I first learned about the art form in grade school from a teacher who had learned about it in a summer class. I’ve been fascinated ever since.
If one wants to read up on the history of the Haiku, a good place on line to begin would be http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku which discusses the long and honorable history of the Haiku.
When reading You Only Live Twice in my youth, I recall that Tiger Tanaka, the head of Japan’s secret service, had a line in which he mentioned Basho, the greatest of the Haikumen. Basho’s literary signnificance to Japan is equivalent to Shakespeare or Milton’s to English. A good place to read about Basho is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsuo_Bash%C5%8D
But rather than filling this entire answer with words talking about the haiku, it makes more sense to give an example, which I’ve taken from http://www.isop.ucla.edu/shenzhen/2002ncta/cunningham/Webpage-HaikuPoems.htm
Enjoy!
As the wind does blow
Across the trees, I see the
Buds blooming in May
