Writing Renku - Japanese Collective Poetry
Renku is a form of collective Japanese poetry, an artistic collaboration. I believe Renku translates into English as 'linked-verse' and in its most basic form, that is exactly what a Renku is. Individual verses written by different poets that are linked in some way.
Renku and its predecessor, renga, have a long history, stretching back almost a thousand years, all the way to the folk hero Yamato Takeru, and are also the origin of haiku. I had originally planned to cover both the history of renku and some basic guidance for writing one in this post, but after doing some research, I think the history deserves its own post and a lot more detailed research.
So, here is my very basic guide to writing a Renkuu.
Step 1: Gather a friend or two, or five. Renku were traditionally composed at gatherings, but an online group chat works just as well.
Step 2: Pick your sabaki (lead poet); they will be your guide through the process.
Step 3: Set out your rules. Poets traditionally set rules, like certain verses having a certain theme or mentioning something specific. You may also want to decide how many verses you will be writing in total.
(This would also be a good time to discuss the length of each verse. Renku are made up of alternating verses that follow a 5-7-5 and a 7-7 syllable pattern, totalling 17 and 14 syllables in Japanese. You can, by all means, stick to this pattern if you choose, but it doesn't fit well with every language, so you may also wish to change this rule to something less restrictive.)
Step 4: Write your first verse, called the hokku. A fun way to do this would be for each person to write their own 5-7-5 verse, and then the group can vote for which will be the first. Traditionally, the hokku would make reference to the current season or the location of its composition.
Step 5: The next person writes your second verse. This verse should link to the hokku in some way, but must not repeat any of the words used in the hokku,
Step 6: The next person writes your third verse. This verse should again link to the previous verse, but also introduce something new, shifting away from the first verse. In doing so, the second verse has worked as a link between verses 1 and 3. IT should not include any of the same season, subject, or words as the first verse.
(This pattern of links and shifts is an important part of renku.)
Step 7: The fourth verse will be another two-line, or 7-7- syllable verse and should work as a link in a similar way to the second verse, by not repeating anything from the verse before it.
Step 8: Keep writing in this alternating pattern until you reach the last verse.
Step 9: Write your last verse, called the ageku. It is usually written by the guest of honour, the lead poet, or, as with the hokku, each person could write their own, and then the group decides on which one to use.
For a more detailed explanation about themes and rules, I highly suggest visiting Haiku Spirit, whom I have linked to in the sources section of this post. I wrote this guide as a simple introduction to the concept of Renku.
Signa's Thoughts
I enjoy writing poetry, and Haiku are one of my favourite forms to write. I'll admit that I usually only stick to the one rule of the modern idea of Haiku, that is to say, the 5-7-5 syllable count. Traditionally, though, haiku had many more rules than that, which is something I will be exploring in another post.
My love for writing haiku led me to discover renku, and I've wanted to write one for a long time. As much as I'd love to hold a social gathering where we compose one in person, I don't think any of my friends would be up for that. I do have two willing participants, though, and we are most likely going to write one online. So, while we get writing, here is a little 5-7-5 haiku written by my partner and me.
Three novice poets, Arranging words and meaning, Our poets journey
I'd love to explore more types of poetry in the future, their history and the rules for composing them, and develop my poetry writing along the way.
Sources:
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