Haiku: One Breath Poetry

by Naomi Beth Wakan

An exploration of the traditional Japanese three-line poem examines the art form's history and explains how images and moments are captured in seventeen syllables.

Genres: Poetry

71 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1997

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been around awhile. I'm so glad it was recommended to me. Written simply for children and adults, it is a beginning primer for haiku writers. It explains the history, gives short bios of the 4 greats: Basho, Buson, Issa and Shiki. It explained season words excellently. It has the Japanese and a translation for every poem cited. A short and quick introduction to haiku from an author who seems to have been to Japan and knows the language and the culture.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, easy read.

I liked that the author wasn't dogmatic about what rules a haiku "has to" follow, instead offering guidelines on what makes a good haiku...how it is more about capturing the feeling of a moment in sparse language than a rigid form.

I learned a lot about the history of haiku and some of the more famous poets.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This really was not what I wanted. I was looking for a book of haikus, not a description of what a haiku is. Granted, it does a decent job of explaining the haiku but it would have also been nice to actually get haikus in the book - after the explanation.

[CX Dillhunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funky layout, but easy to read; recommend to anyone wants to know how to & history of haiku incl the masters great examples & explanaiont, brief & hefty at once, good bib