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The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku Paperback – March 15, 1992

by William J. Higginson (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 74 ratings
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The Haiku Handbook is the first book to give the reader everything needed to begin writing or teaching haiku. It presents haiku poets writing in English, Spanish, French, German, and five other languages on an equal footing with Japanese poets. Not only are the four great Japanese masters of the haiku represented (Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki) but also several major Western authors not commonly known to have written haiku.

The book presents a concise history of the Japanese haiku, including the dynamic changes throughout the twentieth century as the haiku has been adapted to suburban and industrial settings. Full chapters are offered on form, the seasons in haiku, and haiku craft, plus background on the Japanese poetic tradition, and the effect of translation on our understanding of haiku.

Other unique features are the lesson plans for both elementary and secondary school use; and lists of haiku publishers and magazines (in several languages). The Handbook concludes with a full reference section of haiku-related terms, bibliography, and a comprehensive season-word list to aid in understanding and appreciating Japanese haiku.
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  1. Print length
    331 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Kodansha USA
  4. Publication date
    March 15, 1992
  5. Dimensions
    7 x 1 x 4.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    4770014309
  7. ISBN-13
    978-4770014306
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

WILLIAM J. HIGGINGSON studied Japanese at Yale University where he discovered the haiku, and served, with the U.S. Air Force in Japan. He is a charter member of the Haiku Society of America, founded in 1968, and edited and published Haiku Magazine (1971-76). He has three published collections of longer poems and one of haiku, and has work appearing in magazines and anthologies worldwide. He has also taught in the National Endowment for the Arts "Poets-in-the Schools" program, leading writing workshops in hundreds of schools, and he regularly speaks at conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Japan. Higginson's international anthology of haiku for children, Wind in the Long Grass, is a classroom favorite. His two-volume sequel to The Haiku Handbook, The Haiku Seasons and Haiku World, gives a comprehensive view of the history, present state, and international possibilities of seasonal consciousness in poetry.

PENNY HARTER, Higginson's wife and collaborator on the Handbook, is a poet and teacher with 14 collections of poems to her credit. She has received three grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for her poetry, and an award from the Poetry Society of America. She has served as a visiting poet for the Council and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation in classes from kindergarten through high school. Her work is published internationally; among her recent books are Shadow Play: Night Haiku, a collection for children, and her latest book, Turtle Blessing. The couple lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Harter teaches at Santa Fe Preparatory School.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

[Following is the first section in Chapter 1, "Why Haiku?"]

Haiku Happen

We often see or sense something that gives us a bit of a lift, or a moment's pure sadness. Perhaps it is the funnies flapping in the breeze before a newsstand on a sunny spring day. Or some scent on the wind catches us as we step from the bus, or bend to lift the groceries from the car. Something tickles our ankle and, looking down to see what it is, we see more:

a baby crab
climbs up my leg--
such clear water

Or we are lying awake, alone with our thoughts, and as we turn to look at the clock

at midnight
a distant door
pulled shut

and we find ourselves more alone, because of the being on the other side of that door, than when we had no thoughts for others anywhere in the world.

The first of these two short poems was written about three hundred years ago by the Japanese poet Matsuo Basho. The second is by a twentieth-century Japanese poet, Ozaki Hosai. Both poems are haiku.

Moments that can give rise to haiku are not foreign to the Americas. Mark Cramer has translated the following poem, originally written in Spanish by the Mexican poet Jose Juan Tablada a few years before Hosai wrote "at midnight":

Tender willow
almost gold, almost amber,
almost light...

And just recently New Jerseyan Penny Harter found

the old doll
her mama box broken
to half a cry

Haiku happen all the time, wherever there are people who are "in touch" with the world of their senses, and with their own feeling response to it.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kodansha USA; Reissue edition (March 15, 1992)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 331 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 4770014309
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-4770014306
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 1 x 4.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 74 ratings

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  1. James Tipton

    James Tipton

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    A descendant of Quakers, Jim Tipton was the embodiment of gentleness, kindness, and fairness—but most of all love. He was a philosopher and practitioner of these values, which came to define him. Tipton was a wanderer and seeker who gravitated to San Francisco in the 1960s and hung out at City Lights Bookstore soaking up the influences of Beat Generation poets. For thirteen years beginning in 1992-2005 he lived a solitary life as a beekeeper in the desert highlands of Colorado, where he studied the minimalist existence of creatures and plants as he searched for answers to what is truly important in life. Although he had written and published poems for many years, it was during this passage that he discovered his most powerful, emotional, and authentic voice in poetry.

    Tipton published over a thousand poems, short stories, essays, and reviews in journals including The Nation, Southern Humanities Review, American Literary Review, Esquire, International Poetry Review, Modern English Tanka, Modern Haiku, Atlas Poetica, and The Christian Science Monitor. His collection of poems, Letters from a Stranger, with a foreword by Isabel Allende, won the 1999 Colorado Book Award in Poetry. His poetry has been translated into Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese, French, Chinese, Japanese, Polish, Danish, and Norwegian.

    In 2005, Tipton moved to the village of Chapala in central Mexico, where he mentored a coterie of promising writers and continued to write and publish. He died at home on May 16, 2018, two weeks after the publication of his last collection of poems,The Alphabet of Longing and Other Poems.

