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2018

Abstract

ith one? I’m curious where my muse will take me.</p><h1 id="0fe5">Disrespecting proper form and proud of it</h1><p id="4b02">The classic Haiku are not just about the 5–7–5 pattern. There are also cutting words and seasonal patterns to adhere to. Tanka should be about nature and kyoka about what people are occupied by.</p><p id="4609">In my first haiku on Medium I already commented on it:</p><div id="d785" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/seasonal-haiku-b0a95538d212"> <div> <div> <h2>Seasonal Haiku</h2> <div><h3>It’s haiku season!</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*B3Y3u1Sq4JF-QJ1_ZL91XQ.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="c720">I am going to ignore how you should write a proper haiku. The same goes for tanka and kyoka. There is something to note, however:</p><p id="e05f">In the haiku above I successfully incorporated seasons. I am secretly proud of this feat. And as I pumped out a haiku for each season, I managed to create a quartet that is actually a description from birth to death. Again, I am proud. Not so secretly this time, though. No one will probably ever notice, so you might be reading this from me again. It is my greatest haiku achievement after all.</p><p id="d48c">While I am bragging, I am also ecstatic that I was able to split the upper phrase from the lower phrase in the tanka. Don’t worry if you don’t know what I am talking about. Just give me a nod and smile. For you purists out there: am I actually doing it right?</p><h1 id="258e">Words are my wood</h1><p id="1435">After I submitted my haiku to WotWU <a href="undefined">ScienceDuuude</a> commented “[…] and these haiku are exactly that where words are your wood.”. I loved that comment. It actually made me stop and think abo

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ut it.</p><p id="d129">Please bear with me while I try to segway myself towards woodworking and what this comment had me thinking about.</p><p id="8097">I am really into drawing. I’m not very good at it, but I love doing it. As a proud owner of a wood burner, I have a ‘woodworking’ project every once in a while. I started to notice something about my process:</p><ul><li>I start a design by drawing random associations with what I want to draw (these drawings are terrible)</li><li>I look up a reference and I try to recreate them (some of these drawings are actually quite good)</li><li>Then using the drawings from my initial and second phase, I piece together my own work of art: I make a minimalistic drawing containing only the pieces I think are important. This stage can take days or weeks until I get it right (results vary, but at least <i>I</i> am always proud of the outcome)</li></ul><p id="301c">What if words <i>are</i> my wood? Can I learn from my ‘woodworking’ skill and improve my writing?</p><h1 id="163b">Kill your darlings</h1><p id="a231">With Haiku and my newfound friends tanka and hyoka I can dive right into what I think is important. That’s the polar opposite of how I write: I usually end up scratching the pieces I had written first. I hate that part of writing. Those paragraphs are essentially why I started the story in the first place.</p><p id="b0bb">With haiku I am forced to adopt proper form. I can use them to structure my stories. Get rid of the fluff. I might just do that until I find my own proper form. For now at my muse makes me end with another haiku:</p><p id="3937">My muse will guide me</p><p id="7a26">Proper form does not exist</p><p id="aa6d">Wood will unite words</p><p id="d4d4"><i>This story is my eighth post in my 10-in-10-challenge, where I am challenged to write, edit and publish 10 stories in 10 days. Feel free to join the challenge! See the <a href="https://medium.com/10-in-10-challenge">publication </a>details on how to submit.</i></p></article></body>

I enjoy haiku. Writing and reading is great. How about tanka?

Seemingly harmless, but beware: this story will take you from the haiku in the title, past a tanka, towards my drawing-process and then we finally reach the destination of woodworking. Slow down and enjoy the ride.

Tanka/Kyoka

Unfamiliar

The tanka exists as well

Tanka are short form

And just like kyoka: five

Seven five seven seven

Haiku, tanka, kyoka, and other short form poetry

I recently rediscovered my love for Haiku because of Terry Mansfield’s Explosive Haiku. It’s a silly little thing that brought a lot of joy. I promise this is the last shout-out to the same story.

While I was graduating from University, I spent a lot of time procrastinating in Kingdom of Loathing’s haiku-only chat. Ever since then I have been fond of Haiku. I am shocked that I was unfamiliar with tanka or kyoka up until this day! My first Tanka above serves as a reminder to never forget this great short form ever again.

I am not sure on how to go forward with haiku. They are a great little procrastinator after all. Should I just publish one every once in a while? Or… Should I end or start every story I write with one? I’m curious where my muse will take me.

Disrespecting proper form and proud of it

The classic Haiku are not just about the 5–7–5 pattern. There are also cutting words and seasonal patterns to adhere to. Tanka should be about nature and kyoka about what people are occupied by.

In my first haiku on Medium I already commented on it:

Seasonal Haiku

It’s haiku season!

medium.com

I am going to ignore how you should write a proper haiku. The same goes for tanka and kyoka. There is something to note, however:

In the haiku above I successfully incorporated seasons. I am secretly proud of this feat. And as I pumped out a haiku for each season, I managed to create a quartet that is actually a description from birth to death. Again, I am proud. Not so secretly this time, though. No one will probably ever notice, so you might be reading this from me again. It is my greatest haiku achievement after all.

While I am bragging, I am also ecstatic that I was able to split the upper phrase from the lower phrase in the tanka. Don’t worry if you don’t know what I am talking about. Just give me a nod and smile. For you purists out there: am I actually doing it right?

Words are my wood

After I submitted my haiku to WotWU ScienceDuuude commented “[…] and these haiku are exactly that where words are your wood.”. I loved that comment. It actually made me stop and think about it.

Please bear with me while I try to segway myself towards woodworking and what this comment had me thinking about.

I am really into drawing. I’m not very good at it, but I love doing it. As a proud owner of a wood burner, I have a ‘woodworking’ project every once in a while. I started to notice something about my process:

I start a design by drawing random associations with what I want to draw (these drawings are terrible)
I look up a reference and I try to recreate them (some of these drawings are actually quite good)
Then using the drawings from my initial and second phase, I piece together my own work of art: I make a minimalistic drawing containing only the pieces I think are important. This stage can take days or weeks until I get it right (results vary, but at least I am always proud of the outcome)

What if words are my wood? Can I learn from my ‘woodworking’ skill and improve my writing?

Kill your darlings

With Haiku and my newfound friends tanka and hyoka I can dive right into what I think is important. That’s the polar opposite of how I write: I usually end up scratching the pieces I had written first. I hate that part of writing. Those paragraphs are essentially why I started the story in the first place.

With haiku I am forced to adopt proper form. I can use them to structure my stories. Get rid of the fluff. I might just do that until I find my own proper form. For now at my muse makes me end with another haiku:

My muse will guide me

Proper form does not exist

Wood will unite words

This story is my eighth post in my 10-in-10-challenge, where I am challenged to write, edit and publish 10 stories in 10 days. Feel free to join the challenge! See the publication details on how to submit.