Karl Grass
“I started writing haiku as a way to document what I was experiencing when I first began to study and practice Buddhism.”
1. Please share a haiku you have written.
Tapestry of love
Holds all with gentle embrace
Each strand is precious
2. Why did you pick this one?
It came naturally when I wrote it, without any edits, and really captured what I was feeling about my family. It still resonates for me when I read it.
3. How many have you written? How often do you write? What inspires you?
I started writing haiku as a way to document what I was experiencing when I first began to study and practice Buddhism. I liked the technique of using haiku as a way to get more deeply in touch with my experience and decided to use it to explore compassion. It then became a daily practice. At one point, I wrote one every day and ended up with 366 of these (it was a leap year!). All together I have written more than 500 haiku.
4. Why do your write haiku? How did you get started?
They came about spontaneously. I found them to be a very effective means of journaling. I focused on compassion because I wanted to develop my own capacity in these areas and I found the combination of haiku and commentary a very effective way to do so.
5. Do you work with other forms related to haiku, like renga, senryu, haiga, tanka, etc.?
No, I am not familiar with these forms.
6. What advice would you give to aspiring haiku writers?
Write whenever the mood strikes and have fun!
7. Where can people read your haiku?
In my book of haiku: Compassion Haiku – Daily insights and practices for developing compassion for yourself and for others.
haiku Hoopla 