Whose Haikus?

A while back (June?), I quietly stopped calling the poems on this blog "haiku" and changed the headline to say "short poem" instead. But I thought now it was time to be a bit more explicit. Maybe because lately I've been having a hard time telling people about this blog.

In a world where white men gobble up everything in sight (resources, power, culture) and spit up a milky backwash everyone else is expected to lap up and praise us for, it's easy to get lazy. I started this "haiku" thing as a way to get myself to write every day by doing the least amount of writing possible--the definition of laziness. And not that I need to wait for someone to call me on my bullshit, but I've been mostly unchallenged in my use of someone else's culture to tell cute little stories about my life.

I have found this project useful for marking moments over the last couple of years, connecting moments to ideas about the world, and occasionally connecting to others who comment here or on 17aDay's Facebook page. And the 5-7-5 form, with its syllable constraints, helps me focus and distill a lot of thoughts and feelings into something manageable, yet meaningful. So I don't want to just scrap the whole thing.

One thought I had was that maybe there's a short form in a European tradition that I might have any claim to (because I love a sonnet, but let's be real, I already struggle to post once a week), and I could rename the blog and keep on in much the same manner in the new form. My preliminary research hasn't turned up much, except some forms that were "inspired by" haiku and tanka. Also, though, that just sounds like a really easy out.

So, while I continue to ponder and process and publicly guilt about it, here's a limerick to hold you over.

There once was a blogger named Calvin
Who some shame for his haiku was havin'.
In his search for some verse
Less hijacked, just as terse,
It appeared that at straws he was grabbin'.

Resolved.

Haiku for the New Year

In 2014
I will write a post a day.
Ha ha ha ha ha!

A Public Service Announcement (Disguised as a Clip Show)

I looked at the Times Haiku Blog recently (thanks to reader "amplituhedron") and thought, "But those aren't even haiku. They're just sentences with 17 syllables." I looked at it some more and thought, "But they look a lot like mine, don't they?"

So it seems like the responsible thing to do, as the proprietor of an internet website with literally tens of readers, to shed a little light on what a haiku actually is. I realize not all of us were able to attend a crappy state school where other cultures' art forms were watered down and spoon-fed, so I'll fill you in on some things I learned.

7 Things About Haiku That This Blog Gets Wrong

1. Language. Traditional haiku are in Japanese, while I write exclusively in English. A subtle distinction, lending itself to number 2 below.
2. Syllables. Japanese haiku count syllables differently. 17 Japanese haiku syllables are roughly equivalent to 12 in English.
3. Line breaks. Japanese haiku are usually printed in one line, not three.
4. Juxtaposition. Haiku are supposed to use a "cut" word, or equivalent punctuation, to set off two parallel or contrasting ideas or images.
5. Self-sufficiency. Haiku are meant to stand alone, not follow an anecdotal setup characterized by too many first-person pronouns.
6. Nature. I do it sometimes (mostly in autumn, it seems). More often, though, I write about stuff like zombies, brunch, noise music, and cassette tapes.
7. Seasons. You could also argue that some of my haiku qualify as seasonal. However, traditional haiku usually contain one of a prescribed list of words used to suggest a season.

Got any more? Leave em in the comments!

In which our hero ponders the parent-appropriateness of this blog

My dad would totally not let me go to sleep last night. It was super cute. We were chatting on Facebook. (His mother's health is declining, and he has feelings.) I haven't shared this blog with him yet (or many people, really) because I don't want to censor myself. Rejection is real, people, and it hurts. But I'd like to think I am growing into taking more risks and being more vulnerable with those I care about.

Haiku for April 30, 2013

"Are you writing much?"
(Should I let my dad see this?)
"Just some short pieces."

You gonna finish that blog?

I am really good at starting projects. As someone told me recently, my creativity is endless. Which is kind of the problem. All beginning, no end. Maybe the worst idea I've had was to start a project where I commit to doing something every day indefinitely. It is doomed. This blog is doomed.