THE HAIBUN GALLERY: 29th May 2025. Linda Papanicolaou - Guest Editor

host: Rupa Anand

mentor: Lorraine Haig Haibun editors in haikuKATHA Journal: Firdaus Parvez, Kala Ramesh, Shailini Pattabiraman and Vidya Shankar.

A Thursday Feature

29th May 2025

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT BELOW

THE HAIBUN GALLERY  May 2025 - Linda Papanicolaou 

Prompt 5th week - the final prompt

PROMPTS for MAY 2025

Linda Papanicolaou, US

INTRODUCTION

Sometimes you’ll see the linking of prose and haiku in haibun called “renku-like.” I first learned of it from Bruce Ross’ 2001 essay "Narratives of the Heart". Immediately intrigued, I set out to study renku linking.

Too often you’ll see it said that haibun prose and poem should “scent link” (Basho’s way). I’ve never been satisfied with vague directives that leave you on your own to figure it out. Intuition is certainly important, but I’ve come to believe that a good part of linking is a craft that can be learned. One article I found invaluable was Tadashi Kondo and William B Higginson‘s “Link and Shift: A Practical Guide to Renku Composition”, online at Renku Home. In their section “Types of Linking,” the authors survey verse linking from its early days to its development by Basho and his followers. Most—even all—of these ways of linking can also be used for prose/poem linking in haibun.

This month, our weekly prompts will be skill-building exercises based on a selection of the “Manners of Linking” described by Kondo and Higginson. As you write, explore different solutions to the problem. When you post your final version, please also include a short explanation of your decision process. Also, when giving feedback to others, please focus on the linking.

MAY 29

We haven’t yet talked about titles. This is one way haibun differs from renku. Tn traditional renku the title is taken from the first verse, the hokku, and the poem rolls away from there. Renku are not themed, and you don’t want the title to impose a theme, nor create a situation where readers are scanning through the poem looking for a verse that the title came from.

Another popular form of linked verse is rengay. This form centers on a theme that is generally agreed upon before the writing starts. All six verses link to it, perhaps even more strongly than they link to each other. The title, composed in retrospect, signals to readers the theme.

For Beary, Watts and Youmans, the haibun title, is an equal component with haiku and prose. Good haibun titles do not simply duplicate lines from the prose or haiku, nor do they telegraph theme. They link both to the prose and to the haiku, which in turn link to each other and, if the title is resonant enough, back again to it. The result is a web of linking that ties the haibun together, amplifying and deepening it (Haibun: A Writer’s Guide pp. 22-25, 41-42).

This week’s exercise is to write a haibun and give thought to how the title links to both prose and haiku and what it brings to the whole. When you post your haibun, please tell us about your process of choosing a title.

******** Linda,

Once again, a very good prompt and challenge. Thanks for so coherently going through the process of writing a haibun. I'm sure our members will benefit immensely from your 5 prompts, Linda.  

We'll all try to write according to your guidelines. 

Thank you so much.

_kala

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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT NOTICE

              NOTICE

Dear Haibuneers

Starting from March 2025, we at haikuKATHA are moving on to a new submissions format for haibun submissions. (Only for haibun, please note!)

Writers are invited to submit one unpublished haibun per submission window.

Kindly note the submissions calendar.

1-20 March, to be considered for publication in May

1-20 June, to be considered for publication in August

1-20 September, to be considered for publication in November

1-20 December, to be considered for publication in February

All accepted submissions will receive an email to confirm their acceptance by the 5th day of the publication month.

Your unpublished (only one) haibun should be sent to: https://forms.gle/xUEiiDR9wd2dgqtR9 only during the submission period. 

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The Haibun Gallery continues as is.

We will be having editors and prompts, and your sharing…