Haiku and Haibun

Haiku is the world's shortest and most practiced form of poetry. Haiku average about 13 syllables, are most often presented in three lines and consist of two distinct phrases.

Haibun is prose plus haiku. The prose is different than fiction in that it most often relates to the writer's personal experiences and thus is autobiographical. It's different than free verse poetry in that it's arranged in paragraphs as opposed to a series of phrases with line breaks. The prose tends to be clipped and focused on descriptive detail as opposed to philosophizing.

I write haibun because I find it a good way to share experiences with friends and family and with whatever readers happen on it in the various publications and websites where the writing appears.

Haibun and Haiku Journals

If you've enjoyed this style of writing, you might explore some of the online journals that offer a variety of themes: Contemporary Haibun Online, Haibun Today, A Hundred Gourds.

Dedication

To the friends with whom I've enjoyed hiking these many years including the Utahans (Dave, Peggy, Lori), Midwesterners (Lickety-split, Shard Lady, Deerslayer, GPSman, Larry & Kathy), Canadians (Nancy, Wendy, Joyce, Gary, Chris, George K, George N, Florence, Kathy, Peter and Jeanett), Coloradans (Cory, Bill and Peg), family (Mary, John, Walt, Brian & daughters, Terra and Teal). And to my then wife, Sandra, with whom I took my first backpacking trip to the Needles in the 1970s. And to the two Jims, B. and K., so alike, one might think them brothers and who so generously shared their knowledge of off-trail routes and the natural history of the region. And most of all to Huck of Huck's Museum in Blanding, without whom we'd not have gotten through some of those extra-cold Cedar Mesa, olive-oil freezing nights. Laughter, it turns out, is like a warm blanket for both body and spirit ... laughter along with one of Dave's extra fine campfires and a dose of Chris' poetry.

Special thanks to copy and content editor Joyce Hildebrand, Speargrass Communications, without whose help there would have been too many erroxs (see there's one!) to count and who wants you to know that she's not responsible for any made after her proofing skills were applied.

Review

Read Linda Papanicoleau's Review of Canyonlands Journal.

Copyright

All images are by Ray Rasmussen, unless otherwise noted. No image may be copied or used in any form without written permission of the photographers. All texts are copyright Ray Rasmussen.

~ Ray Rasmussen

Arches National Park, Utah