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Haiku and Related Forms

A haiku is a brief poem, based originally on the type of Japanese poem by that name, but now written in over 25 languages and more than 50 countries. Related forms include haikai no renga (also known as renku) or linked poetry, haibun (prose with haiku), and tanka ("short poems" a little longer than haiku and more openly emotional). See the FAQ for definitions. Web sites that actively request submissions for online or print journals are being moved into the "haiku publications" subcategory.

Thank you for asking us to consider your site for listing. This category is for serious material relating to haiku and to related types of poetry based mainly on the Japanese tradition. If your site is devoted EXCLUSIVELY to haiku by multiple authors reflecting that tradition, or to haiku AND other related types of poetry, it belongs here. Before you submit it here, however, consider whether one of the following subcategories might be more appropriate:

Haiku Publications: Web sites devoted to periodical publications of haiku and related materials, whether online or in print. These publications are open to submissions. (Those with broad appeal and featuring only invited works are listed on the main "haiku and related forms" page. Those featuring one poet or a small group are in the "personal haiku pages" category, below.) Linked Poems: Poems usually written by two or more poets. Personal Haiku Pages: Featuring the work of one poet. Pseudo Haiku: Poems in 5-7-5 that otherwise ignore the Japanese tradition. Spamku, Newsku, Computerku, etc. Sijo: Poems in the tradition of the Korean sijo. Tanka: Poems in the tradition of the Japanese tanka.

Linked Poems

This category is devoted to materials relating to the composition in English and appreciation of linked poems in styles based on classical Japanese renga or Basho-style and contemporary renku. Translations of Japanese materials may be included.

Please suggest only web pages devoted exclusively to linked poems and materials about linked poems for this category. Web sites or pages that include linked poems with other materials relevant to haiku, tanka, and so on, should be submitted to the parent category, "Haiku and Related Forms".

Mailing Lists

This category contains mailing lists or discussion groups or forums or bulletin boards devoted to haiku. To participate, one must usually sign up through a gateway web page. Also note that sites listed under the parallel category "Associations" often run discussion groups; these groups will not be duplicate-listed here.

Please note that this category is exclusively concerned with haiku discussions conducted via e-mail or bulletin boards. Most listings are web pages on which those who enter can sign up to participate in such a discussion. One or two are devoted to articles on the subject of such lists, related netiquette, and so on. Please check other categories under "Haiku and Related Forms" if this does not sound like where you belong. Also note that sites listed under the parallel category "Associations" often run discussion groups, which will not be listed here. Web masters of such sites should see that the meta description in the code for their site''s home page includes mention of mailing lists, if the site contains a gateway to such lists.

Personal Pages

Pages devoted to the work of one poet or a small group of poets, with no public submission invited and often no regular updates.

Pseudo Haiku

This category contains various kinds of "haiku" that do not reflect the Japanese tradition or the serious adaptations of that tradition by poets writing in English. This includes, but is not limited to, "Spamku", Scifaiku, and similar cooptations of the superficial formal aspects of haiku for humorous or other purposes. Some web sites contain a mixture of haiku and these pseudo-haiku poems, or contain poems that seem to be in the border zone between the two. Generally, such sites will be listed under the category Haiku and Related Forms. In other words, the inclusion of some material that might irk a haiku purist will not automatically consign a site to this category. (Sites devoted to senryu, for example, will remain under the Haiku and Related category.) At the same time, this pseudo haiku category should not be considered a dumping ground, but rather a collection of sites that feature interesting offshoots at least distantly related to haiku. According to the deepest tradition of haikai, these offshoots should be appreciated for themselves.