The Haiku Foundation Forums

I don't recall who said, "I write not so much to be understood but to be heard." This quote would be appropriate on the back cover of Poetry magazine. It may be, in fact, where I read it. The words seem pitched for discussion. Do we write for a sense of belonging, to verify our experiences, to build consensus, to entertain? Or do we stand in the gap as a witness at the edge of the void. I've been a different places at different times in my writing. Honing words to a simple, clear, precise expression works in both registers—to be understood and to be heard. That aha! moment in haiku is one of clarity but it may be clarity at a picture of chaos. It looks so simple, much the same way silence may look like a vacuum waiting for words. But there is a great presence in what is not said. I agree with Mark Rothko who said, "Silence is so accurate."