Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Suz's Haiku Challenge

Hey there, ladies! Inspired by a book I came across while working at B&N the other day and prompted by my own fondness for haiku, I would like to present to our little book club SUZ'S HAIKU CHALLENGE.

To refresh your memory, haiku is a Japanese form of poetry that consists of 3 lines and 17 syllables, 5-7-5. What is the challenge? Upon finishing each of your book club selections, take a few minutes (in the shower, driving to work, letting your pedicure dry, etc.) and condense that great tome down into 17 syllables. The haiku can be humorous or profound--however you feel moved. This might seem a little difficult or even a little ridiculous at first, but I was just thinking how much fun it would be to compare our haikus on each book at the end of the circuit. It's also a handy way of helping yourself recall what each book was about, enabling you to sound really intelligent in social settings.

My first thought was to have everyone post their haiku on this blog or record their haiku on a page that travels with the book, but as the haikus could very well serve as spoilers, I had to nix those ideas. So, at this point, if you're up to the challenge (come on, it'll be fun!) please compose a haiku as you finish your first selection and save it in a safe place. If you don't trust yourself to not lose your haikus before this is all over, you can e-mail them to me and I'll compile them.

Need a little inspiration? Well, I'd share mine with you, but that would pretty much spoil all the suspense of my book, so I'll share a couple favorites from the book that inspired this endeavor, Haiku U: 100 Great Books in 17 syllables.

Pride & Prejudice
Single white lass seeks
landed gent for marriage, whist.
No parsons, thank you.

Wuthering Heights
Wild. Strange. A bit damp.
Heathcliff waits for Cathy's ghost.
Women. Always late.

The Scarlet Letter
Grimy, gray New England--
all adulterers receive
free mongramming.

Let the finger counting begin!

3 comments:

hmb said...

Suz! You are awesome! Fantabulous Idea!

suz said...

Bekah, I love the fact that you wrote your haiku ON THE WAY TO A CREPERIE! Seriously, I have some of the most cultured friends ever. :)

Drewser said...

Haikus are the best
You guys always crack me up
Kudos to Red Suz