Dunes

Haiku, like dunes of sand, has shifted over time. The four great masters wrote as individuals with their own style and traditions. Buson’s approach differed from Bashō who came before him. Issa wrote in another way. Shiki went back to Buson and haiku evolved even further, including the change from hokku to haiku.
 
When translators first introduced haiku to the West, it was their translations, explanations and interpretations of haiku elements that came to be accepted as traditions. Yet, translations and explanations differed, and it was, and is, difficult to arrive at a definition of traditional haiku which is agreeable to all haiku poets. R.H. Blyth, for example, wrote of syllables; William J. Higginson wrote of sound units, not syllables. Richard Gilbert has written of -on and -ji; while robin d. gill writes of syllabets.
 
Rather than just discuss traditional haiku, this new section of Troutswirl will explore the traditions of haiku as well as how they’ve played a role in traditional, contemporary, and innovative haiku.
 
What are the traditions of English-language haiku? How were they established?  Are they relevant today? Which traditions are necessary for a haiku to be traditional? What is ignored, tweaked or added to be labeled contemporary or innovative? Does English-language haiku have its own set of traditions? Should it? Can it not?
 
These, and many other questions, will be discussed in Dunes.
 
Dunes is overseen by Adelaide B. Shaw.

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Some open questions to readers: Where would you like to see this section go? What areas and topics concerning English haiku traditions—its shifting dunes—would you like to see explored and dug into?