{"id":817,"date":"2015-09-25T06:15:09","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T10:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/makingcomics.spiltink.org\/?p=817"},"modified":"2024-08-03T01:06:49","modified_gmt":"2024-08-03T05:06:49","slug":"haiku","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salgoodsam.com\/mc\/haiku\/","title":{"rendered":"Haiku, Senry\u016b & Tanka"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first few weeks as we study the structure and formalism of Sequential art, we’re also going to start keeping diary comics. And to keep focused on short narratives, while also forcing students to think about how to express their ideas in a limited format. There’s a strong tradition of poetry in comics<\/a>, so we’ll be utilizing that to these ends.<\/h4>\n

[ezcol_1half]<\/p>\n

\"reddressjoan\"<\/a>As I mention in my post about short stories<\/a>, it’s common for students to come to class\u00a0wanting to write a graphic novel, to build epic worlds and grand tales.<\/p>\n

However learning to write in any form begins best with small steps.<\/p>\n

Poetry–one of the most refined forms of literature–offers a very compatible way to think about symbols, meter, and using an economy of words. All things that are often critical to creating great comics.<\/p>\n

Art Spiegelman among others is often quoted as saying
\n‘Comics are\u00a0the art of compression’<\/em>.<\/p>\n

While you CAN\u00a0draw out time, and decompression <\/a>is popular in manga and western superheros.<\/p>\n

Still it’s far more important I believe, to know what NOT\u00a0to say or show<\/span>, and what to leave embedded in a moment of closure<\/a> in the reader’s mind, to\u00a0best utilize your reader’s imagination and keep them engaged.<\/p>\n

Drawing out the moment should be reserved for intense moments, or when you want to overtly slow time. If you show every second that ticks by, your readers will get board watching the paint dry!<\/p>\n

So to that end,\u00a0our dairy strips will follow one of three traditional Japanese forms that require us to do as much as we can, with as little as we can..<\/p>\n

Haiku<\/a>, Senry\u016b<\/a> & Tanka<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Many are familiar with\u00a0Haiku, and this exercise is inspired by Matt Madden’s\u00a0Haiku Comics exercises<\/a>. Go check out that link for some really strong examples of this exercise.<\/p>\n

[\/ezcol_1half] [ezcol_1half_end]<\/p>\n

There are two constraints in\u00a0Haiku<\/a><\/span>: The poem is three lines long; The first and last are five\u00a0syllables long, the second middle line is seven syllables long: And traditionally,\u00a0Haiku are about the environment, and nature. Rather than feelings or personal experience.\u00a0Here’s an example.<\/p>\n

Whitecaps on the bay:
\nA broken signboard banging
\nIn the April wind.<\/p>\n

–Richard Wright \u00a9 1998<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For subjects regarding human foibles, the same 5-7-5 syllable count is used for\u00a0Senry\u016b<\/a><\/span> poems. Here’s an\u00a0example.<\/p>\n

Brilliant words flowing
\nFrom those never knowing, how
\nmany lives they touch….<\/p>\n

–Connie Marcum Wong\u00a0\u00a9 2001<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0A good structure guide for beginning Haiku poets is: Setting; Subject; Action. Or Setting; Action; Subject. I’ve noticed in my research that Senry\u016b don’t always follow the strict 5-7-5 pattern, the examples on wikipedia for example read 3-2-3 instead. And modern Haiku also don’t always keep to it. The pattern of x-y-x is the key recurring feature. But to get started lets try to stick to 5-7-5 for the first week at least.<\/p>\n

For our comic exercise this will translate to three panel comic strips, with just ONE line of text for each panel.<\/p>\n

And building on this forms tradition of\u00a0juxtaposing directly observed everyday objects or occurrences, we’ll be looking whenever possible, to add an image, that adds meaning rather than simply repeating\/illustrating the text.<\/p>\n

So three panels of comics art and three lines of text to go with them. A challenging idea still simple enough to sketch in your notebook and\u00a0do anywhere.<\/p>\n

[\/ezcol_1half_end]<\/p>\n