precious moments."

Is anyone interested in joining me?

The purpose is to take a few moments and really notice the world around you, feel it, and capture the experience. Good, bad, mediocre. It doesn't matter. It's not nearly as difficult as it may sound, and like any exercise it actually gets easier with practice.

If you need a little information on the form and its requirements there have been many books written on the subject, as well as many online resources. Some are concerned with form only while others incorporate the writing of haiku into a spiritual journey.

 
These are a few BOOKS I've read myself:

• How to Haiku: A Writer's Guide to Haiku and Related Forms - Bruce Ross
• The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku - William J. Higginson
• Haiku - The Sacred Art: A Spiritual Practice in Three Lines (Art of Spiritual Living) - Margaret D. McGee
• Seeds From a Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey - Clark Strand

And a few WEBSITES: 

Haiku World, Composing your own Haiku, Absolute Write, How to write/teach Haiku poetry,  In the moonlight, a worm...,

Here is a book that I have not read, but the title intrigues me: [UPDATE: It just arrived in the mail and is only waiting for me to begin!]

• One Continuous Mistake : Four Noble Truths for Writers - Gail Sher 

And just for fun, 
here is a website with writing tips - WRITTEN IN HAIKU. 

TIME OUT

No desire
to read the news -
my life's enough for now


Exhausted in a heap
I lie on the cold floor
dreaming of work that ends


from the haiku year