Poets and Poems: Sydell Rosenberg & Amy Losak and “Wing Strokes Haiku”

Sometimes, the back story can be important, especially in poetry. 

In 1968, Sydell Rosenberg was one of the founding members of the Haiku Society of America, designed to promote the writing and appreciation of haiku in English. The haiku form of poetry emerged in 17^th century Japan, and its basic element – three lines arranged in 5, 7, and 5 syllables, respectively. It was originally called a hokku; the term “haiku” wasn;t used until the 19^th century. And the theme of the haiku – about one of the seasons – had to be strictly observed. The poet with whom haiku is most closely associated is Basho (1644-1694).

 

Rosenberg was an active member of the Haiku Society of America, which sponsors annual competitions for haiku, renku, senryu, and haibun forms of poetry. It holds an annual conference and publishes the literary journal Frogpond.

To continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak Poetry.