re:Virals

re:Virals 483

Slack tide miscellany

As 2024 trickles to a close, a few miscellaneous matters.

Touchstone nominations:

Between half and two-thirds of the verses appearing in re:Virals are published in the current year. They are already the choice of contributors who have written a perceptive and articulate review of a haiku. Each poem then benefits from the scrutiny and comment of several readers. And so, this column is permitted to submit up to half a dozen nominations among them for consideration by the Touchstone Award panel, and likewise for the annual Red Moon Anthology. For the Touchstones the following have been sent in:

come as you are ...
cherry petals
in the wind
—Vladislav Hristov
Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival 2024 international section Hon. Mention

re:Virals 477

the cat asleep
next to the new TV
morning sun
—John S Green
The Haiku Foundation Haiku Dialogue 18 September 2024

re:Virals 473

father's day
I asked my mother
for advice
—Ida Wiesenfeld
LEAF issue 4 Summer 2024 / and 

re:Virals 467

the starfish
      missing a leg
on the clearance shelf
—Randy Brooks
The Heron's Nest, Volume XXVI, Number 2: June 2024

re:Virals 459

far from the tree
firm opinions
on the best apples
—Lisa Billa, 
The Heron's Nest Volume XXVI, Number 2: June 2024 / and 

re:Virals 458

Red Moon Anthology:

Since the end of March I have been one of the editorial team for this anthology.   As we went along, I included some of the poems that appeared in re:Virals among the 320 or so haiku, senryu and haibun I selected to be voted on by the team.   At least 5 votes (of the 10 editors — the editor-in-chief does not have a vote at this stage) are necessary for inclusion in the volume.  I’m not going to make public the specific selections that I’ve sent in, but you’ll probably assume the above were among them.

Haiku demographics

Midway through the year I promised a note on this subject.

Participation:

The vast majority of those taking an active interest in haiku are in Japan, an estimated 8-10m people: some 6-8% of the population. In comparison, the numbers in English Language haiku worldwide are a tiny fraction. The Haiku Society of America has just over a thousand members, the British Haiku Society just over 400 members.  Several are members of both.  The Japan-based Haiku International Association has about 500 members in Japan, and about 120 international members.  One may assume that readership of their journals is unlikely to exceed membership by much;  that readership of other journals where paid subscription is required will likely be of similar size,  and that there is considerable overlap between readerships.  If anyone has figures for page views/downloads of the journals that are free to read online, aiming off for search bots, I should be interested to see them. I note, for example, that Roberta Beach Jacobson’s Cold Moon Journal, now looking for a new editor, has accumulated an impressive 478,862 page views over four years, bots included. Over two years, her Five Fleas has 132,467 page views. As to books:  one suspects that, after you deduct a number for poets that buy a book because it includes one or more of their own poems, and a number for those bought for or by friends and family of the published author, there will be few that sell a hundred copies or more to the wider public.  It would be encouraging to learn that these are underestimates.  Let me know.

Differentiation:

Even at the turn of the century, Professor Makoto Ueda reported that 70% of haikuists in Japan were women. Latterly, when I have done rough calculations on a variety of English language journals, women haiku poets outnumber men by a similar proportion, roughly two to one, more of course in those publications that accept submissions only from women and exclude male poets (I’m not aware of any haiku journal that excludes women poets). The age distribution seems heavily skewed towards the older half of the population.  The biggest sample size I have to hand comes from Facebook’s The Daily Haiku group. Not all of its members write haiku; many are there to read, and are shy of writing. The figures represent active interest in the genre and not necessarily accomplishment. As of now, there are 18,850 of them — a substantial readership pool outside Japan.  In a typical month, roughly one-third of them are ‘active.’   Here is the chart of age and gender of group members:

And here are some clues as to their distribution:

Lastly, it was interesting to see a huge spike in applications for group membership, mainly but not all from the USA, after 7 November: reaching 300 per day for a while before subsiding to a normal level.

Make of these numbers what you will.

***

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Footnote:

Season’s greetings, and do comment on the above. For example, do the demographics in English Language haiku tie in with a preponderant number of verses/haibun on certain subjects, e.g. to do with age, terminal disease, and death;  or any other observable phenomena?  Such as nostalgia for childhood?  The aged preoccupied with their predicament. In his History of Haiku volume 2 Blyth comments sweepingly on a poem by Suiha (1872-1946) about a hot water bottle that “An old man enjoys trifling things that a young man overlooks in his superfluity of energy, and this is why only old people of an old country can write haiku.”  Kyoshi wrote crabbily in the journal Hototogisu: “Young men are apt to make new attempts even in the world of haiku, but those who dare to violate the proper form or the rule of the season word will destroy the world of haiku, and should be debarred from it.”  Aside from their disregard of women, hardly statements to attract the energy and vigour of the young and springlike. They propagate the impression of an elderly, ossified and creaking genre, comfortable in old slippers, in its hierarchy and its adopted rules; resistant to change and renewal.

