garden bench by Ray Rasmussen
Sit back, relax; we’re glad you’re here.
contemporary haibun online (cho) is, in short, a journal dedicated to promoting and celebrating English-language haibun, tanka prose, and haiga. Their roots reach back to ancient Japan, but they have been thoroughly modernized by today’s authors and artists.
If you’re new to these forms, think of them as dialogues—between prose and haiku, prose and tanka, art and haiku. At their best, both partners in this dialog expand upon the other’s thoughts and images to create connections that resonate beyond what they can say alone. A reaction occurs—A + B = C—and they become more than the sum of their parts.
You can find more information about haibun, tanka prose, and haiga in our section of resources. Perhaps you might like to try your hand at these forms and submit a few for consideration; if so, you’ll find submission guidelines here.
Or you can simply explore the offerings in our current and past issues, and discover the many ways in which modern poets, writers, and artists are advancing these ancient Japanese forms. So sit back. Relax. Enjoy.
About contemporary haibun online and Its Goals
Today, interest in haibun has expanded globally, and many writers point to contemporary haibun online (cho) as an early and important influence. In April 2020 the journal underwent its biggest redesign/overhaul since its launch in 2005, with a few new elements added: haiga is now part of the mix, and tanka prose has an expanded presence. But one thing has not changed: a dedication to ensuring that cho continues to promote, chart, and celebrate the ongoing developments in these literary and artistic forms.
• In haibun and tanka prose, we want cho to encourage a wide range of voices and further exploration—not just the traditional autobiographical essay, but also flash fiction, surrealistic prose poems, narrative poems, and pretty much anything else you can think of.
• In haiga, we want to offer galleries showcasing some of the best work from around the world.
• We want to examine all such explorations, to explain how they’re contributing to the evolution of their genres, and occasionally to look into the past, to see how it’s informing the present. This doesn’t just mean looking back to Basho and his Narrow Road; contemporary haibun, tanka prose, and haiga have been building their own vocabulary, rules, and legacy over the past decades, and cho can play an important role in highlighting their continuing development and recognizing both early and current pioneers.
• Finally, we want to encourage both new and veteran writers, not just by providing an outlet for publication, but also by offering helpful critique, encouragement, and resources to continue their journey.
Just as haibun, tanka prose, and haiga derive their power from collaboration— the linking of prose and haiku, prose and tanka, art and poetry, with the ultimate shift into something new—so too do we want to foster that same collaborative spirit among writers and artists, and deepen their sense of community.