Arcanum Cafe - Library - Tanka, Haiku, and Senryu

Senryu is structurally identical to haiku, that is, a 5-7-5 poem, but has a much more flexible content, in particular discussing human emotion and relationships as opposed to nature themes.

Here is a really interesting web page, Tsukubane Senryu Club - Translated Senryu, with very straight forward English translations of Japanese language senryu. It appears, properly in my view, that there is no attempt to express the work in 17 English syllables.

And this, a site that calls itself Haiku Headlines of the Week, but of course it is senryu.

Anglophilization

Imagism* - a poetic movement which blossomed in the U.S. and England between 1909 and 1917 was motivated by American poets Ezra Pound, Amy Lowell, John Gould Fletcher, Hilda Doolittle, and English writers D. H. Lawrence and Richard Aldington. These authors relied on the use of precise, sharp images as a means of poetic expression and stressed precision in the choice of words, freedom in the choice of subject matter and form, and the use of colloquial language. Most of the imagist poets wrote in free verse, using such devices as assonance and alliteration rather than meter to give structure to their poetry. Notable collections of imagist poetry are Des Imagistes: An Anthology (1914), compiled by Pound, and the three anthologies compiled by Amy Lowell, all under the title Some Imagist Poets (1915, 1916, 1917).

Deduction

Always remember that five English syllables are not the equivalent of five onji. The poetic forms outlined here, technically, just don't exist in any language but Japanese. As a writer in the style of these forms you need to decide if you want to simulate their methods and conform to the spirit of each. You can choose to use syllables as proxies for onji, adhere to traditional themes, and abstain from meter and rhyme. Or, you can follow in the footsteps of ancient and modern poets, experimenting with new techniques or combining essences from two or more disciplines. As you can see Tanka (which, in a way, spawned haiku and senryu) itself evolved from its own precursors.

One advantage to subscribing to the stated disciplines is the focus which it provides for your work. After becoming satisfied with your disciplined efforts, I would strongly urge experimentation. You may find it enhances your newly acquired skills and/or launches you into a whole new realm of personal satisfaction.




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