I noticed, apropos, that in reviewing the 2022 Red Moon Anthology ‘skipping stones’ in Presence (November 2023), long-time haikuist Annie Bachini commented that much of it was depressingly focused on sexual abuse, overdose, rape, dementia, war and disaster, and that quite often she did not feel addressed as a reader. She concluded that there was an imbalance in the content, and wondered whether it was time for editors to question their choices.  What do you think?

I also note that really, the active anglophone haiku community is quite small and hermetic.  Despite many worthy initiatives from the Golden Triangle through the Cherry Blossom Festival to haiku for healing, haiku in English do not seem to be grabbing or influencing a numerous audience beyond that community, literary or worldly. There might be several reasons for this; among them, the somewhat recondite nature of the genre we love,  with its many strictures  which, for a broader anglophone readership more comfortable with English poetics than Japanese poetics, might seem baffling, alien, sometimes trite.  That more relaxed (and free) online journals seem to get more exposure is a bright spot.
Views?

Keith Evetts

Comments (28)

  1. Entirely out of mischievous curiosity, also as a scientist, I am now wondering whether there is a significantly higher proportion of cat ownership among haiku poets than among the population as a whole.

    (I write as one who has had cats, dogs and parrots as companions during a lifetime.)

    1. But its a joy to read especially for poets like me who haven’t own one but respect their kingdom!

    2. Keith,
      I can only speak definitely for myself, but I am a cat person. I even have a children’s book out about a cat.

      For what it’s worth, several haiku poets I have become acquainted with (consider them friends, one of which is the the co-author of a rengay about felines of all kinds) also have cats.

      1. Maybe this way is easier: would any haiku poets who don’t have, or have never had, a cat please make themselves known…

        New Year’s eve here and the British weather threatens to cancel the London fireworks (already cancelled in Edinburgh). Not that I’m superstitious. But the neighbours are getting their own fireworks off early…

        1. Keith, I’ve never had a cat and don’t have one at present, not planning to have one anytime. I’ve had a dog and a parrot for a while during my childhood.

          1. I would like to share my cat status. I have never had a cat as a pet but my dear mother was regularly visited by stray cats that she would feed and care for. I admire goats and would like to have a goat for a pet one day.

    4. Keith,
      I indeed am a cat person, as of now, I have 6 cats, oh my.. all my life I’ve had cats, and a few dogs along the way.

  2. Other mechanisms for haiku to be widely read I would assume are Haikuniverse, the Mainichi and Asahi Shimbun columns, possibly Pulse. Presumably also the various Haiku Foundation avenues. I have to say, there is generally little interest among writers of haiku – and certainly editors – in reaching out to those outside the haiku community. There is sometimes disdain for writing haiku for readers who are not ‘skilled’ in how to ‘read’ haiku. Five Fleas is a rare example of a journal where haiku and contemporary poetry are mixed together. The recent evacuation from Twitter has shaken things up and it will take time to settle down. I do hope the prevalence of social media will not lead to haiku retreating within smaller bubbles.

    1. In my opinion, Philip Rowland’s *Noon: Journal of the Short Poem* is the pre-eminent journal for those who wish to see haiku and longer poems together. The editor of *Rattle*, Timothy Green, has a strong interest in haiku and its derivatives and not infrequently will publish it. An upcoming issue of Rattle will feature haibun.

    2. Yes, ease of access, and that they are free (or in the case of Rattle, the excellent free feed), are clearly advantages for most of the online publications. Questions are: how many readers from outside Japan actually read the Mainichi and Asahi Shimbun ELH columns; how many read Noon; and are they all from the same few thousand strong haiku community that read the main ELH journals, like you, like me?

      The “skilled reader” issue is perhaps indicative of an invisible barrier between haiku and the wider world of poetry, let alone the general population? Sometimes I also wonder, when reading e.g. the Poetry Foundation’s Poetry journal and the National Poetry Society’s Poetry Review in UK, whether contemporary mainstream poetry, that might be called the poetry of the poetry establishment, is somewhat alienated from the general population too? Often I’d rather read Rattle…

      1. I read the columns in the Mainichi and Asahi Shimbun. However, that is due to hearing about them via social media. I have found X and now other platforms useful in this respect.

      2. Agreed re contemporary mainstream poetry, Keith.

        I could be biaised though, as I just love haiku. I am quite new to it however. I only began writing this in January 2023, mostly as I joined a creative writing class. I was doing the poetry module and haiku was the first session. I knew straight away it was for me. I can’t say exactly why that was. Haiku are visual, and I have a visual way of seeing things, as I studied fine art. I also admire how poets can express an idea so eloquently, using just a few words. To me that’s a skill and a gift.

