Last year I was fortunate to be able to recruit Richard Katrovas to be a judge for the formal poetry category of the NC Poetry Society competition. He chose a haibun by an MFA student as one of his runner-ups. I was surprised and pleased such a reknowned expert treated haibun with the same regard he gave to sonnets, sestinas, and other more widely accepted(in the academic poetry world) literary forms.
His choice also highlighted another trend I believe is going to become increasingly common - the incursion of free verse poets into the world of 'haiku'. With the proliferation of MFA programs, new poets are turning towards haiku, senryu, tanka, and haibun as a way to explore forms and increase their publishing options. These writers often approach these as poems first, and as forms second. Over time, this should alter the definitional boundaries of these forms of poetry. So I think we're at a point of change, and I hope to be open to that, without ignoring tradition.
What will I be looking for in a haibun? Ray Rasmussen, in a blog, referenced the idea that some consider it a "narrative of an epiphany." I like that. Roberta Beary spoke at a Haiku Holiday in NC about the need for the prose to be as compressed as a poem. I like that idea, too. I think of the prose and poetry parts of the haibun as working like stanzas - I like it when they resonate in juxtaposition, each deepening the other. It works best for me when the poetry leads the prose deeper.
I like the personal more than the historical, something that moves me or makes me think, more than something that shows off its literary expertise. I like it when the prose part approaches the complexity of a prose poem - but I like it when it stops just before it gets there. I don't, in general, favor prose that is as journalistic as, say, a feuilleton. I also don't think it should be so abstract and personal it's difficult to find a way in. I like one or two haiku in a haibun.
That said, I will read everything.
I approach this with utter humility, and confidence. I recognize there are many writers whose scholarship exceeds mine. But I also know I'm an excellent editor, as the poets who have worked with me can attest. My job is to understand what writers are saying, not to tell them what to say, or how to say it. But I am a hands-on editor, and will suggest changes if I think those changes will help a writer achieve their vision. Their vision, not mine.
I look forward to reading your best work.
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Richard Krawiec Haibun Editor