Monoku - Debbie Guzzi's Blog

Here is the Poetry Soup definition of Monoku

Definition

A haiku in a single horizontal line.

Example

an icicle the moon drifting through it

Matsuo Allard (Bird Day Afternoon, High/Coo Press, 1978)

IF this was presented in 3 lines it would look like this

an icicle --
the moon drifting
through it

the season word is icicle, it IS 2 parts

This article is by MY teacher

Michael Dylan Welsh

Haiku is a brief genre of poetry that typically captures a moment of sensory perception, often with a seasonal reference (kigo, or season word) and a two-part juxtapositional structure (equivalent to a kireji, or cutting word) that conveys or implies an emotion. Senryu ( more accurately  presented in English as senryu, with a macron) is similar to haiku except that it tends to be more satirical or ironic in tone, and does not need to include a season word or two-part structure (although some senryu may still include these elements yet still be considered a senryu). Some people think of haiku as focusing on nature, with senryu focusing on people, but this is misleading. The fact is that many haiku by the Japanese masters also focus on people, so having human content is not a distinguishing factor. Furthermore, haiku is actually a seasonal poem, not strictly a nature poem (many of the kigo that haiku aim at are in fact not nature-related), although nature often comes along for the ride. Instead, it is usually tone that differentiates haiku and senryu. Haiku tend to celebrate their subjects (even if dark), whereas senryu tend to have a “victim,” and may or may not be humourous. Haiku typically treat their subjects reverently, whereas senryu do so irreverently. Haiku try to make a feeling, and senryu try to make a point. And if haiku is a finger pointing to the moon, senryu is a finger poking you in the ribs. [Read the preceding text in Simplified Chinese.]

        More than 4,000 of my haiku and senryu have appeared in hundreds of journals and anthologies, and have been translated into at least sixteen languages (most recently Turkish, Swahili, and Punjabi). This page presents selections of these poems. For additional poems, click the links on the Books and Trifolds pages, and see also Sequences and An Interview for Writing It Real.

If you click on the UNDERLINED WORDS you will be brought to HIS web pages. After ALL these years TRYING so hard to teach you WHAT a haiku is

and what it isn't PLEASE [see Debbie praying on bended knee?]

Don't FORGET just because you are writing the verse in a SINGLE LINE rather than in 3 lines IT IS STILL A HAIKU.