Many of you use a three-row poem-like form. Does this have a name and requirements for its form?

As per the specification of the first post, people are using Haiku. (See also the wikipedia page on Haiku in English)

Ah, I read as creative writing what was declaration:) Let me try:



Infinite universe
Black and white
Shared in peace

Robert, did you actually read what a haiku was? The 3 lines have to contain respectively 5,7 and 5 syllables - yours has 6, 3 and 3.

I notice people aren't following the 17 mora thing - is that generally deprecated or just not worth the hassle?

Are you sure this is true? Firstly, I'm certain they are syllable-weights, or mora, rather than syllables. So "hello" has 3 because of the long "o" (short syllables have one, long syllables have two, more or less). So it's normally 17 of these rather than 17 syllables.

Secondly, I also understood that 5, 7 and 5 are not rigid rules, just traditionally most common. There are plenty of examples of Japanese Haiku that don't adhere to this (maybe it's the equivalent of splitting infinitives?)

EDIT: e.g. random example:



When (1) the (1) board (2) now (2) looks (1) -- 7
like (2) anytime (4) before (3) this (1) -- 10
your (2) move (2) was (1) not (1) right (2) -- 8

So this becomes 25 mora as opposed to 17?

I even read how it is in English and that there counts are not followed strictly, if at all, except maybe for the upper limit 17. Poem formalism kills contents and spirit.

OK, this is getting a bit too technical for me now with regards to language

I've always regarded haiku in English as being lines of specifically 5, then 7, then 5 syllables (I'm not quite sure what a "mora" is), which the example you quoted from Harleqin fits (as do all the others in this thread, as far as I can see). I'm sure that this form can be changed if you're after actual literary merit, but just as a pure bit of linguistic fun I thought the 5/7/5 syllable pattern was fairly universal

IIRC, it's a convention in normal English to use 17 syllables, but it's a misinterpretation and not correct with respect to traditional Japanese Haiku, which are supposed to have 17 mora (moras?, morae?).

The 5/7/5 is a lot more flexible, here are some Haiku examples from the Wikipedia page that obey neither rule:



When I try to do them, I try to adhere to mora rather than syllables, I try to adhere to 3 lines, have some ambiguity, and try to have what I interpret to be a cutting word. However, being too prescriptive I think is the equivalent of "White 8 is bad"

EDIT: PS Robert, I rather liked yours

Condensed to haiku:

GoGod created all,
Infinite grid, black and white.
Go, share life in peace!

Jasiek's poem appears
To have its syllables in arrears.
So lets try another kind:
It's easier to mind,
And more natural to western ears.

_________________
Help make L19 more organized. Make an index: https://lifein19x19.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=5207

Here's the criteria for an haiku in English according to wikipedia:

Use of three lines of up to 17 syllables;
Use of a season word (kigo);
Use of a cut or kire (sometimes indicated by a punctuation mark) to compare two images implicitly.

But, for a bunch of go geeks, I think we're doing pretty good

On the whole, I tend to agree with what Robert says:


It's the spirit and content that counts; no need to bother with the rules.

_________________
Patience, grasshopper.

Mind ko --
Despite meanders
reach the sea.

_________________
A good system naturally covers all corner cases without further effort.

I think the problem is that the distinction between short and long sounds is not observed so tightly in English as in Japanese, so syllables it is. And also, if you counted terminal consonants as an extra mora, it would be hard to write anything. (I think if you look for translations of tanka, the translators are trying to hit 5-7-5-7-7 syllables, not beats.)

There's precedent for this... when English poets adapted classical poetic forms to the vernacular, they replaced metric patterns of short and long sounds with metric stress patterns. Such are the perils of cultural hybridization.

Westernized haiku
Deep-fried vegetables
O tempura! O moras!

No. White 8 is bad.

How can any play be bad on an infinite board? War or bad moves are worries of finite worlds. As a complementary model, the infinite grid is a metaphor for our world.

1.
The fall of summer
Met the demise of my stones
The gods have closed eyes

2.
Winter swept sente
Drenched in my kyu ignorance
Becomes frivolous

_________________
Slava Ukraini!

lonley komoku
a clock runs in august heat
white’s chair sits empty

For some reason, this made me feel really, deeply sad for a minute, more than I normally feel from anything I read. All I could think of the tragedies that could have happened to white. Well done.

_________________
Someday I want to be strong enough to earn KGS[-].

(I heard that 3-4-3 did a better job of approximating the informational content of hiakus...)

Describing the process of teaching a passerby:


Black and white--
No, those are not
M&Ms.


Half of the
board, plus one. Don't
be greedy.


Your stones can-
not hold their breath.
Like, at all.


Nine is not
enough for you.
I don't say.


You have a
living group. That's
pretty good.


And a bonus:

Hurry, re-
sign while you still
have the chance.

_________________
That which can be destroyed by the truth should be.
--
My (sadly neglected, but not forgotten) project: http://dailyjoseki.com