Jack Kerouac and the Traditions of Classic and Modern Haiku : Lexington Books : 9781498558273 : 1498558275 : 14 Dec 2018 : Jack Kerouac and the Traditions of Classic and Modern Haiku is a reading of the haiku collected in Jack Kerouac's Book of Haikus, edited by Regina Weinreich, (2003), one of the two largest collections of English haiku. "Above all," Kerouac wrote in his journal, "a Haiku must be very simple and free of all poetic trickery and makes a little picture and yet be as airy and graceful as a Vivaldi Pastorella." Before trying his hand at composing haiku, Kerouac learned, as did Wright, the theory and technique of haiku from R.H. Blyth, the most influential haiku scholar and critic. Most of Kerouac's haiku reflect eastern philosophies-Confucianism, Buddhist ontology, and Zen-, as do classic haiku. A son of devout French Canadian Catholic parents, the young Kerouac was impressed with Christian doctrine, but later was inspired by Buddhism. In his haiku Kerouc conflates Christ