Getting Poetic with JCCU\’S Haiku Workshop

KAJANG, 1st November – A Haiku Workshop was recently held in College of Foundation and Diploma Studies UNITEN as part of the Asobi Mashou, a Japanese word that means \’Let’s Play\’. It is a series of short and fun meetings between members of Japanese Cultural Club UNITEN (JCCU) members and sometimes non-members, usually held on Fridays from 3pm to 5pm, designed to be an easy and enjoyable way to be more informed of traditional and modern Japanese culture.

The workshop started with a short explanation by Muhammad Wasseef bin Suhaimi about haikus, which are a very short form of Japanese poetry. Participants of the workshop then spent the evening constructing haikus based on different themes and prompts given by the organizers, inspired by a wide array of graphics to trigger their creativity.

\”It was surprisingly fun! Making haikus is actually interesting – simple but interesting,\” said Halenna Aiesya, one of the participants who attended the workshop, \”This haiku workshop gave me an opportunity to bring out my creativity through haikus, and presenting it also didn\’t feel very awkward. The JCCU community is very friendly.\”

The workshop eventually reached its end with everyone, including the organizers, proudly reciting the haikus they created.

Muhammad Wasseef expressed his thoughts about the Haiku Workshop, “To be honest, I wasn’t expecting a lot of people to come since it was about poetry, which people aren’t usually keen on talking about, much less on sharing it, publicly. But I’m glad that a lot of people gave it a chance and had fun doing so.”

“I believe that the workshop was a success. People were having fun writing deep and meaningful haikus, others wrote silly and straightforward ones, but they all had a chance to express themselves. At the end of the day, that’s what poetry and literature is about; having fun with words,\” he added, satisfied with how the event turned out.

Below is a simple haiku written by one of the participants for the final theme.

Friends

A-lone- on the roof

A friend-ship long torn a-part

Hope to see you soon

– Anon

Written by: Andrew Chan

Photo Source: Luqman Nur Hakeem bin Norhisham