Haiga (haikai drawing) is the style of Japanese painting accompanied by a haiku. As early as in the 6^th century, the Chinese try to combine paintings, calligraphy with an expression of poetry. Later during the 7^th century, the late Edo period, the form of Japanese painting was more of Kano school painting, Zen painting, and often was influenced by the aesthetic values of the nanga tradition.

Haiga (verse-painting or visual haiku) has been developed as a combination of art and poetry together. Nonoguchi Ryūho (1595-1669), a student of Kanō Tanyū, is considered as the founder of haiga style. Yosa Buson (1716-1784) was amongst the pioneers for developing the literati art of writing haiga embedded with the aesthetic values. Western poets started using photo with haiku (photo-haiga) which is identical to that of the Japanese Shahai (photo with haiku poem).

A new dimension of the fusion emanates when the poet merges the image with the poetic expression. The assimilation needs to explore something beyond the portrayal of the image or the piece of art. This is the essence of the art of haiga (HIGH-GAH). Both image and haiku are independent entities. Art painting or photo-image has its own manifestation of aesthetic meaning. The associated haiku in the haiga should unveil the touch of layered imaginations through the art of senses like smell, touch, or sound rather than by mere narration of the image. There needs to be a reflection of creative synergy between the image and haiku. The haiku should not be too far,or  not too close (fusoku – furi) from the photo. The poet needs to refrain from repeating or describing the image with the haiku. In haiga, if you paint a full moon, let the haiku be the passionate wave bridging the sublime relationship.

All haiga are to be submitted as JPG files with high-resolution photos having edging or a frame to portray a better look. The font size used for haiku should be legible with distinct clarity.

With "UtB Submission - Haiga and Visual Haiku" for the subject,
please submit up to 10 haiga and / or 10 visual haiku to the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 
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The conjunction of prose with poetry has been often observed in ancient literature. Champu or Chapu-Kavya, a combination of poetry and prose, is a genre of composition found in the ancient Indian literatureduring the Vedic period (c. 1500 – c. 500 BCE).

Haibun is a literary expression of poetic prose with haiku. Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) coined the word ‘Haibun” (HIGH-BUN) in 1690. His iconic work ‘Oku no Hosomichi’ (Narrow Road to the Interior) narrates the ecstatic beauty through the traverse of 1500 miles over 156 days, mostly on foot, from Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to the northerly interior region known as Oku. ‘Oraga Haru’ (My Spring) by Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828) is a well-crafted haibun written in the nineteenth century. Gary Snyder’s travel diaries, ‘Passage through India’, written during mid-sixties, usher in the modern haibun-like genre. The Canadian writer Jack Cain’s beautiful work, ‘Paris’ (appeared in 1964) is considered as the first formal modern haibun in English.

Haibun is often referred to short story, travel writings, autobiography, diaries etc. Historical aspects, mythological, cultural and scientific aspects can also be incorporated in haibun literature. The style needs to be lucid, musical, occasionally with abbreviated syntax with poetic use of sentence fragment and subtle allusion. Creative experimental haibun can also be attempted to expand the scope of haibun writing keeping in view the basic aesthetic elements in perspective.

The prose is written in the style of a prose-poem. The prose generally is of 200-300 words and even longer interspersed with haiku in between or one haiku at the end. It is better to write haibun in the present tense to offer a feeling of happenings as of now, even it is from past events. The prose should be concrete, economical, and playful in its flow. It is better to refrain from writing prose with simple narration. Philosophical content, unnecessary sentimentality, or overloaded with flat passages can be avoided. Do not describe the sun, rain, the cause and effect of the rainbow. Rather try to enliven the reader with the joy of the poetic image of ‘rainbow’ under the shimmering sun and drizzling rain!

The haiku in the haibun should stand out explicitly. The prose and haiku in the haibun need to ignite a literary spark much similar to the linking and shifting of the stanza in a linked-verse of poem. The haiku should not narrate or repeat the essence of the prose. There should be a proper juxtaposition between the prose and haiku with distinct shift like the braided river descending from the hill and meandering through the valley. There should be a significant and sensitive linkage between the prose and haiku. The interplay of prose and haiku should take to a different level or orbit so as to make a musical resonance in the mind of the readers. The magical spark of haibun lies with the subtle symbiosis of the prose and haiku.

The haibun generally contains a title. The title has its immense importance in the congregated poetic spell of haibun writing. In an analogy I feel, the prose is the flower, haiku is the fragrance and the title stands for the flower stick. Reading through the haibun, let the reader enjoy the poetic beauty of hide-and-seek of the moon with the sailing clouds.

I sincerely urge the beginners to refer to the link given below and study the scholarly articles, interviews about the basic elements of haibun writings.

https://www.raysweb.net/haibunresources/links.html

With "UtB Submission - Haibun" for the subject,
please submit up to 3 haibun in plain text within the message body of an email to the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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