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  2. Penny Harter

    Penny Harter

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  3. William J. Higginson

    William J. Higginson

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
74 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Steven C. Thedford
5.0 out of 5 stars The Haiku
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2021
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The Haiku Handbook presented an extensive history and development of the Haiku. For example, the central act of the haiku is letting an object or event touch us, and then sharing it with another. The Haiku is also known as a word picture and the present form of the artistic form in America seems to be a modern development. I think that it is a great resource for anyone who like to know more about these types of poems.
One person found this helpful
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Arcturus70
5.0 out of 5 stars Improve Writing and Thinking...
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2008
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I have a tendency to be too wordy in my writing, so to learn more focus and control, I have been studying (and writing) haiku. The Haiku Handbook has been an engaging resource for me in those efforts. Each of the book's five sections contains a wealth of ideas and information that both challenges and inspires:

Part One: Haiku Old and New [A great introduction to the experience of haiku and to Japanese Masters. The "Why Haiku" is helpful in clarifying one's purpose for writing such brief poetry.]

Part Two: The Art of Haiku [Natural themes, the form and craft of haiku; this is the section that I like best, and I repeatedly refer back to these pages. I especially enjoy how the author discusses the difference in Japanese and English languages.]

Part Three: Teaching Haiku [How to teach haiku writing to children, lesson plan included]

Part Four: Before and Beyond Haiku [Haiku and its uses]

Reference Section [With Season-Word List & Glossary]

Overall, this is a worthy product for anyone who wishes to delve into haiku more deeply than the introduction that most Westerners receive.
9 people found this helpful
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Christopher Barrett
5.0 out of 5 stars Great handbook~
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2012
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You can see my full review posted on the alternate listing for this book. I bought this version because it was $0.01 used (with $3.99 shipping), whereas the other version was $16 new (Prime), $9 used (plus $3.99 shipping). Compared side by side (the anniversary edition I checked out from the library), they are exactly the same, only this book is slightly smaller (7 x 4.5) to (8.3 x 5.5). But even the page numbers are the same. Please refer to the reviews for the following version:
 The Haiku Handbook -25th Anniversary Edition: How to Write, Teach, and Appreciate Haiku
3 people found this helpful
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Ohioan
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2012
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I bought this book because I wanted to know about haiku. My wish to know more was fulfilled: this book provides a wonderful history of haiku both old and new, discusses the art of haiku, the craft of haiku, has a section on teaching haiku, and a section on what lies beyond haiku. I get inspired reading any single page of this book!
4 people found this helpful
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Nissa Annakindt
4.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for poets and English teachers
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2015
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'The Haiku Handbook' is essential reading for those wishing to comprehend the haiku. If only every grade school teacher that decides to do a haiku writing lesson would read this book first. Too many come out of such lessons thinking that writing a haiku is just a matter of counting up syllables.

This book goes into the traditions of haiku at great length and enables a serious student to understand what a haiku actually is, and how to tell a good one from a second-rate one.

For poets who'd like to try writing haiku, this book gives an overwhelming amount of information. I'd recommend going slow and reading and rereading useful sections rather than dashing through it and trying to apply everything you've learned all at once.

One useful feature of the book is an extensive list of traditional season-words (a traditional haiku always has a season-word). Looking over the list may help you find a season word that can act as a poetry prompt for your next haiku.
5 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer forever!
5.0 out of 5 stars pinerock
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2011
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this haiku handbook is probably THE book to buy/read if you are interested in writing haiku and appreciating the poetry. the authors are quoted in books and magazines across the country. the book is a history of japenese haiku but has the changes in haiku for the 21st century. a must read for anyone interested in writing haiku. it is a classic!
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Russell
3.0 out of 5 stars A lot of details beyond Haiku.
Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2017
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Very comprehensive, but too detailed for the simple overview of Haiku that I was looking for. Maybe more geared for a literature major or expert.
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W. McMillin
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Writing
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2006
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There are very few books on how to write in any idiom. This book explains the hows and whys of haiku. What it takes to get started and to continue to write. I have found this useful in my writing that is not associated with haiku or poetry. This book is a lot of fun to read, and is not stuffy and boring as text books are. It will serve all writers well.
10 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Alan Summers
5.0 out of 5 stars The classic book if you want to know how haiku ticks
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 5, 2017
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The true classic of all books about haiku. An astonishing book of great detail from the classic roots all the way up to the late 20th Century. A real must of a book. Brilliant!

Alan Summers
President, United Haiku and Tanka Society
Japan Times award-winning writer for haiku and renku
co-founder, Call of the Page

p.s. When I first heard about haiku, and wondered what it was all about, I was so lucky to walk into a small branch library (Ipswich, Queensland) and find two copies! I read my borrowed copy through a plane flight and a week's holiday, and again and again borrowed the book until I bought my own copy. I have never looked back.
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Joe
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!
Reviewed in Germany on December 20, 2016
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If you are interested in Haiku -reading, -writing or -teaching, this book is really a "must have". It is excellent!
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Mr Raymond Norton
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 4, 2018
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an excellent book, full of information
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Pam Herbert
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2016
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just fine.
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CatsAndBooks
3.0 out of 5 stars Informative and inspiring, but doesn't give instructions
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 26, 2017
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This is a good book, with a lot of content, a valuable resource for students, teachers and writers of haiku. But it's more about 'How to Understand Haiku' than about 'How to Write Haiku' or 'How to Teach Haiku'.

From a book on how to write haiku I would have expected actual writing instructions, taking the student through the process step by step. I would want lessons for complete novices guiding their first attempts, and more in-depth tuition for those who have progressed beyond the basics. The book doesn't offer that.

From a book on how to teach haiku I would have expected something like a lesson plan or a course plan, with teaching materials and assignment suggestions for different levels and teaching tips. The book doesn't contain that either.

Sure, the book is useful for writers and teachers, but as a source of information and background, not as a study course or teaching material.

If you already write haiku, and want gain a deeper understanding, then this is a good book. It certainly goes way beyond the 5-7-5 pattern, and looks at the elements that make a genuine haiku (e.g. the season clue, the moment of pause, the spiritual inspiration).

I would recommend this book for people who already know how to write haiku, and want to give their poetry more authenticity and depth.
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