  3. Congratulations Keith!
    What a huge summary you have provided and my eyes naturally fell on India’s performance…the chart is outstanding!!
    Yes, its human to project what you experience. We can bring about a change in the prompts which, i believe, Triveni Haikai India are running the show successfully with their monthly haikuKATHA journal. We Indians are grounded to our roots, our ancestors, our Vedas, the Upanishads, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, it’s endless!
    Then we have a long list of festivals, the culture, the varied traditions, the hundreds of species of birds and animals and the invariably never ending palette of seasons, the rivers and mountains, the tribes and trades, raagas and rasaas! (Raga of music and Rasa of food)
    We have the Varnas, the societal cult, the rich and poor, the upper class, the middle class and hence our poems do showcase verses of a groundnut seller, fuchkawala upto the Himalayas, Ganges, Western Ghats, etc
    But, then there are hundreds of topics that go unaccounted and sometimes it becomes a challenge to write on those topics as its mentioned but nevertheless at the end of the day, haiku liberates you from your mundane thoughts and deeds, isn’t it?
    Most of our poets stick to the discipline of structures whilst most others try innovative and then comes a question of reading similar lines … the Deja-ku moment. This is natural since 80% of our thoughts run parallel with the conservative society and the need to channelise what is taught at home. We try to cater to the needs of our society, our country and hence we are bound by emotions and sentiments and thereby our poems purely focus on them. There are independent thoughts, out of the blue phrases, a curiousity to peep what’s going on and so the cycle of creation and the cycle of creativity is eternal!!

    As our late President Abdul Kalam Sir said, ‘ if you want a change, be the change’!
    The Haiku Foundation is doing a wonderful job!
    Thank you so much!
    Wishing you All A Very Happy New Year 2025!!

      1. Yes, of course and they have been contest winners too! Many pioneers like Johannes and Angelee have laid the roots, then we have Kala Ramesh who is pushing all boundaries to bring Haikai almost into every soul, be them young or old. We also have Sanjuktaa, Arvinder, Neena Singh, Vandana, Teji Sethi, Priti Aisola, Geetanjali, Shobana, Ravi Kiran, Srinivas Sambangi, Akila and many many more who are spreading the word through workshops and mentoring! The flag is risen and every Indian are trying their best to keep it flying high!!

        1. Kala deserves a great deal of credit among others for this upwelling. Triveni has an international outlook, like most other anglophone haiku institutions, and is drawing widespread support and participation. In one or two parts of the world participation is limited in some way to nationals. I’d like to think that while different aspects of culture are informative and celebrated, nationalism and pride are not going to be sharp-edged factors in this worldwide community.

          1. Thank you Keith! Haikai is becoming a food for conserving and preserving Indian roots alive with all the five elements in whichever way you take it!
            Keeping fingers crossed that schools start taking this as a regular subject which helps the child to expand and express their creativity!
            Thank you!

  4. I live in Ohio, and Julie Schwerin started a private Ohio Haiku group 10-15 years ago. It is still ongoing, and it has 180 members, but doesn’t include every haiku poet in the state. Not that an invitation wouldn’t be extended, but the group has to learn of the poet, invite him/her/them, and have the person accept. I know a few that have not become members, for whatever reason. Yet, they are still poets who happen to write haiku.

    I live in a small city in Ohio, population 8000, swelling to about 12,000 including the township. I know of over 50 poets, who live there because they were published in a local anthology series. They are not the only people writing poetry though because many poets don’t share their poetry outside their the family circle or close friends. For them, some of the poems are too personal. I’m sure p!enty of teens feel this way, and yet still they write poems even if not haiku. In my city there are at least 10 poets who write haiku because they were anonymously submitted and accepted by a panel of judges, made up of poets laureate and community members. Some of the poets laureate have written haiku.

    I wrote my first haiku in 1976, and over the years I wrote some haiku here and there to capture those moments, but it wasn’t until I moved to Huron, I really focused on writing haiku and senryu, thanks to Julie’s encouragement. I was briefly a member in the HSA, but it was the Ohio Haiku group that made the biggest difference, that and the fact I was now retired and could concentrate on my poetry, rather than work and children. That may be the same for many haiku poets which could be the reason for the numbers in your statistics. Just a few thoughts…

    On the other hand, looking at Haiku Dialogue, re:Virals, various journals, it is obvious that writing haiku is a global phenomenon. The countries represented include every continent except Antarctica; at least I have never seen Antarctica so far.

  5. Regarding the prevalence of older haiku poets, patterns of daily living in later life may better accommodate practices of creative expression. As work and caregiver demands recede, one may have more time and mental space available for focused observation, reflection and craft. This has been my experience.

  6. Typo…rape not rate. The perils of predictive text. Anyone write a haiku about the trials of technology? 😆

  7. Firstly I am intrigued by the seemingly large number of haikuists in Penzance. Is it something in the water? I am in the north, in West Yorkshire. We may be a rare breed around these parts, for instance I am part of a writers circle, and the only one to write haiku. I try to persuade the others but…

    Luckily I am under retirement age 😉, reading your comments Keith regarding subject matter I do wonder whether journal editors are a depressed bunch. There’s an irony here, as haiku emphasise lightness, and yet illness, loss, rate, war etc are anything but. However, these topics surely have their place as they are all part of the messiness of human experience. I don’t think anything that we experience should be off limits.

    Why do more women than men write haiku? Now there’s a question. I leave that to others to ponder.

    1. Penzance: where it all started: TDH founder Amanda White runs creative writing sessions of various kinds.

      When you try to persuade others in your writing circle to write haiku, Melissa, how does it go? What is their reaction?

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