What Are Haiku?
Haiku poems originate in Japan and are typically three lines long, with five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line and five syllables in the third line.
All British Haiku on this website and in the related book (The Book) follow that format strictly. Quite often, however, they do not follow the Japanese tradition of including a reference to seasonal weather.
As will be seen from the Haiku on the website and in The Book, much of British life takes place out of the prevailing weather, in homes, offices, schools, sports halls, places of worship, and elsewhere.
Weekly Theme
On this website, each weekend, a theme for the following week's British Haiku appears on the This Week's Haiku page (for example "Food" or "Football" or "Shopping").
The theme also appears, each weekend, on Instagram (www.instagram.com/britishhaiku) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/britishhaiku).
This Week's Haiku
On each weekday morning the following week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday) a single Haiku on the chosen theme appears on the This Week's Haiku page.
The single Haiku also appears each weekday on Instagram (www.instagram.com/britishhaiku) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/britishhaiku).
Previous Haiku
Each weekend all five Weekday Haiku that were posted on the previous week's theme are moved to the Previous Haiku page on this website, where they remain accessible for all to read.
The Book
There is a British Haiku book!
The book contains a British Haiku for each week of the calendar year, each with an illustration.
The book can be bought online from Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk).
Further details of the book and its authors can be found in The Book and The Authors.
And Finally ...
The purpose of www.britishhaiku.com is first and foremost to entertain.
It is also, however, to portray a better Britain than the one that is often portrayed in today's media.
The British Haiku that are posted hope to point out, with charm and humour and positivity, the better aspects of life in modern Britain.
They hope to give a daily reminder of the small joys of (for example) walking a dog, riding a bike, reading a book, being with family, meeting friends, going shopping, or watching some sport. Enjoy!