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My Favourite Haiku Books
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items A curated collection of essential haiku reads, divided into two sections: books about haiku (covering craft, history, and aesthetics) and books of haiku (showcasing the form in practice). This list is designed to help readers deepen their understandi...
Sections
2
Books About Haiku
Books Of Haiku
Books About Haiku
The books listed in this section are about the history and craft of writing haiku.
This was the first book about how to write haiku that I read, and it's a classic. It gives readers everything they need to begin appreciating, writing, or even teaching haiku.
In fact, I love it so much, I bought this 25th anniversary edition, even after having read an earlier version.
In fact, I love it so much, I bought this 25th anniversary edition, even after having read an earlier version.
The Haiku Handbook 25th Anniversary Ed.
This might be my favourite book about writing haiku - I found it more useful as a practical guide than The Haiku Handbook (as much as I love that book).
Haiku: A Poet's Guide - Lee Gurga: 9780974189406
This is another great book to start with. It introduces the concept of one-breath poetry - because it's said a haiku should be capable of being read aloud in a single breath.
Haiku: One Breath Poetry: Wakan, Naomi Beth
What I love about this book is that it was written by someone who teaches haiku at college, and he includes both interpretations of haiku by his students, as well as some of the haiku written by them. This makes it an invaluable book in helping you t...
The Art of Reading & Writing Haiku
As the title says, this book is about how to help children write haiku. It does focus on the traditional 5-7-5 syllable count, which in my opinion makes for a great set of training wheels, but modern haiku does not necessary stick to this rigid rule ...
Write Your Own Haiku for Kids: Japanese Poetry
This is a book I wrote specifically for beginners. It gives a brief history of haiku, mentions the four classic poets (Bashō, Issa, Yosun, and Shiki), and then walks through the basics of writing haiku, moving on through more and more advanced techni...
Haiku For Beginners: 15-Module Intro Course
This book was inspired by my love of haiku and my lifelong aphantasia (i.e., the inability to create mental images). While that would seem to make writing haiku difficult (or even impossible), this book explores why that is not the case, and in doing...
Haiku Without a Mind’s Eye: Aphantasia & Art
This is a short book that is designed to help you quickly capture moments that may becomer haiku later before they are lost. Once you finish the simple steps, which will take you no more than three minutes, you will have a draft haiku - not a polishe...
The Three-Minute Haiku System: Capture Haiku Fast
Books Of Haiku
Matsuo Bashō is considered THE haiku master, and is the author of perhaps the most famous haiku in the world. This book is a translated compilation of some of his best haiku.
The Haiku of Basho
Yosa Buson is another of the four classic haiku masters, and this book compiles translations of his best works.
Collected Haiku of Yosa Buson
Kobayashi Issa is the third of the four classic haiku masters. This book contains English translations of many of his poems.
Issa's Best: Translator's Selection Haiku
Masaoka Shiki is the fourth of the classic haiku masters. This book pulls together English translations of some of his best haiku.
Masaoka Shiki: His Life and Works
Not many people know that the author of On The Road, Jack Kerouac, also wrote haiku (not haikus, as the title says, because the word “haiku” is both singular and plural).
Book of Haikus (Penguin Poets)
Ben Gaa is my favourite modern haiku poet, and this is the third of his books I've read and enjoyed.
A Wild Blue Sky: haiku & senryu