I don’t know much about haiku style of poetry, so I had to reference the web expert, Wikipedia, for some details.

Haiku is, apparently, three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, respectively, to total 17 syllables. However, Wikipedia and other sites detail so many other facets of haiku. Here are some of the things I’ve read that haiku “must” be:

• there is a reference to seasons
• there is a grammatical break in the middle
• the poem focuses on nature
• the poem focuses on one feeling
• the poem does not rhyme

Trying to write a haiku of the Cinderella story is, apparently, not appropriate as a traditional haiku. But since the Cinderella story is my template for my “exercises,” I will tempt the wrath of the haiku police with the “haiku” below.

Style 5: Haiku

She and the prince dance.
Then she escapes in night air
without her slipper.

Last night, having just written the poem above, I lay in bed listening to the rain on the roof and windows. Being in a newly inspiring Haiku mood, I wrote this one.

Chilly breezes drive
April rain on my window:
May buds wait below.

Do you write haiku? How are these for first attempts? Do you think the syllable count should be strict? What about the other “requirements” I shared above?

I recently read Exercises in Style by Raymond Queneau (reviewed here on Rebecca Reads). It’s a fascinating look at how changing the style or approach to a story can completely change a story because it tells the same story 99 different ways.

Queneau tells a very simple, albeit boring, story: A man with a long neck and a funny hat on the bus accuses the man next to him of stepping on his toes. When a chair is free, he goes to it and sits down. Later, the narrator sees the man again with a friend. The friend is telling him to move a button. (None of Queneau’s tellings are quite this boring, however.)

Queneau repeats this story 99 times in 99 different styles. Some are very amusing. Some are well done and memorable. Other styles are odd. But the concept still fascinates me. I thought I’d try my hand at some of these too. I think it’d be fun if others joined in.

Ideas for styles: Notation, double entry, surprises/ exclamation, official letter, blurb, analysis, insistence, ignorance, past, present, reported speech, passive, cross-examination, asides, awkward, casual, biased, feminine, parts of speech, proper names, spoonerism, medical, abusive, portrait, unexpected.

I’m going to aim for 99 exercises, but I’ll start with a few at a time, I think. I’ve included four below, and when I do more, I’ll link to my exercises in the comments. These four are probably the most “boring” ones. I’ll try to be more creative in my next.

Feel free to leave your own exercises in the comments, or link to any that you may do on your own blog!

I’d love to have an award for the best submission(s), but I just moved and have no budget for giveaways right now! In the future, I’ll do a link round up of all submissions of clever “exercises in style.” Continue reading →