Lorraine Ellis Harr helped define American haiku and senryu and their relationship to the Japanese originals. In the 1970s she drew up guidelines or sets of rules for the composition of haiku and senryu in English: “The ISN’TS of Haiku,” “Haiku Is” and “Senryu Is,” which, though conrroversial, were helpful in understanding the differences between these haikai forms.

“About Haiku” is a brief unpublished definition of haiku written about 1971 by American poet Truth Mary Fowler (1907–2000). It represents an early attempt in English-language haiku to define the genre and provide guidelines for composition.