Something we can try- Japanese Collaborative Poetry Game: Haikai

[Lin Neiswender]

Something we can try once our we finish our July madness- Haikai, the Japanese collaborative poetry game http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Haikai-(Collaborative-Poetry-Game), kind of alternating 3 line, 2 line verses with some specific rules to start you off. Sounds like a lot of fun. Here's what Wiki says about it:

"Haikai collaborative poetry (aka renku, or renga) has a long history in Japan, where it combines aspects of game-play with literature.[1] It's a fun and creative group activity which is becoming popular in the west in recent years. You don't need to be a poet to play!

The plan below is for a 12-verse haikai, but there are many other plans (up to 100 verses, if you and your writing partner(s) are feeling energetic!)."


Seasons, Songs & Earthtones

Hibiscus blushes
Red in hot sun, glimmering
Clouds approach after noon

Sky looms, heavy with rain
Yellow grass awaits refreshment

Mysterious moon beams
gather into ghostly mists
waiting in dark

Soft holy white light caress,
The only truth you'll never know,

White cascades over black
Covering all, protecting all
Love prevails

Darkness with hate entwines
Bare branches with red buds bursting

Roses lend their fragrance
To spring's splendor
New life, new blood, new wine

Lazy sun lapping up lavish liquids,
its birthright

Its melody unfurling,
virgin petals
weeping for the first time

Night's blackness gently quiets songs,
Day's music rests awhile.

[Anne Westlund]

Looks like fun, Lin!

[Lin Neiswender]

We can get everyone in on this maybe! A group project! Maybe wait till August or until everyone gets caught up on Red-Hot? What do you think???

[Camille]

This would be fun to try, Lin! It's like those collaborative stories that people do on the web these days. One person writes a sentence, the next person adds, then the next, until it becomes a story. Sometimes they turn into intricate novels! LOL!
On another site we wrote poems and fairytales that way. It was a great collective project!
Why not haiku???
Let me know when the fun starts!
Love Dabs

[Lin Neiswender]

Will do- watch for an announcement on the Forum...

[Camille]

Thanks Lin!!!

[Dan Goodwin]

Sounds intriguing Lin. Maybe we can try a few experimental ones here in this discussion first and see how it works?

[Lin Neiswender]

Sounds like a plan, Dan!

To recap for everyone who has been out of school as long as I have, a syllable is defined as "A word or part of a word representing a sound produced as a unit by a single impulse of the voice, consisting of either a vowel sound alone as in oh or a vowel with attendant consonants, as in throne."

Here's the info from the Wiki article so everyone can get familiar with it:

1. Decide who is to write the first verse. It should make reference to the current surroundings and season (not necessarily by name - e.g. 'Christmas' indicates winter; 'beach' would suggest summer). Three lines, up to 17 syllables total.
2. Pass the writing pad to the next player, for the second verse. This one will be just two lines, up to 14 syllables maximum. Come up with something to suggest the same season as the first verse. It should link to the first verse, but shift away from it a bit as well. After that first verse, everything is fictional.
3. Pass it over to the third player (or back to the first if you are only two). Another three-line verse now, but this one should make no reference to season. And while it should link somehow to the previous verse, this should shift right away from the verse before that (the first verse)
4. Alternate three- and two-line verses. Of every three verses, one or two should mention a season. Main thing is to link (sometimes quite tentatively) to the preceding verse, while always shifting away from the one before that. Link and shift, that's what it's about.


Tips

* The idea is to convey the feeling of change.
* Start and end the poem on an upbeat note. In-between, anything goes!
* Avoid repeating topics, or words (other than small ones).
* Variety is the key: vary the subject matter, style, intensity, grammar etc. as much as possible from verse to verse
* As well as all four seasons, reference should be made to the following special topics:

o the moon (once in the poem)
o a flower (once in the poem)
o love (in two adjacent verses)
* Remember: long (three-line) verses are up to 17 syllables, short (two-line) ones up to 14 syllables. A haikai always starts with a long verse and ends with a short one.
* Though the first verse should reference the current surroundings and season, all of the other verses are fictional. Your imagination is your limit!
* While haikai are traditionally written in a live 'session', with all the players sitting in a room together, they are increasingly written by email, over a period of days or weeks. Start one with your friend now - what are you waiting for?!
* This game is collaborative rather than competitive, so everyone's a winner!
* If you want a silly haikai, let the person after you see only the line you just wrote, and see how it ends up

[Dan Goodwin]

So many rules! : )

OK so how about we try here - Lin, Anne, Camille and Dan (me). Lin, post the first verse?

[Lin Neiswender]

They are kinda heavy on rules! OK,

Hibiscus blushes
Red in hot sun, glimmering
Clouds approach after noon

Anne, over to you...

[Anne Westlund]

Sky looms, heavy with rain
Yellow grass awaits refreshment


Ok, Camille next...

[Camille]

Mist fills tulip cups
beading broad leaves

[Lin Neiswender]

OK Dan, your turn... link and shift in three lines