Haikus and Scikus:
One Breath Poems
or
The Shortest Motion Pictures You Can Make in Words!
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Ancient traditional Haikus have a 5 syllable/7 syllable /5 syllable structure written in 3 lines.*
- Haikus emerged from a collaborative form of Japanese poetry known as Renga meaning linked poem.
- The opening stanza of a Renga is the origin of the haiku.
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Contemporary or modern haiku or sciku are written in 3 or 4 lines and syllables are OR are not counted as the poet chooses.
*Remember: Words in other languages might contain more or less syllables than in English, meaning translated Haikus will not always fit the structure!
A One Breath Poem is a way to define Haikus! Scikus!
Their length is only what can be said in one breath.
Reading Ezra Pound's 20 word poem w/its title beams what is a haiku: the shortest movie you can write in words.
IN A STATION OF THE METRO - Ezra Pound
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/08/24/books/ezra-pound-poem-station-metro.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20260826&instance_id=180971&nl=breaking-news®i_id=189289965&segment_id=225445&user_id=206b07175335d3e3134fbadb8d559ebf
Free-Form Haikus
(Try making one yourself!)
Scikus
Learn about science and haiku at the Sciku Project
- The image to the right is a sciku based on a photograph
"Climate change buffer
Particles settle in grass
Seagrass meadows rule"
Sciku by Bob
Piles of snow
Slinking away
as the days grow warmer
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RELEVANT FAMOUS FIGURES
Matsuo Basho
Matsuo Basho, from Poetry Foundation
Born: 1644
Began Publishing Poetry: 1676
First of His Five Famous Travels Around Japan: 1684
Haiku of Basho
Basho Frog Haiku: 31 Translations
Issa
 |
| Kobayashi Issa |
Kobauyashi Issa (1763-1828)
Haiku with Issa
Kaga no Chiyo (1703-1775)
Kaga no Chiyo was a female Haiku master, known for her connections between nature and human emotion.
"Airing Out Kimonos"- Kaga no Chiyo
airing out kimonos
as well as her heart --
never enough
Picture Books for Haiku Writing
Earth Verse: Haiku from the Ground Up. Sally M. Walker. Illustrated by William Grill. Candlewick Press, 2018.
If It Rains Pancakes: Haiku and Lantern Poems. Brian P. Cleary. Illustrated by Andy Rowland. Millbrook Press, 2014
Dogku. Andrew Clements. Illustrated by Tim Bowers. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2014
GUYKU: A Year of Haiku for Boys. Rob Raczka. Illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. Houghton Mifflin, 2010
More on Haikus
Poetic Form: Haiku from Poets.org (Academy of American Poets)
Sample Haiku from Basho, Issa and western poets
Online Resources and Apps
- Haiku Starter is a writing interactive from National Council of Teachers of English
- Haiku Poem App (also from NCTE)
- You can import photos and images; page elements can be sized and rotated; different font sizes are available
• How-to Haiku Elementary Lesson on YouTube
- One of the oldest poetry formats
- Began in the late 15th century, emerging from a longer poetic form called Renga
- Matsuo Basho, one of Japan's most celebrated haiku poest, wrote in the 16th century
- Features pinpoint observations of moments and movements in nature
- Has a simple 3 line, 17 syllable structure
Interactive Haiku Poetry Writing Sites
What is Haiku? from ReadWriteThink, National Council of Teachers of English
Interactive Haiku Generator
Five Creative Ways to Teach Haiku from Scholastic
Haiku Poetry by American Poets
Haiku Poetry by Richard Wright
Haiku by Etheridge Knight
Sokka's Tale of Ba Sing Se- A humorous take on haiku from Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender. Watch below!
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