How to Haiku – Writing Cathartic Poetry

Cathartic Poetry

Two years ago I wrote a post about haiku. Today it is once again International Haiku Day, so I thought I would revisit the subject. The main aspect I want to share this time is the cathartic properties of haiku. I also want to show you how you can use it as a medium to release your feelings.

As part of the release of my own book, I scoured the web for groups, poetry clubs and competitions. I thought it would both help me spread the word about my book Also, I figured it would enable me to learn more from others.

What I did learn was that I had made a number of mistakes in my work. I had used punctuation and capital letters – apparently that isn’t done.

Another mistake was that I had tried to form coherent sentences – again, not how it was done.

I read a number of pieces and the critiques on those pieces. the conclusion I came to was that art is art.

If I write a poem, based on a particular style, I do not need to follow the rules if the work is for my own enjoyment.

Art is not about following rules, it is about expression. So I want you to have a try with me today. Let’s write a cathartic poem and take some time for ourselves.

Everyone is a critic

When I entered some online haiku competitions I made a point of reading previous entries. What struck me was that the judges were able to write whole paragraphs about a piece that only contained 17 syllables.

This is the power of haiku. It is a condensed word parcel, waiting to be opened and explored.

Everything the judges said was insightful and helpful. I sent off my entries hoping that I will get some similar useful feedback from the experts.

Criticism is a major fear of many writers.

Not that someone won’t like your work – that is inevitable- but that they will say it is terrible. But, to be honest, unless they can be a bit more constructive than that, those sorts of critics are to be ignored!

But this fear has stopped many potentially great writers from making a start. So, as it is International Haiku Day (or not, depending on when you read this!) it is time to try out a simple cathartic task.

You start by starting

It is possible to over complicate poetry simply by overthinking it. For this exercise all you will need is a pad and pen. (Or the tech of your choice if you want to type it).

Write a few sentences about how you are feeling right now, or how your week has been. Maybe you are excited about being out of lockdown, or you have a list of jobs to do so you might feel a bit stressed.

If you can go for a paragraph – about 4 or 5 sentences- try and do that. I know it doesn’t look like poetry yet, but stay with me! The more material you have the easier the next part will be

As an example here is my week:

Last week of the school holidays, will be glad when they are all back at school and college as I haven’t had the house to myself for ages! Worked on the garden, it is going to be a big job but it will look great when it is done. Finally sorted out all my paperwork for my new job, starting in May, so I have a few weeks to get the house sorted. I never seem to appreciate time off when I have it, I know my mum is feeling the same now that she is retired. The days just run on and you can find yourself not doing anything…

Grab a highlighter…

This is why it is easier to write by hand, but you can hi-light text documents too, so all my tech using friends should be fine.

Pick out the themes of your paragraph, what words stand out to you?

Last week of the school holidays, will be glad when they are all back at school and college as I haven’t had the house to myself for ages! Worked on the garden, it is going to be a big job but it will look great when it is done. Finally sorted out all my paperwork for my new job, starting in May, so I have a few weeks to get the house sorted. I never seem to appreciate time off when I have it, I know my mum is feeling the same now that she is retired. The days just run on and you can find yourself not doing anything…

What I noticed was a desire to have more ‘me time’. There is also an emphasis on big changes happening and that time can easily run away with you if you don’t have a plan.

From this you can draw your main ideas:

I need to be more organised and have a plan.
Change is coming – so I have to prepare.
Lots of exciting things happening
Might want to pencil in some ‘me time’!

Making your work more ‘haiku’

As you know from my previous post on the subject (which I know you totally read, right!) the standard form of a haiku is:

With 5 syllables
or maybe,sometimes 7
you can make your point

                  Polly Thompson

This means you will need to play with your word choices to get them to fit with what you want to say. For this I have found 2 great online resources.

Firstly you need a thesaurus. If you want alternative words, this is the best place to start. My personal recommendation is Thesarus.com, but there are plenty of options online. Of course, actual thesaurus’ exist too!

What this will give you is a number of words you can use instead of the one you originally wrote. This is particularly useful when writing haiku due to the syllable number count.

You may want to use the word ‘effervescent’, but it won’t fit in the sentence. Perhaps you could instead use ‘fizz’ (1 syllable) or ‘bubbly’ (3 syllables). What about lively? (2 syllables).

What if you are not sure how many syllables a word has? You’ve counted them out, but is that a natural pronunciation?

This is where my second recommended resource comes in: How many syllables.com. It is a great tool to help if you are unsure of how a word sounds when broken down. The only issue with this tool is that it may not work for foreign words.

An example of this is the word ‘haiku’ itself. While the English pronunciation would suggest it contains 2 syllables it technically contains 3: ha -i – ku (はいく). Whether this bothers you or whether you just want to use sounds you would normally use is up to you.

Putting it all together

You now have a few key ideas, and have written a few alternative words to vary your syllable count. We can now start working on our haiku.

Make lists of 5 and 7 syllable lines

The final task is to now select lines to create your poem. Two from your first list and one from the second.

Be prepared for change
organising and planning
time to make my plans

Hmm, can’t use ‘plan’ twice – may check out that thesaurus: Idea? Project? Intention?

Be prepared for change
organising my ideas
time to make those plans

Not Shakespeare exactly, but you get the idea. With longer to work on your poems you can really express the essence of what you feel and want to say in a few short words.

Over to you

Have you had a go at writing a haiku? Did it feel cathartic? Share your work in the comments. What other forms of artistic expression do you enjoy?

Seo demands I use the word cathartic one last time!