Haiku Deathmatch
poems that punch back
The Haiku Genie grants five syllables per wish: money…and…five more! Gym class sucked the day we played ball. Charles mis- understood shooting practice. The hardest part of dancing is cutting steps you learned for other songs. If you think swords are mightier than the pen, try rolling joints with swords. Two boys fight over a toy. The UN breaks it in half. Did it work? My first drink was a spell. I raised spirits ‘till they came back to haunt me. Men who point fingers like guns don’t know that a triple barrel points back.
1art by Pragna Gaddamedi (@prgs.jpeg)
Poetry Tip of the Day!
Haiku. Traditionally, a Japanese poem with seventeen syllables, typically three lines long with a format of five-seven-five syllables. Deathmatch. A match in which many of the normal rules don’t apply, typically leading to a more violent contest. In a Haiku Deathmatch, you are at the mercy of the audience, and if you aren’t able to evoke thought or feeling within seventeen syllables…well it’s a deathmatch for a reason. Here are my submissions. Would you take me on?
Artist Note of the Day!!
This one is for my visual learners. The idea of pairing words with images is not revolutionary, but I find it to be fascinatingly complementary. In front of a larger-than-life abstract canvas in a museum, some people are able to appreciate the artist’s perspective instantly. Me? I usually have my own interpretation (entirely off the mark) and then walk over to the little plaque next to the piece in order to digest the “correct” meaning. I appreciate the fact that this plaque can be ignored completely and one can walk away with their own narrative. Our process is a little unconventional as Sahib’s words typically inform my art, so they are inseparable in some regard. However, you can appreciate them both separately or together.
I came across the Haiga, a refined visual art of combining brush painting, haiku, and calligraphy. A traditional Haiga requires all three of these elements. Just as haiku succeeds by creating space and energy in the relationship of its two juxtaposed parts, Haiga generates interest through the “leap” or even disjunction between the poem and the painting (the painting is typically not just an illustration of the poem, nor is the poem a caption for the image).2 The intention of the Haiga is to make the audience feel “the hand” of the poet. Modern Haiga has evolved to utilizing photography over painting or typesetting versus calligraphy. My take deviates from the conventional definition but is a genuine attempt at authenticity.
Pricasso
Very nice, both of you. Enjoyed.
Jagi