Friday, December 10, 2021

Friday Writings #6: The shorter the sweeter?

Greetings, dear wordsmiths! What have you been up to lately?

Me, I’ve been reading a very interesting book. (Interesting to me, anyway.) Someone in one of the haiku groups I belong to on facebook recommended it: Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku, by OZAWA Minoru.

It’s expensive, even in Kindle. I wanted it anyway, to discover what Japanese haiku poets have been doing recently. (Haiku is a living form, not static but evolving.) As soon as I got it I realised the reason for the cost: at the beginning of each section, several incredibly beautiful colour photos.

The sections are New Year, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Seasonless. Altogether they contain 300 haiku (by 300 different poets) with notes explaining allusions which non-Japanese readers might not get, the sound values of the originals, and details about the poets. A final section consists of twenty haiku by the author, presented without notes; and I found the Preface and Afterword actually useful.

Prompt

This reading has inspired my (optional) prompt for you today:

Go micro!

(a) Give us your own haiku on any subject (for some of you, I realise, this will be nothing new!)
or
–  if you hate haiku – or if you write them all the time and want to do something different – give us any other kind of micropoem (i.e. up to 10 lines) formal or free. 
E.g., for the formal ones (excluding senryu and tanka, which I'm sure everyone already knows) there are lune, American sentence, gogyoshi, cherita, sevenling, shadorma, monostich, elfje, etc. etc. Please label your piece for the form you're using. (Any 10-line poem may be labelled a decastich.)

Or:
(b) Try a 'short short' story of up to 100 words

You may present us with up to six micropoems or three short short stories in the one post. 

Unprompted:

Or else, instead of the above, feel free to do your own thing. You may give us anything you like, old or recent, in any form, on any topic. (The only stipulation is that if it's prose, please don't exceed 369 words.)

Then: Add your link (to your post, not just your blog) below, have fun reading each other's writings, and leave us a comment here if you'd like. (We'd like!) With a whole week available, you might like to pop back once or twice to see what gems have been added late in the week.

Advance Notice: For our last Friday Writings (before the end-of-year break), Magaly would like us to write a “Dear 2021” open letter, in verse or in prose.

13 comments:

  1. Oooo I am short and sweet so I like my poetry to match:)

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    1. I too am soon to be short as I am losing height, probably an inch and a half. A little of my pounds have gone as well, about a dozen. I'd like for about a dozen more to fall off but I'm not trying to lose.
      A fun prompt, I tried for more but my director ordered more verses instead.
      ..

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    2. Ha ha, I have lost an inch myself in height, And yes, I'm losing pounds/kilos as well – that is by choice, for my health.

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  2. Happy Friday.
    Luv the micros so that today's prompt pleases me a lot. Bravo

    much💜love

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    1. Ha ha, yes I thought it would suit you! And one or two others.

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  3. Good day, Poets & Storytellers!

    Rosemary, I am posting a short poem, but it's not even 10 lines. Hope it's okay. I wanted to take some unpublished short poems from my other blog, but decided against it. Maybe some other day. :)

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    Replies
    1. Under 10 lines is fine. (Or even over 10, as the prompt is optional nowadays.) I always like your poetry in succinct mode ... well, I always like your poetry of any length.

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  4. I know I'm late but I love haiku. Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad you love haiku! And you're welcome at any time between Fridays.

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  5. Thanks so much for the info on this book. I have a few, but this would be a welcome addition.

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    Replies
    1. I too have a few, but this one is indeed a welcome addition.

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  6. I am so very late... But I'm here, right? And that's what matters (or so I've heard).

    I took a look at the preview of Well-Versed on the Kindle store. You're right! The pictures are beyond lovely. I've added the book to my wish list and have also recommended it to my public library. I, too, am interested in seeing how the form has evolved.

    Now, to do some reading. Thank you for hosting, Rosemary.

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