Haiku in English Haiku in English A haiku in English is a very short poem in the English language, following to a greater or lesser extent the form and style of the Japanese haiku. A typical haiku is a three-line observation about a fleeting moment involving nature. The first haiku written in English date from the early 20th century, influenced by English translations of traditional Japanese haiku, and the form has grown in popularity ever since. Many well-known English-language poets have written some haiku, though—perhaps because of their brevity—they are not often considered an important part of their work. Haiku has also proven
Haiku in English verse, were published between 1997 and 2006 (issues 1-8 were edited by Patricia Kelsall; issues 9-20 by Beverley George). Nowadays "Paper Wasp" is published in Australia, "Kokako" in New Zealand and "Chrysanthemum" (bilingual German/English) in Germany and Austria. Two other online English-language haiku journals founded outside North America, "A Hundred Gourds" and "Notes from the Gean", are now defunct. John Barlow's Snapshot Press is a notable UK-based publisher of haiku books. In the early 20th century, Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore composed haiku in Bengali. He also translated some from Japanese. In Gujarati, Jhinabhai Desai 'Sneharashmi' popularized haiku and remained a