Haiku for Parkinson’s: From Haiku for Parkinson’s to Haiku for Healing—Stella Pierides
Haiku for Parkinson’s (H4P) has been a feature of The Haiku Foundation: introducing haiku to those of us living with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and introducing PD to those ‘living with haiku.’ Based on the idea that reading/writing haiku provides an additional tool to help mitigate PD symptoms, we initially invited contributions focusing on this disease. More recent posts took us to the wider landscape of health challenges (see previous posts from this series here).
Stella Pierides writes:
In December 2024, we complete a year of The Haiku Foundation’s feature, ‘Haiku for Parkinson’s’. It has been my privilege to design and administer this feature, exploring how haiku – in addition to its reaffirming and celebrating the wonders of the natural and human worlds – may provide a helpful tool in what is referred to as the Parkinson’s toolbox. Below, I review the feature and describe the transition to our new iteration, ‘Haiku for Healing.’
Parkinson’s (PD) is one of the fastest growing, thus far incurable, neurodegenerative diseases, involving, besides physical manifestations, a host of psychological, interpersonal, and social issues. Complementing pharmacological management, several therapeutic approaches are being used to mitigate symptoms, in the hope that they slow the progression of the disease and improve quality of life. The feature was intended to make haiku known and available as a tool to those living with Parkinson’s and to increase awareness of the disease in those living with haiku.
The guiding idea has been that haiku possesses several qualities that render it a powerful device for managing PD symptoms. In particular:
- Brevity: Haiku can be written or read in a single sitting, promoting feelings of completeness and accomplishment.
- Concentration: Concentrating on the moment and our embodied being, haiku anchors us in the world, providing a counterweight to ‘Parkinson’s moments’ – when one feels stuck or caught in acts such as buttoning a shirt or turning over in bed.
- Exercise of the mind: Crafting a haiku, in the effort of finding the images and rendering them in words that best convey the experience, exercises the brain and mind.
- Connectedness: Attending to the relationship or interaction between writer and reader, and nature – restoring our connection to the world and so becoming a healing force.
- Identity: Haiku enables exploration of the self through overcoming the embarrassment and stigma of the disease, and coming to terms with the constant challenges faced.
These haiku qualities combined can yield more than the sum of the parts. They can help bring about a ‘reframing’ of the experience of the disease and the challenges it poses, rendering what feels hard to bear bearable, manageable.
We explored how this potential of haiku may be realized in a series of blog posts focusing on PD symptoms, as well as other health conditions. Catherine Mair, Tim Roberts, Stella Pierides, Philomene Kocher, Scott Mason, Bruce Feingold, Debbie Strange, Hermann J. Mueller, and Pris Campbell contributed insights from different perspectives (see here).
In parallel, Sonam Chhoki introduced haiku via her email course to a number of people living with/impacted by PD and reported sensitively on their progress. See Sonam’s updates here and here.
Given the insightful contributions and reception of our feature, the question of whether haiku may also be helpful with conditions other than Parkinson’s gave impetus to expanding our remit to a wider landscape of health challenges. Thus, for instance, Bruce H. Feingold highlighted the healing properties of haiku for the heart and Pris Campbell for ME/CSF.
This widening of scope is reflected in our change of title to ‘Haiku for Healing,’ offering haiku as a tool that may help soothe, calm, reframe problem(s), and improve the quality of life for many living with disease and the psychosocial entanglements it involves.
I am pleased to hand over the baton to renowned poet and editor of cattails, Sonam Chhoki, who will be taking us to these wider shores. in the new year. I look forward to her steady steering of this feature.
*
Reference:
Pierides, Stella (2022), “Parkinson’s Toolbox.” Juxtapositions Eight: Research and Scholarship in Haiku, pp. 37–61. The Haiku Foundation Digital Library.
Image Credit:
Maria Pierides
Comments (5)
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I concur wholeheartedly with your analysis, Stella, and the further comments. Over the 15 years of my PD life I have come to depend on haiku and on senryu humour to both express emotional disarray and look beyond to the riches of things in this terse and allusive form of commentary that I love.
In solidarity
Magdalene
This is a wonderful thread and I am so glad that THF is continuing it. I believe haiku has several plusses and benefits that can positively affect a large number of individuals with a variety of conditions.
As you note, the short form is perfect for those with limited focus abilities; it certainly provides a good “brain work-out”; it can have a calming and almost meditation-like effect; it can provide a sense of purpose and community…and so much more.
These salient effects would be beneficial not just to those with PD, but also to others with limited mobility (e.g., CP, MS, ALS) and certainly provide a therapeutic benefit to those with early-to-moderate dementia and patients with psychiatric concerns (e.g., depression). It can also be a good preventative measure specifically for the geriatric population (think nursing home residents) and those predisposed to dementia.
A Haiku for Parkinson’s post was the first THF post I read when I joined last summer. As a person living with PD I couldn’t believe the coincidence! The information posted by you and others here have helped me to see haiku as more than creative expression, Writing haiku has now become an essential, part of my PD self treatment — maybe the most invigorating part of my PD toolbox. I’ve also shared my experience with the Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence at The University of Colorado. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Debbie, for your kind words and insightful contribution!
Thank you for your dedication to this wonderfully groundbreaking feature, Stella, and for inviting me to participate!