Haiku

Little Brother and Big Sister have written Japanese haiku in school. We just discovered a book in English called Haiku, Asian Arts & Crafts for Creative Kids by Patricia Donegan. As you can see, the subtitle is learn to express yourself by writing poetry in the Japanese tradition. Patricia Donegan studied with Japanese haiku master Seishi Yamaguchi. She has also written other poetry books. She teaches at a university in Tokyo.

Her book introduces haiku as a way of "pausing to notice". She says to "learn to see the world through 'haiku eyes'". She also talks about "haiku moments". She gives seven keys to writing haiku, many examples, and exercises for practice. She also explains haibun (story with haiku), haiga (drawing & haiku) and renga (linked poetry). She gives a season dictionary, instructions on making a small book, and lists of links for websites, magazines, contests and haiku societies. The book is written for kids but adults can use it, too.

The book is part of a series of books with hands-on projects from Asia. Patricia Donegan's book was published in 2003. The series is published by Tuttle Publishing.