Sunday, April 19, 2009

Today's post is not poetry. It is questions to anyone who is willing to take on my simple mind.
I have read several of the post of my readers and ones that have been archived. I have read several of Andy's or Andrew as he is usually called. I have read Tangled in Wisteria. I have read Devika's and Magyar's as well. I love the haiku, but it is very new to me. I do not always understand it, but most of the time I get so much meaning from so few words. I know Andrew puts various labels, tanka being one and haiga. I have no idea what that means. I find it is better to be honest about not knowing things than to pretend to know something I do not. I would like to attempt some of these various forms of poetry. I am not sure I can do it, because I tend to get very wordy as you can see. I guess my question woud be .. Could you explain to me and give me some pointers on the various types? I am one who likes to just flow from the heart and mind, I am a free spirit. Thank you for all your help and your wonderful compliments. I am loving this new blogging adventure!!!

7 comments:

  1. Cindy,

    i am one self learner in these forms, and as you when I was introduced to these forms of poetry I was very fascinated..almost in love with the forms...

    I doubt Andrew and Magyar might laugh at me if I explain my understanding of these...because there are certain technicalities involved with the format...and I do not really know them at all..(Andrew may be able to clear this, i guess)

    My attempt as Abstract Deduction is just based on my readings..that Haiku is a 3 line poem which expresses a human emotion/condition using nature as an imagery...or may be not...nature symbols best convey human emotions...

    Haiga..is like when Haiku is imposed on a suitable picture,

    senryu -- is about dark emotions or ones that involve irony/joke ..a three line poem as Haiku

    Tanka-- is a love poem, or a 5 line verse that again conveys a deep feeling...

    Taiga-- is Tanka imposed on a suitable picture


    thats my basic idea..and as you said, i am free spirit and to work within formats is very difficult...so I write them as it comes, with some refining of words and flow...

    I would love to read and understand if Andrew, Magyar or Janice would explain it :)

    hope this was of some use, atleast give you some confidence to try the forms...as you would see a very naive learner as me is also trying it, :)

    Reading as much possible is a way to learn i guess, because every poet has a way and we could finally find our own,

    I wish to read you Cindy, and may be we could help each other with the exchanges here :)

    wishes
    devika

    PS: Andrew's poems in Archives was my text for learning, then Borut with whom I would discuss anything and everything on earth, then John McDonald, Masago, Janice, Polona, Bandit, Bill...you would find most of these links at Magyar :)

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  2. _Oooo... thank you Devika, for thinking I know something about this craft, but I think of myself as "just having an opinion." I am an ameture.
    _Cindy, Devika explained quite well the basic forms. There can, tho, be humor in haiku. But, in my mind people should be very minimal as -subjects-; I see nature as the substance of haiku, and there is always that (local) seasonal hint called a kigo.
    _Senryu... is more open. Politics, religeon, people, comedy, doesn't need a kigo, but one can be used.
    _Visiting the blogs listed (at my blog and others) like Haiku a Day, Zen Speug, Haiku- usa, can provide good style comparisons and info, and if you search someone like Jane Richeold (sp?) she has a goodly amount of on-line info about this folk art of ours. Too, www.wonderhaikuworlds.com has a lot of helpful info.
    _m

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  3. Andrew's poetry set me thinking about these kinds of poetry and I came up with a prompt for myself. The numbers represent the number of syllables per line. I'm certainly not an authority, but this is what I discovered:

    HAIKU 5-7-5 (Topic is nature) Three lines
    TANKA 5-7-5-7-7 Five lines
    SENYRU Same as tanka -- topic comical

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  4. Thanks Magyar and Chris for the inputs,

    Cindy, working with these syllables is what I find difficult, :)
    i never do, if something gets right its just an accident! :)

    wishes,
    devika

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  5. Thanks to all. My computer has been giving me fits, so bare with me!! The syllables are what freak me out too!! I am going to try and post in the morning, with one I have already done but revised. That is if I can get my internet fixed.. I would do this at work, but the blogs are blocked. Which I understand because of it being high school. It sure is aggravating tho!!! Thank you!!

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  6. the one thing you should consider is that modern haiku and tanka aren't stuck to the "exact" syllables. when I first started writing I felt that I HAD to stay on the 5-7-5 rule- it was so hard to let myself free. once I did, though, that's when the good stuff started. just try to think of 5-7-5 or less, or 5-7-5-7-7 or less. it's hard at first, but so good when you can.
    hope any of that made sense.

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  7. Flow from your heart ... sometimes more come out than at other ... but be yourself. Then if you want to try other styles of poetry, well, let it come naturally. One must never confine their creativity unless it desire to be confined.

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Thank you for your comments, they mean so much to me!!