Visual Haiku - Introduction - Haiku poetry and pressed-flower pictures

Sep 28, 2026

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Visual Haiku explores how pressed flowers and autumn leaves can be transformed into titled pictures, then complemented with haiku poetry. The introduction traces the path by which Western civilization encountered haiku through late nineteenth-century trade between Europe/America and Japan. It explains the 5-7-5 syllable structure rooted in Zen Buddhism, highlights major haiku masters, and connects the author’s fascination with Japanese translations to her “Visual Haiku” approach.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages34

Reading Time52 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Dedication

Acknowledgements

visual Francesca ② ocoe Deig wis owca,eawd hilu 多 Francesca Beahan i vnd Copyright ◎2010 by Francesca Beahan.81964-BEAH ISBN:Softcover-978-1-4535-7647-2 All rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced ortransmitted in any form or by any means,electronic or mechan-ical,including photocopying,recording,or by any informationstorage and retrieval system,without permissionin writing from the copyright owner. This is a work of fiction.Names,characters,places andincidents either are the product of the author's imagination orare used fictitiously,and any resemblance to any actual persons,living or dead,events,or locales is entirely coincidental. This book was printed in the United States of America. To order additional copies of this book,contact:Xlibris Corporation1-888-795-4274www.Xlibris.comOrders@Xlibris.com 0wers cav0 0 0 erar )ober2009 DEDICATION This book was begun in love--the love for myhusband Gerard.Ibegan this book a weekafter he passed away. There were somebeautiful small baskets offlowers from thewake which I brought home and I wantedto preserve their beauty so I began to presstheflowers.The leaves I found as I walkedabout the town of Garden City,New Yorkwhere I live.As I grieved for my husbandI could hear him say,"Pick that leaf,"or"Look at that leaf."It was mid-Octoberand the autumn leaves were falling.Therewere so many beautiful colors and shapesI wanted to keep them for him because heappreciated the beauty of nature.He is abeautiful soul. # INTRODUCTION From pressed flowers and leaves into pictures;then giving each picturea title because it looked bare on its own,and then adding the element ofhaiku poetry,this book evolved in stages.In addition,I wanted to givea brief background on how Western civilization was introduced tohaiku. In the late nineteenth century,after more than 200 years of seclusion,merchant ships from Europe and America came to Japan which nowre-opened its ports to trade.The Japanese were interested in Westernimports and,in turn,many prints,ceramics,textiles and other Japanesearts gained popularity in Europe and America.Eventually,Western tastebegan to appreciate the great masters of older generations.Among thesearts were poems in the hokku,or haiku style.This poetry consists ofthree lines in the format of 5-7-5 syllables and extolls the beauty andemotion in nature as found in Zen Buddhism.I,too,have been fascinatedby this style of poetry and have read and studied the translations of severalauthors of Japanese poetry.The three foremost haiku masters are:Matsuo Basho of the seventeeth century,considered the greatest;YosaBuson of the eighteenth century;and Kobayashi Issa of the earlynineteenth century.Even in translation,their poems are inspiring andbeautiful. My title "Visual Haiku"comes from the thought that the pictures are,in themselves,poetic and are accompanied by my attempts at haiku FRANCESCA BEAHANGarden City,New YorkJune 8,2010 # ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I should like to thank Dr.Philip Stein,Dr.Louis K.Teitlebaum andNancy Langdon,MPH for encouraging me in bringing this book topublication,and to my sister-in-law Nuala Brown for taking an interestin one of my pictures and giving it the title "Snowflake."Finally,to myhusband Gerard for always encouraging me in whatever I dared to do. nthe mong 8UM Jn the Moxning Suna precious sangliud uisits,Bringing me much joy. tarsJetals of daisies Shine against a bvight blue sky;Builliant.Sloating Stau.

FAQs

How does the book develop its Visual Haiku concept?

It begins with pressed flowers and leaves, becomes pictures with assigned titles, and adds haiku poetry as an additional layer of meaning.

What is the historical background described for haiku reaching Western audiences?

In the late nineteenth century, merchant ships reopened Japan to trade, bringing Western interest in Japanese arts and popularizing hokku/haiku-style poetry in Europe and America.

What structure defines the haiku poetry discussed in the introduction?

The text explains haiku as three lines following a 5-7-5 syllable format, emphasizing nature beauty and emotion through a Zen Buddhism lens.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by SANS