The Ones That Everyone Should Know

[shanti nima]

Dear Mentors

Classical Japanese haijin had a canon of material that everyone knew, and could hint at in their new compositions.

I notice that in discussions of haiku here and elsewhere on the web reference is often made to apparently well known ELH that should be in everyone's toolbox.

Is there a reference list of these base English language haiku that form, as it were, the beginnings of an English Language canon?

In the last few weeks, as I start to learn about haiku, I have downloaded probably several thousand haiku apart from the articles and mini-courses by  various English speaking  luminaries (including some that post on this site) that are freely available - but I am concerned to find the really central corpus of work - if such a thing exists. After all, there is only so much time available, and I'd like to use it to the best advantage.

I know how to find stuff -( including the marvellous cache of early, and pre WW2 and Beat generation stuff at Terebess) - but which is the Right Stuff...

I know that I should know about that damn  frog jumping into the pond, g (!), but which are the English ones of similar importance...

[AlanSummers]

Certainly this anthology is a logical one to obtain:

Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years (W. W. Norton 2013)
ISBN 978-0-393-23947-8
http://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail.aspx?ID=4294972241

And look inside page:
http://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail-inside.aspx?ID=4294972241&CTYPE=G

And the various features of The Living Haiku Anthology:
http://livinghaikuanthology.com

Including those we have lost:
http://livinghaikuanthology.com/index-of-poets/livinglegacies.html

Dear Mentors

Classical Japanese haijin had a canon of material that everyone knew, and could hint at in their new compositions.

I notice that in discussions of haiku here and elsewhere on the web reference is often made to apparently well known ELH that should be in everyone's toolbox.

Is there a reference list of these base English language haiku that form, as it were, the beginnings of an English Language canon?

In the last few weeks, as I start to learn about haiku, I have downloaded probably several thousand haiku apart from the articles and mini-courses by  various English speaking  luminaries (including some that post on this site) that are freely available - but I am concerned to find the really central corpus of work - if such a thing exists. After all, there is only so much time available, and I'd like to use it to the best advantage.

I know how to find stuff -( including the marvellous cache of early, and pre WW2 and Beat generation stuff at Terebess) - but which is the Right Stuff...

I know that I should know about that damn  frog jumping into the pond, g (!), but which are the English ones of similar importance...

[shanti nima]

Thank you Alan - order made at Uncle Amazon!
Happy new year.

[Jacklack]

"The Country of Eight Islands" Burton Watson
"The Haiku Anthology 3rd Edition" Coe van de Heuvel
"The Deep End of the Sky" Chad Lee Robinson
"A Drop of Pond" Brad Bennett
"The Art of Haiku" Stephen Addiss

Jim Kacian's book is great.

Anything by Raymond Roseliep or Stanford M. Forrester, Alexis Rotella, Chad has a free chapbook in the digital library called "Rope Marks"