Further Reading
The Sciku Project
Do you sciku? A guest post on the excellent science communication website Science with Style about the advantages of sciku and the personal story behind The Sciku Project.
Science in 17 syllables. The unexpected career benefits of writing sciku published in Science magazine. Reference: Holmes, A.M. (2017) Science in 17 syllables. Science, 358 (6365), pp. 966. http://science.sciencemag.org/content/358/6365/966
‘Using Japanese poetry to explore scientific research’ is an article describing the aim, purpose and benefits of The Sciku Project.
Sam Illingworth’s Nature article ‘Feeling stuck? Close your laptop, stop your field measurements and write a poem‘ mentions The Sciku Project as it explores “how poetry can help to communicate and celebrate your science.
The Sciku Project recently featured in The Wall Street Journal in an article by Daniela Hernandez on the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference’s haiku abstract competition: Haikus About Space / Make Science Less Tedious / So Hope Scientists (you can find the 2019 winner here).
Sciku
Sciku are a relatively new art form but there are sources out there if you’d like to read more:
Jim Bentley (@Curiosity_Films) has published a fantastic resource for those interested in sciku: Sciku & Scitanka – How can Poetry Blend with Science to Share an Important Idea?
Eric H. Chudler’s The Little Book of Neuroscience Haikus – a lovely book of haiku based around the brain and those studying it. Each haiku is accompanied by an explanation of its subject mater.
Sciku The Wonder of Science In Haiku! is a collection of more than 400 haiku written by students at the Camden school for girls to fund the modernisation of their science laboratories.
The poet Mary Soon Lee (@MarySoonLee) has published a periodic table of haiku in the journal Science entitled Elemental Haiku. This fantastic collection was published as a physical book in the autumn of 2019 – check out The Sciku Project’s review here, and our three part interview with Mary here: Part One, Part Two & Part Three.
Simon Leather explains why the scientific journal Insect Conservation and Diversity has started posting ‘haiku highlights’ on twitter: Graphical abstracts are so passé, let’s hear it for the haiku highlight.
The Joy and Challenge of Writing Short by the author Judy Fort Brenneman is about the fun you can have trying to pare writing down, and explores how sciku are more than just making a subject simpler and shorter.
Sciku On Twitter:
@ChromatinHaiku regularly tweets scientific haiku around the subject of DNA.
@humanbodyhaiku tweets haiku to help you learn the human body.
Raphael Didham (@entoRaph) and Simon Leather (@EntoProf) post wonderful sciku regularly, providing ‘haiku highlights’ for the academic journal Insect Conservation and Diversity (@InsectDiversity).
John Norwood has made a number of fantastic contributions to The Sciku Project (check out this great example) and posts haiku (often with a scientific theme) on Twitter under the handle @PRYoga.
@susanjtweit – not strictly sciku but Susan posts nature haiku on a daily basis, mostly about the natural world.
Sam Illingworth (@samillingworth) and Michael Leach (@m_jleach ) both post fantastic examples of scientific poetry. Michael has also contributed sciku to The Sciku Project, check out this excellent example.
Graham Martin (@grahamm44) regularly posted haiku with a science theme. I think this one is my favourite so far.
Haiku
There are a plethora of haiku books in English out there, from the Complete Haiku of Basho to One Hundred Great Books in Haiku. Here are some key haiku resources:
The Classic Tradition of Haiku edited by Faubion Bowers is a great (and cheap) anthology of classic haiku covering poems by the masters of haiku. The ideal first stop for anyone curious about haiku and a great source for those already familiar with the medium.
The Haiku Handbook by William J. Higginson and Penny Harter is the definitive overview on haiku, exploring both traditional and modern haiku as well as crafting and teaching haiku. A must for anyone wanting to take their haiku interest further.
Writing and Enjoying Haiku by Jane Reichhold is another great read for anyone interested in learning how to appreciate and write their own haiku.
There are plenty of haiku resources online too, here are some examples:
The Haiku Foundation is full of information about haiku, as well as haiku archives, a haiku app, profiles on various social media platforms and a whole range of other haiku resources.
The Poetry Foundation has a nice history and background of haiku as well as some examples.
The British Haiku Society have a quarterly haiku journal, run the British haiku awards, and has various essays and information for teaching haiku.
Similarly the Haiku Society of America runs a journal and sponsors various contests.
WikiHow has some quick advice for how to write haiku.
Haiku Poetry has some great examples of famous haiku, as well as an exploration of what haiku are.