Welcome to Go Dog Go Cafe’s Haibun Wednesday!

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What exactly is Haibun?

Autobiographical poetic prose accompanied by haiku.

Bruce Ross

In his old age Basho, who may be credited with establishing the haiku form, undertook a long journey to the remote regions of northern Japan, fully expecting to die before completing it. He did complete the journey, and his record of it has become a classic of world literature and an example, in the broadest sense, of haibun, autobiographical poetic prose accompanied by haiku. 
– Journey to the Interior, American Versions of Haibun, Edited by Bruce Ross

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This week’s writer’s guide…

[Concerning Haibun] Keep your prose simple. Haibun generally features concise yet detail-heavy paragraphs in the prose sections. Much like a good short story, the prose of the haibun is meant to state the theme and describe the setting as quickly and as simply as possible. In many ways, the prose is supposed to reflect the spirit of a haiku: sparse, imagistic, and powerful in its brevity. When writing prose, try to eliminate any inessential or extraneous words, with the goal of presenting your language as sparsely as possible.
How to Write Haibun Poetry: Tips for Writing Poetry

Turf Wars, Mary Jo Balistreri

Dad attaches a Slinky to the bird feeder pole. This one is a winner, he thinks. The squirrel proves otherwise, figures out how to spring from a coil onto the seed tray. Disgusted, Dad opens the basement door. Slinky drops with a thud on the stairs, walks the rest of the way down.

rummaging again
the pop of a jack-in-the-box
in an unmarked carton

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Now over to you…

• This week, let’s give ourselves less than 100 words between our prose and haiku with a theme of a problem you are currently facing.

• Post the poem to your blog, tag Go Dog Go Cafe, and include a link that leads readers back to this post.

• Add the link for your poem in the comments below.

• Read one or two of other writer’s links…we all get better together. 

DM

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Hey y’all, thanks for visiting the Go Dog Go Cafe and reading today’s selection. I am Donna Matthews, a born and bred Texan who can usually be found writing at the DJ Ranch, doodling, taking pictures, and traveling the world on foot. I’m all about love, people, sharing, and exploring life together, and would love to get to know you. Come on over for a visit sometime 💙