Tech Haiku #2

My second entry into the realm of Tech Haiku actually falls into a category of its own. The subject matter isn’t related to computers in any direct way, nor is it explicitly about science or engineering or things related to those topics.

Because most classical haiku poems are about nature and related topics, the term “Tech Haiku” helps to define the subject a little more. You know if you’re reading a Tech Haiku that somewhere, something computer-like or scientific will show up in the stanzas. No “Ode to a Grecian Urn” here.

Helicopter hovers;
impenetrable traffic.
Commuters turn back.

I’m leaving the topic of what to call this category of haiku open to discussion. It’s not really tech; could we call it “Urban?” Contemporary might be another good candidate, but I think that word has become such a catch-phrase that it really doesn’t mean anything specific. It’s sort of like “nice” or “cool,” both of which are tepid adjectives at best.

An Informal Contest
I’d like to propose a contest to name this new category of haiku. It’s an informal contest — I don’t have any prizes or money to give away, nor can I promise you that you’ll be on your way to fame and fortune if you come up with a great entry. In fact, my main reason for posting this fun contest is to try and garner readership for this post. (Hey, a gal’s gotta try!)

Here is a short list of words that I think could make a good category name for these modern-life haiku. These are haiku that don’t fit into the traditional nature approach and also don’t fulfill the idea of “tech haiku,” either in subject or word choice. Your task is to vote for one of these words as your favorite, or else write in with a word of your own.

• Avant Garde
• Modern
• Urban
• Leading Edge
• Progressive
• Innovative
• Vanguard

If any of these words sound like good candidates, leave a comment and let me know why you like the word and why it would make a good name. Alternatively, let me know why a word should not be used as the new name for this category of haiku. And if you have a better word, by all means post it. I’m looking forward to reading all your comments.

Tech Haiku #1

I took a creative writing class last semester as part of my degree requirements. I’m working towards a Communications degree and I had burned out a little after so much technical writing and expository writing, so I wanted a fun break.

For our class assignments we wrote some poetry as well as short stories. The poems included haiku and sonnet work. While I found that writing sonnets is actually quite difficult, the haiku poems were intriguing to me. I’ve already posted one of my class haiku poems Winter earlier on Focal Plane.

I recently came across a contest on the ThinkGeek.com website for writing tech haiku. I decided to try my hand at writing some of them, and it turned out to be a good way to pass a few spare minutes at work. Instead of entering the contest, though, I am presenting the haiku here on Focal Plane. So now, for your amusement (I hope), I present my first tech haiku:

cooling towers soar
overclocked memory chips
render polygons

Although haiku are only three lines, they have a lot of rules to follow. The rule that is probably most well-known is that haiku must contain a certain number of syllables. The standard syllable count is 5-7-5. That’s five syllables for the first line, seven for the second, and five for the third. Tech Haiku #1 follows this standard count.

I have also found web references to other syllable counts which I found worked much better for some of my poems. I used a 3-5-3 count for the Winter haiku .

Well, my lunch break isn’t quite over, so I have a few minutes to spare to start another tech haiku. Here goes…

keyboard jams

Stay tuned.

Winter

gray season
corrugated sky
darkling snow