Haibun
Haibun (plural and singular spelling) is a hybrid form - from a body of genres called haikai literature that include haiku; hokku; senryu; renga; and renku - that interacts with prose, free verse, or prose poetry, plus the addition of haiku verses that shift as lateral narratives (mini ‘side’ stories or observations).
There can be one or more haiku that interact with the ‘main’ body of text without mirroring it, creating additional tension and resonance.
English Language haikai forms are gaining momentum in the larger world of poetry, and none so much as haibun.
Haibun fall into two main categories, first of all the traditions of diary entries and anecdotes when combined with haiku is known as nikki – the Japanese term for the dominant form found in current English-language practice consisting of a title and a few hundred words of prose wedded to one or two haiku.
The other form of haibun is the kikōbun, a travel journal where all the pieces are connected to a journey. Matsuo Bashō composed this haibun using haikai verses, including hokku poems, when he created the epic literary work of Oku no Hosomichi known to us in English as The Narrow Road to the Deep North.
A haibun is basically a piece of prose with the addition of haiku poems – which interact with each other, and the main text – without repeating, but adding something different. This can bring an overall tension and greater resonance than possibly if just one type of writing (poetry or prose) or one straight linear narrative was attempted.
Haibun definition©Alan Summers 2014 - July 2017
Alan Summers
President, United Haiku and Tanka Society
Europe meets Japan - Haiku Journey (NHK World): https://youtu.be/3VS36AGVI6s
Alan & Karen regularly run online courses in haibun, as well as other genres, such as haiku and tanka: https://www.callofthepage.org/learning/
Haibun (plural and singular spelling) is a hybrid form - from a body of genres called haikai literature that include haiku; hokku; senryu; renga; and renku - that interacts with prose, free verse, or prose poetry, plus the addition of haiku verses that shift as lateral narratives (mini ‘side’ stories or observations).
There can be one or more haiku that interact with the ‘main’ body of text without mirroring it, creating additional tension and resonance.
English Language haikai forms are gaining momentum in the larger world of poetry, and none so much as haibun.
Haibun fall into two main categories, first of all the traditions of diary entries and anecdotes when combined with haiku is known as nikki – the Japanese term for the dominant form found in current English-language practice consisting of a title and a few hundred words of prose wedded to one or two haiku.
The other form of haibun is the kikōbun, a travel journal where all the pieces are connected to a journey. Matsuo Bashō composed this haibun using haikai verses, including hokku poems, when he created the epic literary work of Oku no Hosomichi known to us in English as The Narrow Road to the Deep North.
A haibun is basically a piece of prose with the addition of haiku poems – which interact with each other, and the main text – without repeating, but adding something different. This can bring an overall tension and greater resonance than possibly if just one type of writing (poetry or prose) or one straight linear narrative was attempted.
Haibun definition©Alan Summers 2014 - July 2017
Alan Summers
President, United Haiku and Tanka Society
Europe meets Japan - Haiku Journey (NHK World): https://youtu.be/3VS36AGVI6s
Alan & Karen regularly run online courses in haibun, as well as other genres, such as haiku and tanka: https://www.callofthepage.org/learning/