Today I organized a tertulia gathering for my MA students at Els Quatre Gats, one of Barcelona’s most emblematic cafés, historically famous for hosting a vivid cultural life centred around tertulia, concerts and exhibitions. The idea was to revive the tertulia tradition and to share our creative artworks and talents. We also tried our hands and minds at writing some haiku verses.
Haiku is a short contemplative poem composed of 3 verses. It is a traditional form of Japanese poetry that was -supposedly- developed by a samurai master called Basho.
It must register a moment, sensation, or impression, and carry a sense of surprise. It’s like a snapshot capturing a certain moment in nature.
Simply: Haiku is a miracle of compression!
Here is a famous haiku:
A whale!
Down it goes, & more & more
Up goes its tail
Camel76 