Course Description for

Haiku and Zen Poetry

with Daniel Delanu

Registration Fee and Course Length

Prerequisites

Standard course: $120 / 4 weeks. Click here to register.

No prerequisites.

Course Contacts

Course Description

Week One: An introduction to the concept of haiku; a short history of haiku with examples from the great masters;a theoretical discussion about the haiku structure; assignment.

Week Two: The relationship between haiku and the natural world; freedom in constraint-a discussion about the poetic art of self-control used by the great Japanese haiku poets; numerous examples; assignment.

Week Three: The "photographic" aspect of haiku writing; the transition from haiku to Zen poetry; assignment.

Week Four: An introduction to Zen Buddhism; the relationship between poetry and Zen; the relationship between Zen and haiku; lots of examples; "tricks" for the Zen poet; assignment.

PLANNED HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS BY WEEK:

Week 1: Familiarization with haiku poetry; discovery of "core-words" in the Basho anthology attached to Lesson 1; writing your first haiku in a free form.

Week 2: Writing haiku in the original 5-7-5 form; writing haiku about nature.

Week 3: Discovering the haiku moment;writing haiku as "snap-shots"; Zen haiku.

Week 4: Discovering contemplation and spontaneity; writing Zen poetry.

I teach with enthusiasm and dedication. My teaching can be both academic and non-conformist, depending on the character of the lesson. I respond as quickly as I can to any questions and I don't hesitate to spend considerably more time with students than initially planned. Still, I never rewrite my students' work because I believe that it is they who are studying to be authors and not me. I think that it's wrong to get involved too much in the most intimate process of creation of the students, because this could have a negative influence upon their originality. Nevertheless, I provide sufficient suggestions and comments , but I always give the last word to the student, since poetry, unlike other literary genres, is extremely subjective and equivocal in its essence.

And who knows if among these students there isn't a Walt Whitman or a Matsuo Basho...

Daniel Delanu has BAs in English and Journalism, an MA in English and a PhD in Humanities, magna cum laude, from the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania. At the same school, Delanu has taught English and World Literature, Comparative Literature, Literary Theory, Creative Writing, Aesthetics and Theater.

From 1997-2000, Delanu edited the cultural magazine Rostirea Romaneasca. He has contributed poems, essays, reviews, translations, political commentaries, etc to various publications from Quebec (Euphorion, Saeculum, 22, Cultura nationala, Acta Universitatis Cibiniensis, Dunarea literara, Opinia, Zero, Erata, Sibiul universitar, Tribuna Sibiului, Monitorul, Exod, Amurg sentimental, Art Panorama, etc); USA (100 Words, Autumn Leaves, Back to Godhead, etc); Great Britain (Psychopoetica, North Words, etc) and New Zealand (Folk News).

Delanu's books include:
Symboles (poetry in French, 1992)
Taci (poetry in French, 1993)
The Sunset at Sundown (poetry in English, 1993)
Self-portraits & Other Visionary Indiscretions (poetry in English, 1995)
Basic Grammar Terminology (English grammar, 1998)
Mythomysteries (poetry written in 18 different languages, as diverse as Sanskrit, Old English, Esperanto, Arabic, Romany or Swahili, 1999 - "the work of a genius" - The New York Review of Books).

Recent books include: The Logoarchetype, New York:Writers Club Press,2003; Logosophistic Investigations, New York:Writers Club Press,2003.

Delanu is an active translator of poetry, including:
Cormorant Fishing(haikus by Matsuo Basho, translation from Japanese into English
Herbarium of Words. Ten Canadian French Poets (translation from French into English).
Broken Seconds haikus by B.I. Pascu, translation into English
Sri Isopanishad translation from Sanskrit into English
Bhagavad Gita translation from Sanskrit into English.

Delanu's most recent books include:
The Islamic Jesus. The Portrait of Jesus in Islamic Literature and Tradition, New York: Writers Club Press, 2002

Principles of Logosophism, New York: Writers Club Press, 2002.

Delanu was inducted as International Poet of Merit and nominated for Poet of the Year by the International Society of Poets in 1995. He is listed in Who's Who in Poetry.

Delanu currently resides in Canada.