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Not all my compositions in this book fit easily into the pigeon holes of the haiku as conceived by its pundits in North America. Therefore, I call them Flasehs.
Author Stephen Gill
Details of Stephen Gill and his works
Haiku is one of the oldest forms of poetry. It has a long time to mature, going through several stages of experimentation not only in Japan, where it was born, but also in the West. Haiku has become flexible enough for new temperaments, modes of thought and expressions. A poet can adapt it to suit his or her personality and philosophy. Haiku has become now a hat which has lost its original shape because it has been worn on heads of different sizes and it looks yet new and attractive. With a few adjustments, this hat can be worn by any poet.
Haiku entices the poets who dislike original limitations, particularly the use of syllabic versification, reference to season, and terse language. Several English haiku writers have used rhyme successfully, but its use is not essential. Over the years, a vast body of haiku has been produced and still is being produced in which rhyme has been used rarely.
I am not among those poets who finish off several pieces in a single sitting. I polish and chisel-- a practice that is against the teachings of Basho. What can be more fun than catching daily scenes and random thoughts in three lines. Everyone likes short cuts, no matter where he or she goes. So do writers, to save time. Fortunately, haiku poets do not need these short cuts, because haiku itself is a short cut to writing full poems of several lines.
Haiku poets find beauty in everything around without waiting for something rare to happen. This element turns haiku into daily bread, not a feast to be enjoyed on specific occasions. They use ordinary language to present their ordinary life. Haiku is the bones of revelation.
Stephen Gill
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Excerpt
---For Stephen Gill, poetry is the language of peace (Daily Standard-Freeholder, Canada)
---An indefatigable crusader for peace and champion of literary causes (Poetry in the Arts, Texas, USA)
---Stephen Gill's poetry is like tasting a strange dish (Canadian India Times)
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