creative-writing

Haiku & Micro-Poetry

Write haiku that cut, not just count to seventeen

12 lessons4 modules9h 0m durationbeginner level

Instructor: StretchLearn Faculty

About this course

This course teaches micro-poetry using the conventions practicing haiku poets actually use, not the grade-school 5-7-5 rule. You will work with kigo and the saijiki season-word almanac, build the two-image juxtaposition that the Japanese kireji marks, count by sound and prune to the English equivalent of about ten to fourteen syllables, and tell haiku from senryu from tanka. Every lesson pairs a craft principle with named poets, real example poems, and revision drills, drawing on Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki, the Haiku Society of America definitions, and contemporary English-language journals such as Modern Haiku, Frogpond, and The Heron's Nest.

Curriculum

Module 1: What Haiku Actually Is3 lessons

The 5-7-5 Myth and How Sound Actually CountsPreview45m
The Four Masters and a One-Breath Tradition🔒45m
Image, Not Statement: The Core Discipline🔒45m

Module 2: The Season Word: Kigo and the Saijiki3 lessons

Kigo: How One Word Sets the Season🔒45m
The Saijiki: Using a Season-Word Almanac🔒45m
Building Your Own Season Palette🔒45m

Module 3: Juxtaposition and the Cut3 lessons

Kireji and the Two-Part Structure🔒45m
Finding a Juxtaposition That Surprises🔒45m
Where to Break the Line🔒45m

Module 4: Senryu, Tanka, and Brevity as Craft3 lessons

Senryu: Haiku's Human, Funnier Cousin🔒45m
Tanka: Five Lines and Room to Feel🔒45m
Brevity as Craft: Revising by Subtraction🔒45m