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If you've ever read anything about the history of haiku, then you probably know that the form evolved from an earlier kind of poetry variously called
renku,
renga,
haikai no renga . . . or in plain English, "linked verse." In fact, haiku wasn't even called "haiku" until the poet-critic Masaoka Shiki gave it the name at end of the nineteenth century. Prior to that, poems in the form were called
hokku (literally, "first" or "starting verse"), the point being that they were intended, at least in theory, as the first installment of a longer work.
Japanese linked verse (
renga or
renku,
ren meaning linked and
ga and
ku meaning "poem" and "verse" respectively) has a long tradition, going back over a thousand years. In its most basic form, it involves two poets putting together a 31-syllable (or "mora") tanka, one poet supplying the first part of 5-7-5 and another the concluding 7-7. From this beginning, poets gradually evolved longer forms, in which verses were added one after another like links in a chain:
A 5-7-5 > B 7-7 > C 5-7-5 > D7-7 > E 5-7-5 . . .
and so on, until the poem grew to 18 or 36 or 100 verses--or sometimes even more. Perhaps the most interesting feature of this form was its aesthetic principle of "link and shift," whereby each new verse added to the overall work had to make a
self-contained poem with the verse immediately preceding it
and unconnected with the verse before that. In other words, after the first verse (or
hokku), each succeeding verse was part of
three distinct poems: once with the verse before it, once with the verse after it, and of course once as a part of the overall sequence in its own right. Thus verses followed A, AB, BC, CD, DE . . . in a succession of constantly changing but interrelated poetic images. The result is a fascinating, complex form of communal poetic creation--spontaneous, playful and interactive.
Because the starting verse was the one part of a linked poem that could be produced ahead of time, and because it set the tone for the whole piece, linked-verse poets always took great pains to produce the most striking, richly evocative
hokku possible. Moreover, as practice, they produced them in great numbers--far more than they could ever use in actual linked-verse collaborations. And so was born the idea of the
hokku as a stand-alone poem, the familiar form that we know as haiku today. (The word
haiku itself is a portmanteau of
haikai no renga no hokku, where
haikai means "comic" or "playful";
haikai no renga = "comic linked poetry.")
Behind the grand tradition of the hokku/haiku, however, there remains the fascinating world of linked verse which first gave it birth. In today's interconnected wiki-world, where collaboration and creative networking have never been easier, the form is undergoing a remarkable renaissance. Some links to explore . . .
Renku or Japanese Linked Verse
•
Link & Shift: An Overview
• A good introductory lesson to the "core driver" of linked-verse composition, by John Carley. Start here.
•
The Click of Mahjong Tiles
• A sample 36-verse
kasen renku. Enjoy the poem, then click on the link at the top of the page for the "Annotated Version." A superb introduction to renku aesthetics in practice. The details may seem bewildering at first, but there's a good reason for every rule. Rewards close study.
•
Laughter Rising
• Another sample 36-verse
kasen, this time from the archives of
Simply Haiku. When you finish the poem, click on the link at the bottom of the page that says "Tomegaki" for commentary.
•
Haiku, Haikai and Renga: Communal Poetry Practice by Sonja Arntzen
• A good introduction to the historical background of haikai poetry in general, with a special focus on "communal" creation, and suggestions for modern practice.
•
Renku Home, by William J. Higginson
•
John Carley's The Renku Reckoner
•
Renku Resources from the World Haiku Club
•
Renga Info by Jane Reichhold
• Four comprehensive resources, chock full of information on the reading, composition and appreciation of linked poetry. All worth exploring in detail. Between them, they should leave no doubts about the scope, complexity and fascination of this marvellous form.
Well, that should be enough to start. But don't forget: as always, there's lots more in the superb archives of
Simply Haiku.
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[This message has been edited by Stephen Collington (edited October 21, 2008).]