The Haiku Handbook -25th Anniversary Edition: How to Write, Teach, and Appreciate Haiku Book

A very good book, and I think a lot of people out there would say this is the introduction to haiku for English speakers.

Higginson passed away about four or five months after I began to read and write haiku. I'd seen The Haiku Handbook around at various haiku meetings, had seen it quoted on some different websites and blogs, and it eventually became one of those books with which I had a peripheral, if not personal relationship.

I believe I got a copy of this book about three or so weeks before Higginson passed away, and it was tremendously useful. Though I had already begun to write haiku, the thoughts and suggestions Higginson makes in the book helped to solidfy my appreciation for the art. He presents a strong thesis of haiku as poetry, which seems to run askew (some might even say perpendicular to) the thesis of haiku as spiritual practice. Regardless of your personal thoughts on such an issue (if you have any at all), no one can deny the depth of Higginson's thought. Thus, while this book is certainly appropriate for a person who has studied a bit of haiku, I believe this book could lend such a person insights he or she had not experienced before.

On the other hand, this book is the perfect introduction to haiku for a person who is completely clueless and simply curious. The Haiku Handbook provides lessons on the whole spectrum of haiku, from reading it to writing it. One of the sections that is most interesting is a whole chapter dedicated to teaching children haiku. Most children seem to be taught haiku as a poem written in 5-7-5 syllables. This misrepresentation, born out of a loss in translation, is felt all too painfully by those of us who write literary haiku, and do not follow that convention. In any case, the point I believe Higginson is trying to make, and that he makes well, is that haiku are deeper and more personal than most people seem to understand. Even more so, he seems to be suggesting that haiku are capable of being understood by all of us, even children.

However, I think that it is worth noting that if you are dipping your toe in the haiku waters (to borrow the expression of a friend), I'd also recommend purchasing a book os just haiku, as well. I think some people would agree that The Haiku Handbook ought to be supplemented by a broader reading of haiku, as well. Higginson's work is an explanation of haiku, not collection of it, and the reader may feel cheated if they do not have a haiku anthology to read in order to look for the themes and devices that Higginson describes.

In any case, if you write haiku and don't have this book, eventually, you probably will. If you are new to haiku, then this book will provide invaluable knowledge on the art.