Talking about haiku

I discovered an excellent post yesterday–put out by Penumbra Haiku, it features roughly 33 quotes about haiku.  There is a wide variety of quotes, ranging from serious to hilarious.  There was such a good response to the quotes, that the author created a haiku quotations page that will be added to as more quotes are found.

I have chosen three of my favourites, among the serious quotes.  The first quote, by Basho, is somewhat of  a dream for those who attempt to write haiku–you’ll see what I mean:

When composing a verse let there not be a hair’s breath separating your mind from what you write; composition of a poem must be done in an instant, like a woodcutter felling a huge tree or a swordsman leaping at a dangerous enemy.

∼Matsuo Basho, Japanese poet, 1644-1694

Reading haiku is as much an art as writing it. The reader needs to pause and listen to the silences, to feel the spaces between the words, and to journey into the depths of many multi-colored worlds.

∼Harley King, Mother, Don’t Lock Me In That Closet!;  American author and poet

Haiku is a snapshot in time. No veils, no mystery—it is exactly as it reads. The mind perceives everything moment by moment. The haiku is a moment in time, pure and unblemished.

∼Robert Mestre, poet, author, artist; cofounder of Simplyhaiku.com