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I've always liked the idea of haiku. The idea that you can "capture" a mood with very few words intrigued me. But where to begin and who to read? There are so many haiku poets out there.

After perusing my local library and the Internet, I found a poet named Bruce Ross. I immediately liked his poetry. And when I say liked, I mean it! I soon found myself drawn into his world. You see, what I liked about it was how he wrote. Number one, he didn't write what is called senryu which is about people and what they do. No. He wrote about nature. He did what many of the best Japanese poets did and kept it very simple. Here's an example of one of his poems:

summer pond --
wild yellow irises lean
in the shadows

Beautiful and simple. You see, having an example of someone you like gives you a mentor... someone you can look towards for encouragement and guidance. Now, I've never met Bruce Ross personally, but I read and read his poems until they became a part of me. And now they're a part of my own style!

There's no need to try and be sophisticated... especially when it comes to writing haiku. I swear, the more "modern" haiku I read, the more I want to stop reading it.

I really believe it's important to find a mentor. Japanese">All that is required for this is to find another haiku poet who's poetry you like. That's enough for you to receive some guidance and inspiration. The more examples of haiku you can find by your favorite author(s) the better because you can then model your poems from theirs. This is not stealing nor is it copying. This is what the Japanese teach their students and it is wise to do the same.