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Jack Kerouac and the Traditions of Classic and Modern Haiku

Yoshinobu Hakutani

Jack Kerouac and the Traditions of Classic and Modern Haiku is a reading of the haiku collected in Jack Kerouac’s Book of Haikus, edited by Regina Weinreich, (2003), one of the two largest collections of English haiku. “Above all,” Kerouac wrote in his journal, “a Haiku must be very simple and free of all poetic trickery and makes a little picture and yet be as airy and graceful as a Vivaldi Pastorella.” Before trying his hand at composing haiku, Kerouac learned, as did Wright, the theory and technique of haiku from R. H. Blyth, the most influential haiku scholar and critic. Most of Kerouac’s haiku reflect eastern philosophies―Confucianism, Buddhist ontology, and Zen―, as do classic haiku. A son of devout French Canadian Catholic parents, the young Kerouac was impressed with Christian doctrine, but later was inspired by Buddhism. In his haiku Kerouc conflates Christian doctrine of mercy with that of Buddhism. Classic haiku taught Kerouac that not only must human beings treat their fellow human beings with respect and compassion, but they must also treat nonhuman beings such as animals, insects, plants, and flowers as their equals. Many of Kerouac’s haiku can be read as modern haiku for the technique of beat poetics he applied. All in all, Kerouac’s haiku express the worldview that human beings are not at the center of the universe.

Lexington Books

Pages: 310 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-4985-5827-3 • Hardback • December 2018 • $117.00 • (£90.00)

978-1-4985-5829-7 • Paperback • June 2021 • $44.99 • (£35.00)

Subjects: Literary Criticism / Poetry, Literary Criticism / American / General, Literary Criticism / Modern / 20th Century

Jack Kerouac and the Traditions of Classic and Modern Haiku

Hardback

Paperback

Summary

Jack Kerouac and the Traditions of Classic and Modern Haiku is a reading of the haiku collected in Jack Kerouac’s Book of Haikus, edited by Regina Weinreich, (2003), one of the two largest collections of English haiku. “Above all,” Kerouac wrote in his journal, “a Haiku must be very simple and free of all poetic trickery and makes a little picture and yet be as airy and graceful as a Vivaldi Pastorella.” Before trying his hand at composing haiku, Kerouac learned, as did Wright, the theory and technique of haiku from R. H. Blyth, the most influential haiku scholar and critic. Most of Kerouac’s haiku reflect eastern philosophies―Confucianism, Buddhist ontology, and Zen―, as do classic haiku. A son of devout French Canadian Catholic parents, the young Kerouac was impressed with Christian doctrine, but later was inspired by Buddhism. In his haiku Kerouc conflates Christian doctrine of mercy with that of Buddhism. Classic haiku taught Kerouac that not only must human beings treat their fellow human beings with respect and compassion, but they must also treat nonhuman beings such as animals, insects, plants, and flowers as their equals. Many of Kerouac’s haiku can be read as modern haiku for the technique of beat poetics he applied. All in all, Kerouac’s haiku express the worldview that human beings are not at the center of the universe.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 310 • Trim: 6¼ x 9⅜

978-1-4985-5827-3 • Hardback • December 2018 • $117.00 • (£90.00)

978-1-4985-5829-7 • Paperback • June 2021 • $44.99 • (£35.00)

Subjects: Literary Criticism / Poetry, Literary Criticism / American / General, Literary Criticism / Modern / 20th Century

Author

Yoshinobu Hakutani is professor of English and university distinguished scholar at Kent State University.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Part I: History and Criticism
Chapter 1: The Genesis and Development of Haiku in Japan
Chapter 2: Basho and Classic Haiku Tradition
Chapter 3: Yone Noguchi and Modernist Haiku Poetics
Chapter 4: Ezra Pound, Imagism, and Haiku
Chapter 5: Haiku in English and Haiku Criticism in America
Chapter 6: Kerouac’s Haiku and Classic Haiku Poetics
Chapter 7: Kerouac’s Haiku and Beat Poetics
Chapter 8: Kerouac’s Haiku and On the Road
Chapter 9: Kerouac’s Haiku and The Dharma Bums
Part II: Selected Haiku by Jack Kerouac
List of Kerouac’s Haiku from Book of Haikus

Reviews

An impressively erudite and informative study of a particular aspect of Jack Kerouac's extraordinary literary work, "Jack Kerouac and the Traditions of Classic and Modern Haiku" is a truly exceptional and unreservedly recommended addition to college and university library Literary Studies & Haiku Poetry Studies collections in general, and Jack Kerouac supplemental curriculum reading lists in particular.
— Midwest Book Review

Hakutani offers a highly original, intensive study of the importance of haiku poetry in Jack Kerouac's development as well as its significance for a wide range of other American writers such as Ezra Pound, Richard Wright, Gary Snyder, and Sonia Sanchez. Grounded in a rich understanding of the history of Japanese haiku and its underpinnings in Buddhist and Confucian thought, this book will be an invaluable resource for both specialized scholars and general readers.
— Robert Butler, author of Contemporary African American Fiction: The Open Journey

A penetrating, readable examination of Kerouac’s spontaneous and spiritually infused one-breath poetry. With clarity and scholarly precision Hakutani tells the story of how the haiku of Japanese literary tradition morphed into an exciting, international poetic genre of which Kerouac became one of the earliest and most influential masters.
— David G. Lanoue, Xavier University

In this innovative study, Hakutani explores Kerouac’s formative encounters with classic and modern haiku, situating his work within a vibrant tradition of East-West literary exchanges, from New England Transcendentalism to modernism, and from the Beat movement to African-American jazz haiku. A major contribution to transpacific American literary scholarship.
— Anita Patterson, Boston University

Jack Kerouac and the Traditions of Classic and Modern Haiku

Yoshinobu Hakutani

Jack Kerouac and the Traditions of Classic and Modern Haiku

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