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Title: SciFaiku Post by: MCT on October 25, 2005, 11:37:49 AM http://www.scifaiku.com/
The SciFaiku Manifesto a declaration of the principles of SciFaiku established July 1995 SciFaiku is a distinctive and powerful form of expression for science fiction. It packs all the human insight, technology, and vision of the future into a few poignant lines. SciFaiku is haiku and it is not haiku. It is driven by the inspiration and many of the principles of haiku, but it takes its own direction. It deviates, expands, and frees itself of haiku. What is SciFaiku? SciFaiku takes its form from contemporary international haiku. A usual poem is 3 lines and contains about 17 syllables. The topic is science fiction. It strives for a directness of expression and beauty in its simplicity. Here is a representative example: Asteroids collide without a sound... We maneuver between fragments. Immediacy While SciFaiku is open to experimentation and flexible in using the rules of its form, it nevertheless draws its inspiration from haiku. As with haiku, a poet strives to convey a sense of immediacy -- to capture a moment, to make readers feel that they are part of a scene. This immediacy might be obtained, for instance, by incorporating words that strike directly at the senses -- sounds, smells, visions... In striving for directness of expression, SciFaiku avoids abstract concepts and metaphors and describes rather than philosophizes. Leave the implications to the reader's imagination: Digging up an ancient city, finding the print of a tennis shoe. Minimalism Like haiku, SciFaiku seeks terseness of expression. It is minimal and elegant. The standard length is 17 syllables. Traditional haiku is composed of 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively. This is a useful guideline, but need not be followed strictly. More than 17 syllables is permissible if well-motivated. Fewer syllables or fewer lines are appropriate if the poem still successfully conveys a message: Naked he sees she isn't human Science Fiction Traditional haiku is about nature. SciFaiku is about science fiction. It need not contain elements of nature, though it may. Traditional haiku contains a season word -- a word which evokes a season, as snow evokes winter or tulips evoke spring. SciFaiku often contains a "science" word that evokes a technology or science-fiction setting: words like space, genetics, robot, or laser. Every poem needs to clearly evoke a science-fiction premise as well as express its own observation of that premise, and this is perhaps the most challenging aspect of writing SciFaiku. Technical words often involve many syllables, such as teleport, terraform, alien, or supernova. This adds challenge to keeping a poem concise, since there are that many fewer syllables remaining to complete a poem. One such difficult word is "biofeedback": with biofeedback to heal the burns: I flip a burger, nonchalant A few approaches can be taken to deal with this challenge: -It is acceptable to spill over the limit of 17 syllables, particularly when the subject matter clearly involves a complex technical term (transmogrification -- already 6 syllables), though this should be avoided. -Seek a substition for a longer word, e.g. droid instead of robot, but don't do this if it seriously reduces clarity or disrupts the mood of a poem. -Sometimes SciFaiku can be written in a series. The first few can establish the science-fiction premise, which can be merely alluded to in subsequent poems. However, each poem should stand independently if at least the context is known. Human Insight Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of science fiction is how it provides deep insight into the human condition, even when the subject matter is computers or aliens. Not restricting itself only to the tangible, SciFaiku permits an exploration of the thoughts and feelings of characters within a poem: In a ramjet -- wistfully thinking of you (A Bussard ramjet, or ramscoop, is a spaceship powered by scooping interstellar hydrogen into a fusion reactor -- the implication is that the traveller is on a very long interstellar voyage, perhaps long enough that there is no intention of returning.) http://www.planetmag.com/sfku.htm (Andrew G. McCann's SciFaiku Page) (http://www.planetmag.com/robot.gif) Very funny. Some selections: EXO-ARMOR (FutureWarKu) Batteries are dead Dawn breaks on the battlefield Trapped in a barrel TOLKU INTREPID HOBBIT (The Council of Elrond Convenes) Behold brave Frodo Ring-bearer, bound for Mordor Better him than me SAM'S DARKEST HOUR Oh, Mr. Frodo! Sir, watch out for that Gollum! Cripes, this ain't worth it... BASTARD SAURON That bastard Sauron Lording it over us all! Him and his damn "Eye" SARUMAN'S LAMENT Consider the Orc: Brutal, fetid, and hairy! Just like my ex-wife SARUMAN THE CHEF Turkey bred with Orc Let's gobble-gobble Goblin! Where's my spoon 'n' fork? STUPID BREE INKEEPER FORGOT GANDALF'S MESSAGE Old Barliman says "One thing drives out another." That's no excuse, pal! POOR TOM Poor Tom Bombadil You were cut from the movie just because you're gay THE DRAGON Ancient, evil Smaug fire-breathing town-eater may your farts explode CORYTHOSAURUS RANCH How now, brown dino? Plucked from the late Cretaceous Who knew? Delicious! SNOWORLD (http://www.planetmag.com/egg.gif) Rocket flames dwindle in endless ammonia storms No more supply ships IF THIS IS TUESDAY... So this is Day One, When the Earth coalesces. How hot. How boring. BEAUTIFUL ACCIDENT Down into Saturn Golden cliffs spiral upwards. Diamond windshield cracks LAST-MINUTE NUKE STRIKE Last-minute nuke strike Called off as diplomats meet At last! War Is Ov- Anyway that's just a few of 'em. Check out the rest! Title: Re: SciFaiku Post by: Where is Hassan Nasrallah ? on October 25, 2005, 12:22:29 PM sounds interesting, but i just got back from 1 hour of football so i'm not in the mood. but it's interesting.
i don't see any point in making categories, let's call them haiku and say they can be about anything. Title: Re: SciFaiku Post by: Axls Locomotive on October 25, 2005, 03:17:24 PM very funny...but its always puzzled me how haikus are poetry...and how they are constructed :confused:
Title: Re: SciFaiku Post by: MCT on October 25, 2005, 10:24:27 PM i don't see any point in making categories, let's call them haiku and say they can be about anything. It's said that a poem title should add something to the piece itself. And so it should. But much more potentially effective is making the title a part of the whole, an integral aspect, or the crux even! This works especially well with short poetry. And in this particular case - scifaiku - it makes it what it is. Meaning the category name that is. And to miss that, well, read more is all I'm gonna say... : ok: very funny...but its always puzzled me how haikus are poetry...and how they are constructed :confused: And what is poetry to you? As for how they're constructed, there are quite a few excellent resources out there that are only a Google away. But basically we have a simple system of 5/7/5: Boys have penises 5 Girls have those vagina things 7 Easy E is gay 5 Title: Re: SciFaiku Post by: Axls Locomotive on October 26, 2005, 03:39:51 PM poetry is...expression of emotions in rhythm and verse evoking a connection between the reader and the writer
music is a step up where the additional connection between the body's rhythms with the musical sounds/rhythms and the poetic rhythms all combine...its a great feeling when all 3 are at their positive apex at the same (or similar) time or when you have contradictions at the same moment...does that make any sense?... personally, poetry lacks that other dimension of music/sound...but i can still appreciate talent... ill try to remember the next time i write a haiku im not a poet |