Richard Wright - Haiku Poet

Did you know that well-known novelist, Richard Wright, who gave us Bigger Thomas in Native Son, is also a prolific haiku poet? Having written more than 4000 haiku and having published 817 haiku, Wright made a tremendous contribution to the genre during his lifetime. I do not doubt that Wright seems capable such poetic prowess given the plethora of artistic works he produced, but the clumsy, foolhardy nature of Bigger Thomas does not lend itself to poetry.

In his book, Haiku: This Other World, the best and most complete volume of haiku that I've read this year, Wright takes notes during his time in exile in France. He spends a year and a half observing his natural surroundings and putting that work into haiku form. What results is a stunning account of “This Other World.” The book is the most complete compilation of his haiku poetry, featuring 817 of his haiku poems.

Written at the end of Wright’s life, in exile and on the heels of the death of his mother Ella, his daughter Julia observed that his obsession with haiku was something of an effort “to spin these poems of light out of gathering darkness.”

What is special about Richard Wright’s haiku is that he has a neat way of turning a phrase and he has a way of making each haiku his own, of reflecting his particular viewpoint. At first glance, I wondered what the big deal was about a few short poems written about nature. As I got into the poetry, I discovered something provocative, artistic and playful about Wright’s haiku. His poetry had a particular magic about it and it captured something elusive. I also noticed that the pauses between each haiku were heavy – full of thought and reflection. This is typical of good haiku.

When reading Wright’s haiku, I found my own voice. I saw in Wright a great challenger, a sparring partner, of sorts. As soon as I came across one of Wright’s haiku that was perplexing or jarring, I tried to come up with something better written on the same topic. I tried to spin a phrase in an interesting manner, careful not to mimic Wright but inspired to write something better. For instance, I wrote the following:

The fog lifted its

Cold, wet feet to climb out of
The bay and up the hill.

Inspired by the following haiku by Wright:

My cold and damp feet
Feel as distant as the moon
On this autumn night.

Moreover, I wrote:

Every year the geese

Journey south and return with
Loud stories of pilgrimage.

Inspired by Wright’s:

High above the ship
On which immigrants sail,
Are departing geese.

To conclude, Richard Wright’s haiku poetry has been an inspiration for my entire book. His witty and imaginative haiku have truly brought out the best in me. You can find more of his haiku at the following link: http://terebess.hu/english/haiku/wright.html & you can find more of my haiku in my book due out April 2012.