April 28, 2025Kat LehmannCategory 5

“When my kids were little, I had a tiny creative nonfiction blog in the corner of the internet that a few devoted readers would visit. I was also exploring the nuances of modern haiku and tanka. When I learned about haibun, it felt like a synergy of these genres, the perfect union of how I like to write. What fun! I continue to love the feeling of being a perpetual beginner as I consider the ways the standard three haibun elements resonate to create a deeper work. Like a structure-function relationship in biochemistry (my original field of training), I have come to conceptualize Structure as haibun’s fourth element because it determines how the other elements function as they resonate (or don’t) across negative space. Haibun provides a larger canvas upon which to stipple images that evoke larger stories about what is wordless.”