A BRIEF GLOSSARY OF THE HAIKU

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Haijin – A haiku poet.

Haiku – A form of poetry originating from Japan. It typically contains seventeen syllables distributed through one three-line stanza. Five syllables go on the first line, seven syllables go on the second, and five syllables go on the third and final line. It also contains a kigo word and a kireji.

Kigo – A word in the haiku that establishes weather or atmosphere.

Kireji – A caesura, or pause, felt at the end of the first or second line of the haiku.

Senryu – A haiku which contains no kigo word and focuses on human nature rather than physical nature.

Shasei – the snapshot moment that the haiku attempts to capture.

Works Referenced/Recommended Reading

Fry, Stephen. The Ode Less Travelled. New York City, Gotham Books, 2005.