If I had to choose a favorite poetic form, Haiku would definitely win the day. Hands down, 100%.
I think pretty much everyone who has had any sort of instruction in poetry knows what haiku are. There is a draw because it's a very short form so folks sometimes mistakenly think haiku are "easy."
I don't know if that is true. On one hand, haiku can be very easy because a person needs to pick a moment/sensation/life caveat and capture it in a 5-7-5, 3-line poem. Easy.
Sitting in my class
Students wait for knowledge
Or, maybe they don't
^^^^See. . . . "easy." The thing is, easy does not necessarily equate to "good." (Honestly. . . I'm not even sure what we mean when we say "good." It's all subjective and a matter of what others think, I suppose.)
Basho was good. Everyone says so. Here's one of his:
Translation
Furuike ya The old pond--
kawazu tobikomu a frog jumps in,
mizu no oto sound of water.
-- Basho
I think most folks who know anything about Haiku have heard of Basho. My favorite, traditional, Haiku poet though is definitely Nakamura Teijo. Her Haiku are absolutely beautiful. The following is (maybe?) my very favorite:
Translation
Natsu no cho ya Summer butterfly--
ware wa kyo machi I wait for the moment
kyo sarase & then let it go. .
The idea. . . if I'm understanding correctly is to take in what is around you and capture it in a pure form. That, my friends, is the part that might be hard to perfect. To communicate the quintessence of a fleeting moment in a form so brief, necessitates a strong command of both observational skills and the manipulation of language.
Having said that, the appeal is undeniable. Lots of "renowned" authors have tried their hand at composing haiku. Richard Wright--the author of Native Son--wrote thousands of haiku. And. . . did you know. . .
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<This journal, which ran for a few years in the 1960's was out of. . .
wait for it. . . . PLATTEVILLE, WISCONSIN?!?!?!
(of all places)
The point being, like other poetic forms, Haiku has a definite following. . . one that has transcended it's place of birth. For my part, however, I'm a bigger fan of traditional Haiku. As with most conventions of poetry, writers like to play with the form. Maybe that makes them fresh or edgy; I don't really know nor, If I'm being honest, do I think it's that important if we work off the premise that creating writing is more for the writer than the reader. I DO know, however, that I like the fun and challenge of trying to fit my idea and the form together in the traditional 5-7-5 format. (That's not to say I'd NEVER cheat the form. I would. I just try not to.)
Obviously, there's a lot more to Haiku. There's a whole, cultural history. There are ideas and values behind the form. But. . . I promised at the beginning of the month that I was going to post about poetry in a "friendly" way and I'm not going to get too crazy with semantics.
BUUUUUUUTTT. . . . . . .
If you have a hankering to learn more about Haiku, check out this video. It's long-ish but pretty cool.