Embracing Liminal Space with Haibun (2-hour Master Craft Class) with Amanda Moore (via Zoom)

The haibun, a poetic form popularized by Bashō in his 17th century travelog The Narrow Road to the Interior, consists of alternating passages of prose and haiku, a movement that embodies contrast, opening and occupying a liminal space between genres. Working across thresholds of form and content, the haibun embraces tension and offers poets a form through which to explore literal and figurative journeys while simultaneously achieving contemplative stillness. Often grounded in nature and incorporating a twist or tonal shift as they move between prose and poem, haibun are versatile and flexible, a satisfying ground on which to wrestle with complex ideas, relay a narrative, and explore nuance. In this craft class, we’ll lay a foundation for our understanding of the genre by reading Bashō and then move to contemporary haibun by poets such as Kimiko Hahn, Forrest Gander, Dana Levin, and Aimee Nezhukumatathil. We will also look at more experimental variations and examples of haibun and consider which of our own subjects and ideas might be served by the movement of the form.

Amanda Moore is a poet, educator, and translator whose debut collection of poetry, Requeening (Ecco 2021), was selected for the 2020 National Poetry Series by Ocean Vuong. Her poems have appeared in journals and anthologies including Best New Poets, ZZYZVA, LitHub, and Mamas and Papas: On the Sublime and Heartbreaking Art of Parenting, and her essays have appeared in Catapult, The Baltimore Review, and Hippocampus Magazine. Amanda lives by the beach in San Francisco with her husband and daughter. More at https://amandapmoore.com.