The “Haiku” was invented and developed over hundreds of years in Japan to be a complete poem in seventeen syllables and to pack in a whole vision of life in three short lines. A “Western Haiku” need not concern itself with the seventeen syllables since Western languages cannot adapt themselves to the fluid syllabic Japanese. I propose the “Western Haiku” simply say a lot in three short lines in any Western language.

—Jack Kerouac, Scattered Poems, 1971

Inspired by the book The Haiku Year (Michael Stipe, Douglas A. Martin, Grant Lee Phillips, and Tom Gilroy), a friend of mine and I set out to write a western haiku each day for one year. While there were days without a haiku, on most days we did write one (or sometimes even more than one).

Having to find something to write a haiku about made us more aware of our surroundings, and more focused on ourselves. Time no longer was just passing by.

After the year was over, we continued to write haikus now and then.

In an attempt to rekindle that flame, and to infect others with it, we decided to share our haikus, and to create a place where others can share theirs.

Enjoy both reading and writing haikus, and living more actively as a result.