Herbert P. Shippey

1. How did you get started with haiku?

I am not sure when I first became aware of haiku, perhaps when I was an undergraduate in college. After I became a college English instructor, I assigned haiku by Bashō for my world literature and humanities classes. Several years ago, I attempted to write some haiku, using the 5-7-5 pattern. During the COVID pandemic one of my colleagues at the college where I teach began posting haiku on Facebook. Inspired by his example, I tried my hand at writing haiku and posting them on my Facebook page, but I was still following the 5-7-5 pattern. Only after I began reading articles about haiku and watching videos featuring noted haiku poets did I realize that these kinds of haiku attempts are rather wordy in comparison to traditional Japanese haiku, so since that time I have been composing shorter versions, paying attention to the cut phrase and often including a seasonal reference. I have especially enjoyed reading haiku by such poets as Peggy Willis Lyles, John Stevenson, Brad Bennett, Tom Clausen, and Scott Mason. I also read haiku by Jack Kerouac, Nick Virgilio, and Richard Wright. Reading these poets, and many others, provides inspiration for my haiku efforts.

2. Tell us more about yourself.

My wife, Sue, and I live in Tifton, Georgia, about an hour north of the Florida state line. We have two sons, Daniel and Philip. Daniel is a professional photographer in Tifton, and Philip is a landscape architect in Tennessee, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. Although I am retired from full-time teaching, I still teach one online course in American literature. Sue and I are active in our local church and enjoy visiting and going out to eat with friends who are in our Bible study class. During my childhood, my family lived in the countryside in Southwest Georgia, so many of my haiku focus on scenes, people, and happenings from those years long ago. My wife and I have traveled to various places, including Malawi, Mozambique, China, Thailand, Israel, Greece, Scotland, and England, so some of my haiku relate to those travels. I served in the Navy during the Vietnam War and was stationed for a while in DaNang, where I had flight duty as an aircrewman. I wrote a memoir about my time in the Navy, entitled Flying with the Spooks. Spending time in Vietnam, Thailand, China, and the Philippines heightened my interest in East Asian literature, especially Japanese haiku. My WordPress page is “Words for the Wind.” I do not post to the page on a regular basis.

3. What does NaHaiWriMo mean to you?

NaHaiWriMo provides inspiration and motivation to write haiku each day. I greatly enjoy reading what other haiku poets post on the Facebook page.

4. What one piece of advice would you offer to those who are new to writing haiku?

Read other haiku poets, along with essays and articles about haiku writing. Become involved with a group such as NaHaiWriMo, where you have contact with other haiku poets and enjoy the communal relationship that such groups provide. Above all, write haiku every day.

5. Please share three of your favorite or best haiku.

tobacco fields

weathered barn leaning

in the autumn rain

half-moon setting

thinking of home

half a world away

floorboards creak

the house settles

into old age