Sifting and sorting through the haiku to be part of my upcoming book (more here), I discovered several of them sounded more like a senryu. Others were one without any discussion. This discovery made me stop to reflect on a couple of things. And then it led to some action.
Let’s start!
What Is A Senryu?
A senryu, correctly, senryû, has the same poetic structure as a haiku. It consists of three lines and 17 syllables:
1st line – 5 syllables
2nd line – 7 syllables
3rd line – 5 syllables
The difference lies in the contents. A haiku describes a moment of change and is a strict reference to nature; its “poetic sister” (or brother?) deals more with the nature of “being human.” While both genres – haiku and senryu – are strictly separated in Japan, it seems to be different in the English-speaking world. I am a fan of the “open flow,” and probably that’s why I write so many “haiku-senryu-ish” poems.
An Update On The Book
As a next step, I started to write more senryu intentionally. At first, I did not know why I did so. Then my upcoming book kind of “called me.” It wanted to have a concept. Having read a lot of haiku collections myself, I could relate to the idea. There are many haiku books out there, but what I sometimes miss is an idea or concept that links everything. When I started writing the book, I knew that I wanted to have one. Also, it’s one of the “pearls of wisdom” I recently found. (More here.)
Looking at the script again, I could see a new concept arising. I noticed that I had written haiku and senryu about similar topics. So why not group them as pairs? That’s what I did. On one side, you’ll find a haiku from a very “human view,” and on the other, a senryu, a kind of an “answer” or reminder from the soul. And, of course, you can also read all poems individually. Now, everything comes to life in a new way. The book itself has come to life. I love it!
Now What?
“Now what?” is one of my favorite questions. So, here come the next steps. Over the next few days, I will continue reworking this website, and everything will be finished in a week or so.
The next step is finalizing my script according to the new concept and doing the last rounds of editing. If all goes well, the book will be out in November. If you like to be informed about it, join my newsletter list via the top bar. Thank you!
Love & Wisdom – Always!
Nicole Erika
Nicole Erika is a self-realized writer and coach who reminds you of the Ease Of Creation and the Joy of Self-Expression.
