at one point in my life, i was deeply immersed in the aesthetic of japanese
haiku. the japanese culture (as well as ours, i suppose) has a particular
attraction/fascination with things decomposing, i.e. being broken down all
the way back to dust. in other words, the japanese find beauty in what
others consider ugly. haiku itself tends to zero in on the small
un-noticed, passed-over things...i.e. the dead fly on the windowsill from
last summer...
i don't have a lot of time to go into a definition of haiku, but doing a
"google" on "haiku society of america" (to which i used to be a member of),
will lead you to links about various definitions. there are a number of
different haiku-in-english groups that all claim their method of composition
is the correct method (similar to classifications of music/sound creation).
the various groups arose from the fact that japanese haiku is written in 17
syllables, japanese syllables though, which don't actually have exact
equivalents in english. so, holding english haiku to the 17 syllable rule
is a bit moot, but that is what is usually taught. to illustrate on
japanese syllable can be the equivalent of one english word (not one
syllable of a word). some groups adhere to writing haiku in three lines,
composed of one short line, one longer line, and one short line. some even
write haiku in one line (japanese haiku is written in one vertical line of
characters).
so, my association of haiku with failure may or may not be, but i think
cracks, stutters, and fissures fit into the category of what most people
consider ugly.
"a weed is any plant that you don't want in your garden." i don't know who
wrote that, but i think it also applies.
best future,
john
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