I came up with the idea of Kakoiku during my study of historical poets. The premise behind it is that there is a phrase (similar in form to a haiku or senryu) which is embedded in the poem itself. I tend to make them stand out using Em-dashes (thank you Emily Dickinson), but not always. As far as I am aware, there is not a form like this in existence (a haibun is close, but this is a haiku seperated from prose/poetry, rather than within it.
I like the idea of poems being able to to be read in multiple ways. I also believe that this might be a good form to encourage longer poems to be read—particularly on modern media (Instagram, Pinterest etc) as it acts almost as a 'hook' for the poem.
The name Kakoiku is meant to read as "enclosed phrase," taken from the Japanese 囲句. Now it must be said I cannot speak Japanese so hopefully this can make sense. In researching for a name I came across some surprising results!
My hope is that the form could entice more readers into reading more poetry, and that when combined with my translations and reimagined poems, that readers will take interest in some of the poets I have highlighted.
