Submit your Harlem Haiku – Harlem in 17 Syllables #harlemhaiku

   April 26, 2014  13 Comments on Submit your Harlem Haiku – Harlem in 17 Syllables #harlemhaiku  Posted in Poetry Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

haiku poetry

For National Poetry Month, The New York Times asked readers to write haiku about the city.

“Haiku (俳句 high-koo) are short poems consisting of three lines of five, seven and five syllables.   More specifically:

• Only three lines.
• First line must be five syllables.
• Second line must be seven syllables.
• The third line must be five syllables.
• Punctuation and capitalization are up to you.
• It doesn’t have to rhyme.
• It must be original.

They use sensory language to capture a feeling or image. They are often inspired by an element of nature, a moment of beauty or a poignant experience. Haiku poetry was originally developed by Japanese poets, and the form was adapted to English and other languages by poets in other countries.”

Writers were asked to stick to six subjects: the island, strangers, solitude, commuting, 6 a.m. and kindness. 2,800 submissions were received in 10 days.

Below is one of my favorites:

STRANGERS
Our eyes avoid but
If we looked we would see that
We might just be friends
-Sarah Lenaghan, 13, Brooklyn

As I read today’s selections I noticed none were from Harlem or referenced Harlem.  And I thought how great it would be for our readers to write and share their very own Harlem Haiku.

So with that in mind join us for National Poetry Month and submit your Haiku, either as a comment to this post, on our various social media outlets, or via email (harlemcondolife@gmail.com).  Don’t forget to include #harlemhaiku.  We will review them all and share our favorites throughout the month.

via New York City in 17 Syllables – NYTimes.com.

Author: HarlemGuy

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