Haiku and the Perception of the Unique

Haiku and the Perception of the Unique

Haiku--evaluation

Haiku--appreciation

Haiku--history and criticism

An essay on haiku evaluation by Richard Gilbert. After discussing the dualities inherent in choosing criteria by which to evaluate the excellence of individual haiku, the author proposes it can only be resolved by acknowledging the individual and yet universal experience of 'aesthetic arrest,' and asks, "what would a criticism look like, which begins with the perception of the unique, leading the reader further towards considerations of the unique, towards its greater valuation? This move would raise the valuation of the unique, rather than discarding its power via explanatory meaning, as we might discard the power of the poem, or dream."

Gilbert, Richard

The Haiku Foundation
Field Notes

2014

All rights reserved.

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