15 July, 2008

Yes, it's that time again. I'll be brief: I've managed to prune my journal further so that it can hold more links and less of my blather. It's working for the time being. Also, I've removed the 'Ask a question!' section, due to lack of response. It will be revived if required. Moving on --

What you will find in this news article: Why haiku? -- A list of resources on haiku and other Japanese concepts in poetry | Recent finds | Resource news | Read this | Literature Daily Deviations: June 2008 | I need your feedback

Why haiku?

Recently in #getLIT, I mentioned that I was trying to write haiku, and one of the responses I got was: "I hate haiku!" (Well, I'm paraphrasing based on the dubious abilities of my own memory.) But the reason had little to do with actual haiku, but with the fact that there is so much disagreement about what a haiku is. This sort of disagreement is frustrating, but understandable: haiku is a Japanese form, which, when translated into English, does pose problems.

For those who are completely unaware of what I'm talking about, haiku is a Japanese style of poetry composed of not more than three lines; its focus is usually an image in nature. In Japanese, the three lines consist of 5, 7 and 5 sound units respectively. I'll leave the rest to the experts.

The best initiation into the world of haiku is A word about haiku by Michael James. In this essay, haijin `MSJames explains why the 5-7-5 syllabic rule is not necessary for writing haiku in the English language. He also explains that a haiku is like a "snapshot of an instant in time, brief and full of images that are clear and at the same time, new and refreshing based on the comparison made in the poem."

After familiarising yourself with the form, try ~Wudang-mountain's Haiku exercise for beginners, and don't forget to check out the rest of their gallery: ~Wudang-mountain is an excellent resource account. For more detail about haiku, try *Laurence55's journals: Haiku form and Observation and Haiku.

Haiku is probably the most recognisable Japanese concept in poetry; but there are many others that you might not know of: tanka, senryu, renku, haiga, etc. Here are some articles that might interest you:

Tanka! by `MSJames, posted at *Writers-Workshop
Tanka: Introduction, Aesthetics, Pivot Points by *Laurence55
Senryu by *Laurence55
The Spirit of Haiga by *Laurence55

With respect to the question, "Why haiku?" (inspired by an article that I've linked below), I found that *Laurence55 explained it very well when I asked him what attracted him to Japanese forms of poetry in an interview:

While each style of poetry contains its own level of intricacy, the Japanese forms are profound in their ability to convey deep emotion in short, dramatic bursts. In Japanese poetry these dramatic moments are framed in the occurrence of everyday activities. The study of both haiku and tanka allow us to see small events from entirely new perspectives. In this way, we gain a sense of awareness that accompanies us in every aspect of our lives. Read the entire interview here.

The correct literature category for Japanese-style poetry is "Literature > Poetry > (thematic category) > Haiku & Eastern".

Hopefully, some of you are inspired enough to try `MSJames's Haikuwrimo project. It's never too late to join.

Recent finds

Forms of poetry: Villanelles, How to write by =Mattiello
Types of Prose: Children's Prose by *ThornyEnglishRose, posted at *Writers-Workshop
Characterisation: How to name your characters by ~Xancsia
Scripts & Screenplays: From Page to Stage by `Beccalicious
Punctuation: Grammar Quickie: Apostrophes by *WordCount (Unfortunately, I missed this out in my previous article.)

Thank you to those who suggested some of the above articles!

Resource news

First off, the Resource Central has been updated.

=lost-angle has featured Gumboot Books, a children's publisher, in their journal.

As part of Scriptwriting Month, :devbeccalcious: interviewed two dA playwrights:

Interview with a Scriptwriter- Ebony66136
Interview with a Scriptwriter 2: Ninja-Librarian

I have an interview with `MSJames lined up, so look out for that.

This is resource-related, but too exciting to go unmentioned: ex-GD and poet extraordinaire, `PoeticWar won an Eric Gregory Award, which is given to five British poets under the age of 30 every year. Congratulations, James!

Read this

You know those familiar complaints about poetry? "Poetry is difficult"? "Poetry is for the elite"? "Poetry makes me want to kill myself"? Firstly, poetry never makes me want to kill myself. It's one of those rare things that makes the world beautiful. But that's just me. Secondly, I can never find an appropriate answer to these complaints -- at least, not at the moment. In future, I plan to link people to the following article:

Why, Poetry? -- David Kirby, The American Interest Online

It's not perfect -- as no piece of writing can or should be -- but it's the best answer I've read (so far) to certain questions on poetry. Kirby talks about the difficulties -- and pleasures -- of reading poetry, writing it and writing about it. He also traces some of the trends and movements in American poetry since World War II.

Here are some tasty tidbits:

When strangers ask what I do and I tell them I’m a poet, a typical reaction is, “Gee, I just don’t get poetry.” But do you “get” Rossini’s String Quartet in C Major, I reply? Or if you’re at a dance recital, do you stand up in the middle of row H and shout, “Stop! I don’t get it!” Just give poetry a chance, I say.

~

Partial understanding is fine by me: If you understand completely, either you’re in a total Zen state of transcendent blissed-out samadhi or else you’re dealing with something so trivial that it’s not worth thinking about.

~

When people say to me, “I don’t like poetry”, I tell them that, to me, poetry is like weather—and you wouldn’t say “I don’t like weather”, would you?”

Literature Daily Deviations: June 2008

Poetry - Open

In Paris by =bekkia (Experimental, Surrealism)
44443890 by `ignite (Nature)
Cooking Lessons by ~katepowellshine (General)
untitled five hundred by ~otterhare (General)
Trailblazing by ~paradoxicalshaman (Nature)
Scars by ^StJoan (Other Romance)
Viscera by ~theunbeingdead (General)
Sensing in Five Dimensions by =Venaeli (Human Nature)
Rita Hayworth is 90 now by ~xtape (Erotic)

Poetry - Fixed

If I Were A Line by ~dailenna (Philosophical)
An Introduction to Sweeney by ~Sweeney-Todd-ReWrite (General, Ballad)

Poetry - Eastern

Eclipse by `jade-pandora (Human Nature)

Prose - Fiction

Let You Down by =holls (General)
I Love You Mother by ~IrrevocableFate (Children's)
The Rising Storm: Chapter 1 by ~Lytrigian (Fantasy)
Caliente by ~Manufc1983 (Spiritual)
Chapter 1 by *rexlupis (Fantasy)
Pete, Re-Pete by *SRSmith (Science Fiction)
jump by *za-zen (Mature Romance)
The Canary by ~Zocko (Children's)

Prose - Non-fiction

The Rights of Sentient Machine by ~clan-destine (Philosophical)

Theatre & Scripts

Monologue by ~beyondsalvage (Monologue)
Not really by `DarkApple (Scene)
A Catalogue for Enlightenment by =leoraigarath (Monologue)
you ask me my name by ~RoseTintMyWorld (Monologue)
Antigonus and the Bear by ~SimpleSimonPostman (Scene)
the Hundred Year Farce by *Spiderwriter (Scene)
The Family Business by ~TheModernHooplah (Scene)

Some of these Daily Deviations were suggested by *batousaijin, `Beccalicious, =distortified, `fllnthblnk, *Memnalar, ~MNightSWolf, ~MoonlitLupine, *TheFavoritesProject, ~Tofu-Pixie and *twilight-apple.

_{Sorry if I have missed anyone out. It was not intentional. Let me know and I will rectify the mistake.}

Write #1: Proof it!

I need your feedback.

How can this news article be improved? What topics should I tackle next? Is my resource central missing certain articles? Have you a question or answer for me? Note me! -- ^lovetodeviate