Haiku

                                
  A haiku is a short poem that uses imagistic language to convey the essence of an experience of nature or the season intuitively linked to the human condition.

In January 1973, a Haiku Society of America Definitions Committee consisting of Harold G. Henderson, William J. Higginson, and Anita Virgil completed its work. The results, approved by the Society, were the Society's official definitions of haiku, hokku, senryu, and haikai intended to provide the publishers of dictionaries and other reference works with definitions that the Society felt better reflected actual, informed usage of these terms at that time.

In March 1993, because the knowledge of Japanese haiku and related writings and their practice in English had grown substantially, HSA President Francine Porad formed a Definitions Committee consisting of Naomi Y. Brown, Lee Gurga, William J. Higginson (chair), and Paul O. Williams, with the active participation of President Porad. In addition, Anita Virgil was consulted [she declined to participate, stating that she saw no need to revise the 1973 definitions]. Renku and haibun were added to the list. The committee produced a draft that was circulated to the members by mail in December of 1993, but no further action was taken at that time, the Society and committee members being caught up in other business.

In 2003, HSA president Stanford M. Forrester reactivated the committee, consisting of Brown, Gurga, and Higginson. In November 2003, a web page accessible only to members was made available, and a notice in the printed Newsletter of the Society invited members to send for a printed copy of the draft definitions. Several members corresponded with the committee, and their information was included in committee deliberations. The committee further revised the 1993 draft, giving particular attention to separating definitions from additional information in notes and refining both. This final report concludes the work of the new definitions committee.

 All of these words originate in the Japanese language, where they refer to types of Japanese literature. These definitions, however, are intended for people reading and writing in English. Like the members of the earlier definitions committee, we hope the results of our efforts are faithful to the spirit of these words' Japanese origins and provide insight into contemporary English-language usage and practice. As in Japanese, the defined word is its own plural. (We considered adding "tanka" in 1993, but have decided to leave that in the hands of the recently founded Tanka Society of America.

In 1973 the Haiku Society of America was the only substantial non-Japanese haiku organization, and virtually all public statements about haiku in English were made in the pages of a few books and low-circulation magazines. Now many local, national, and international haiku organizations, as well as individuals, have taken up such definitional matters, often posting the results of their deliberations on the Internet or in more widely circulated magazines, providing poets with a new, globally collaborative enterprise. We have taken much of this recent international discussion into account in our own deliberations, and we salute all who struggle with us in similar efforts. Accordingly, we see the Society now in the position of joining a chorus of efforts to understand and define "haiku" and related terms for a much wider audience than existed for such efforts 30 years ago.