Haiku and Senryu Writing Exercises

The Haiku Seasons: Poetry of the Natural World by William J. Higginson. A classic introduction to Haiku. Haiku Mind: 108 Poems to Cultivate Awareness and Open Your Heart (2008) by Patricia Donegan. 108 remarkable haiku by Japanese and Western poets, with small essays to show how such brief poems can show us how we can approach our lives.

Haiku exercises

Your first three haiku:

• Exercise 1: brief 3-line nature poem with two juxtaposed images.
• Exercise 1 notes: comments and books on writing haiku.
• Exercise 2: brief 3-line nature poem with two juxtaposed images using '5-7-5' syllable count.
• Exercise 2 notes: comments and books on the history of haiku.
• Exercise 3: brief 3-line senryu: the 'human nature' poem.
• Exercise 3 notes: comments and timeline on the history of haiku.

Jump-start your poetry with ideas from our writing exercises.

Other exercises: Index. "Alien". Haiku. Spell casting. Write a poem like Billy Collins.

In the Palm of Your Hand, Steve Kowit. Highly recommended. Brimming with clear and practical exercises, Kowit's book is the best 'How to' book to help you start writing poetry. My favorite chapter is about Awful Poems, where Kowit leads us cheerily through the frequent mistakes that appear in our poems, with exercises to correct them. The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms, Edited by Mark Strand and Eavan Boland.

Highlights of Poetry. Poetry index. Books on Writing Poetry.

Books of Poetry Form. Highlights of Poetry. Index of poetry. How to Write Your Poetry. How to Listen to Poetry. Recommended books on Reading Poetry.

Log of books read.

Poetry exercises with poetry forms: Forms of skaldic verse. Haibun. Haiku. Hay(na)ku. Rengay. Tanka. Concrete. Ghazal. Lai. Pantoum. Rondeau. Rubáiyát. Sestina. Sonnet. Terza rima. Triolet. Tritina. Villanelle.

Other poets: Billy Collins and exercise. Franz Wright. J. Zimmerman. J. Zimmerman (haiku). J. Zimmerman (tanka). Jack Gilbert. Jorie Graham. Karen Braucher. Len Anderson. Li-Young Lee. Linda Pastan. Nordic Skalds. Richard Hugo's Triggering Town. W.S. Merwin. Adam Zagajewski.

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